It's such a shame that what used to be the genteel arts are disappearing among women of my generation. What is seen as "old fashioned" and "boring" can actually be really freaking awesome if you put your own spin on it. Things like quilting, decoupage, embroidering, etc. are really fun and can be great ways to express yourself.
Decoupage is actually really easy. It is great for gifts because it looks so fancy. All you need is modge podge, paper, and something to stick the paper too. I have a wooden art case that I totally ruined by drawing all over when I had a garage sale because I got bored. I got an amazing gift bag from my sisters for my birthday that had flowers on it. So I cut out all the individual flowers.
Step 1: Assemble your supplies. Most people that I know use sponge brushes for the modge podge but I find sponges incredibly annoying and really hard to wash out. Plus, I tend to forget to wash them out at all most of the time and find ruined brushes all over the place. I have a set of 10 year old brushes that I use for this purpose. The fibers are falling out anyway so it's no big deal.
Step 2: Get a general idea of how you want the pattern to be. Don't be afraid to let it evolve as you do the project. I wanted my flowers to overlap. Paint the back of the paper and press it on to the wood or cardboard or photo frame or whatever. Press it down firmly and for about 30 seconds. Press down any edges that get squirly to make sure they stay put.
Step 3: Continue to paint each piece and lay it down where you want it. It's ok to use ripped pieces too. They come in handy for filling small spaces.
Step 4: When all the paper is on there however you want it and all pressed down. Paint over the top one whole layer of modge podge. This will give it kind of a glossy finish and polish it up. After you do that though, it might make it kind of sticky. Not so sticky that anyone but us would notice but still. So I like to spray mine with acrylic finish. it protects it a little.
And there ya go! Much better than that stupid black sharpie. I find this is really cute to do with Christmas wrapping paper on little boxes from a craft store. You can put little candy in it and a bow on it. Very inexpensive and very cute. Any kind of paper except very thin will work. Decoupage was very popular during Victorian times and if you google Victorian Decoupage you can come up with a ton of really cute ideas, or, if you want to cut out a lot of skulls and crossbones from magazines you can do that too.
Have Fun!
Decoupage is actually really easy. It is great for gifts because it looks so fancy. All you need is modge podge, paper, and something to stick the paper too. I have a wooden art case that I totally ruined by drawing all over when I had a garage sale because I got bored. I got an amazing gift bag from my sisters for my birthday that had flowers on it. So I cut out all the individual flowers.
Step 1: Assemble your supplies. Most people that I know use sponge brushes for the modge podge but I find sponges incredibly annoying and really hard to wash out. Plus, I tend to forget to wash them out at all most of the time and find ruined brushes all over the place. I have a set of 10 year old brushes that I use for this purpose. The fibers are falling out anyway so it's no big deal.
Step 2: Get a general idea of how you want the pattern to be. Don't be afraid to let it evolve as you do the project. I wanted my flowers to overlap. Paint the back of the paper and press it on to the wood or cardboard or photo frame or whatever. Press it down firmly and for about 30 seconds. Press down any edges that get squirly to make sure they stay put.
Step 3: Continue to paint each piece and lay it down where you want it. It's ok to use ripped pieces too. They come in handy for filling small spaces.
Step 4: When all the paper is on there however you want it and all pressed down. Paint over the top one whole layer of modge podge. This will give it kind of a glossy finish and polish it up. After you do that though, it might make it kind of sticky. Not so sticky that anyone but us would notice but still. So I like to spray mine with acrylic finish. it protects it a little.
And there ya go! Much better than that stupid black sharpie. I find this is really cute to do with Christmas wrapping paper on little boxes from a craft store. You can put little candy in it and a bow on it. Very inexpensive and very cute. Any kind of paper except very thin will work. Decoupage was very popular during Victorian times and if you google Victorian Decoupage you can come up with a ton of really cute ideas, or, if you want to cut out a lot of skulls and crossbones from magazines you can do that too.
Have Fun!
This is really fabulous! Does it work with photographs? Would it ruin the pictures? Or is the photo paper too stiff?
ReplyDeleteThank you! Photo's would be great I would just peel the slick back off of it and brush the modge podge on the rough part. If you do it, send me pics.
ReplyDelete