DIY workshop on decorating furniture using decoupage technique

Recommendation points

• “Wet” way
• “Dry” method
• Solid decoupage

Decoupage is not only about napkins. It is much more interesting to decorate furniture and other interior items with exactly the pictures that you like. We have prepared for you a master class on decorating furniture using decoupage technique, with which you can try your hand at such a fascinating activity.

Let’s look at the main types of decoupage, because each of them has something interesting, and, perhaps, you will find exactly what will suit you..

The classic and most common is decoupage with special decoupage napkins..

Even the simplest furniture will transform and become a masterpiece if you try a little and look at it through the eyes of an artist.

Let’s take a regular wooden stool. It is new and completely uninteresting. Let’s try to turn it into a very interesting piece of furniture..

For work we need some special materials:

1. PVA building glue, diluted with water 1: 1.
2. Paint, better acrylic.
3. Waterproof varnish.
4. Napkins for decoupage.

First you need to check the smoothness of the surface, if necessary, grind it and clean it from dust.

Then we paint the surface with paint or primer. When working with decoupage napkins, this is a necessity. The structure of the wooden surface is such that a thin napkin on an untreated surface can behave unpredictably, and there is a great chance that the drawing will very soon lose its appearance..

While the paint dries, we deal with napkins, choose the desired motif and try on how it will look on the surface.

Decoupage napkins usually have three layers, so be sure to separate the layers. We only need the top, brightest layer.

After the paint has completely dried, we spread the surface on which we will glue the napkin, and very carefully put it on the glue. Immediately we collect glue with a brush and cover the napkin with it, while simultaneously expelling air bubbles from under it. But remember that the napkin is instantly saturated with glue and becomes very soft, so the movements should not be rubbing, but blotting.

PVA dries quickly, so you won’t have to wait long. Trim the edges with scissors or a sharp knife.

We are finished with the napkin, but it also needs a beautiful design, and masking tape and paint will help us with this..

Glue the stripes on the stool.

Take a pale blue paint, a spongy brush and paint over the surface between the stripes with blotting movements. You can use two colors for more contrast. Make sure that the colors are in harmony with the colors of the napkin.

After the paint has dried, remove the assembly tape.

Nice, but not perfect. It is necessary to smooth the paint a little with the finest sandpaper and add a bright accent.

We will focus on printing. There are special stamps or stencils, or you can just draw by hand if you are confident in your abilities.

Wait for the paint to dry again, and cover the stool with two or three layers of waterproof varnish.

So, it’s quite simple to turn an ordinary nondescript stool into a designer thing..

But what if you did not find the necessary napkins in the stores, and just want to please yourself or your loved ones with an original gift in the form of a product with their image? Nothing complicated. There is a decoupage technology for working with printouts on ordinary office paper. It is enough to have a photo on the computer and a printer at hand.

Select the image you want, calibrate the size and make multiple prints at once. This is just in case, while you experiment and “fill your hand” so as not to waste time in vain.

A few words about the printer. Ideally, this should be a laser printer. You can also inkjet, but only one that prints with pigment ink, not water. It is important! Water-based ink can float under the varnish, and the product and mood will be ruined.

If your printout covers the entire surface of the product, then nothing needs to be done here, but if you want to cut out the picture, then you have to work here to thin the paper, otherwise the cut will look rough. It will be very difficult to hide the edges of the picture, and it will look just like a sticker.

There are several ways to convert office paper into decoupage paper – “wet” and “dry”. Try both. The one that you like best, so use.

“Wet” way

Cover the drawing with acrylic varnish in 2-3 layers with intermediate drying.

Find a container for water that will fit your picture, pour warm water into it, and gently lower the picture there for 5 minutes. Do not heat, you should not wet the lacquer layer too much. Remove the picture from the water and pat the excess water off with a towel.

Turn the picture “face” down and with your fingers very carefully begin to roll the paper, starting from the center to the edges. Don’t overdo it, you don’t need holes.

Brush off the spools of paper and stick your printout just like a tissue on any surface.

“Dry” method

As in the previous case, we cover the image with varnish. But here we use scotch tape for thinning, not water.

Turn the print over “face” down, and apply a wide stationery tape over the entire surface.

Smooth the tape well. It is best to use a ruler rather than your fingers as the tape will stick more evenly. Then gently use your fingernail or a pin to peel the paper.

This is usually easy and you end up with an image on very thin paper that can be used for decoupage.

Solid decoupage

This type of decoupage is the simplest and most popular. There is no need to cut pictures or thin paper, as the entire surface is pasted over. Any material is suitable – an old book, newspaper, wallpaper, posters or even fabric, but nevertheless, the furniture does not look rough, but rather looks like a designer whim.

The only thing is that if you decide to paste over a large surface with small sheets, then it is still better to thin the edges of the paper. Here, thinning comes down to the fact that the edges of the sheets need to be cut off, and not cut with scissors. It turns out more naturally and there are no abrupt transitions that make the surface rough and sloppy..

As you can see, decoupage is very versatile. There are no special rules and you can paste over any surface – a kitchen cabinet or a coffee table. The main thing is to select high-quality materials and take your time.