What Does Decoupage Mean?…
Decoupage sounds very grand, doesn’t it? With this method you can decorate an assortment of items. Designs are formed from printed paper, cut out and glued on to objects. You can do this with special effects made with paint like gold leaf, for instance. It is quite possible to cover items of furniture or boxes etc.
If you want to make attractive items, this may well be the answer. This method of decoration can be used too for scrapbooking and other forms of paper crafts. You assemble pieces cut out of any paper that is printed. Although you could visit your local craft shop, where they are sure to have plenty of papers to choose from, with this in mind.
Next step is to do your cutting out from your papers, then sort out your design and glue, or paste, whatever you have chosen to do. Varnish is then put on in layers, which ultimately has to be sanded down to get a glass type finish. This is often used on mirrors, albums etc.
So, the basic requirements for this are what? A regular pot of cheap white glue, which can be watered down a bit, and something to spread it with, this could be cotton wool or a sponge. Papers ready cut to work with and some scissors, or a craft knife.
Old cloths are needed too, for clearing up. You will need a special small roller which will flatten and emit any surplus glue, plus an acrylic type of varnish. An article to apply to all this too and any other bits you may have collected that can be used.
This art dates back a long way, Picasso and Matisse even used it. So let us suppose you wanted to cover a wooden box. Your first step would be to strip the box of any old paint or varnish and sand it down. Then clean and prime it. As a start you would need to apply about three coats of paint. If you are using an old box, seal this with a varnish.
Cut out what you have decided to use and paste on to your item. Some people, in fact, do this with a wallpaper paste, but this is likely to take quite some time to dry. At this stage you could move your cut outs around if you wanted to. This will be quite time consuming.
Get rid of any surplus glue from your box and do a check that all your pieces are firmly stuck down, particularly the corners. This has to be dry and then it will need a seal of PVA watered down glue.
Now for varnishing. You can buy special varnishes in the stores, but a water based acrylic varnish should be fine. However, you need patience here, as many coats of varnish will need to be applied. This can take days, as you will probably need about sixteen coats. When you have reached this stage, you can then sand it down gently with wet and dry sandpaper using a sanding block.
Now continue adding layers of varnish. Plenty of them, this will only improve your work. Stop when you have added five more and sand again. This is to prevent any ends from your cut outs showing. You will probably end up with around thirty coats. To complete your project, sand now gently with probably a 400 wet and dry sandpaper.
