If you consider yourself more of a Van Stop than a Van Gogh, don't worry. You can still create beautiful works of art. You just need a little patience, a few supplies, and something to decorate. Get daring with decoupage.

Decou-huh?

Decoupage is the art of decorating any hard surface with paper cut-outs or fabrics so that these items appear to be inlaid. You don't have to be an artist because you can use other people's artwork. If you know how to cut and paste, you can handle decoupage.

In decoupage, the surfaces of objects are sealed, pictures are cut out and assembled in a design you like, and then glued down separately. Then the design is covered with several coats of lacquer/varnish, and the finished object appears to have inlaid pictures.

What the heck for?

Decoupage can be used on furniture, boxes, vases, lamps, decorative screens, trays, tinware, tableware and pretty much any other hard surface you can think of. Decoupage allows you to add your own personal touch to in home items. For example, a child's room might have cartoon characters in a border around the room. You could buy more of this bordering material, cut out individual characters, and decoupage them onto anything from the crib to a wooden stool to wooden tissue holders for a consistent, cute theme. You might also opt for decoupage instead of repainting old items. If your wallet's thin, buy furniture, trays, etc. from goodwill or garage sales, and make them look new with decoupage.

What does it look like?

Of course, every one's art projects are going to look different, and as you get more comfortable with it, your artwork will improve. This site gives great examples of the countless things you can do with decoupage once you know what you're doing.

What materials will I need?

There are many websites out there that offer decoupage kits, but if you have time to, you can avoid shipping costs by purchasing everything from your local craft store. You'll need:

• A pair of sharp, small scissors and/or an exacto knife
• A collection of pictures you want to use from magazines, newspapers, or pre-cut out pictures from your craft store
• You might also want to include lace or dried flowers in your artwork
• If you want an interesting background, consider using gift wrapping papers or wallpapers
• Varnish (ask your local craft store which type they recommend for decoupage - different areas have different brands)
• To decoupage paper items (boxes, etc.) you'll need an all purpose sealer
• To decoupage wood items, you'll need wood sealant
• White glue that dries clear (any kind... ask your craft store what they prefer to use for decoupage)
• Medium size paint brush
• Optional: paint & another paint brush (to paint the surface background before you begin)
• Optional: Fragile Crackle or other brand crackling decoupage varnish (for a cracked, antique look)
• Optional: Stain (for an antique look)
• Optional: Sponge (to smooth out bubbles/give the object a smooth, shiny finish)

How do I do it?

Before you become decoupage crazy, keep in mind that it's a good idea to do your first project on an unimportant item. You want to learn the dos and don'ts on a fifty cent dinner tray not a fifty dollar dinner table. Once you've experimented with the different things you can do, then you should move on to bigger, more important things.

Seal the surface with the appropriate sealer and allow to dry.

Optional: Paint the surface.

While you're waiting for the surface to dry, you can be cutting out the pictures you've selected as desired.

Once the surface you are decoupaging is dry, coat the back of the cut out picture, lace or other material, and the small area of the surface where you will be placing the it with white glue.

Put the picture down flat on the surface and smooth out any creases, bubbles, or wrinkles with your finger or the sponge.

Repeat steps 4 and 5 for the remaining pictures/materials you want to use as desired.

Wait for it to dry.

When dry, coat the entire surface with 3 or 4 layers of varnish allowing each coat to dry before applying the next one. For a very smooth, shiny look, stroke a foam brush in the same direction over the whole area. When this is dry, you can lightly sand the surface to finish out the smooth look. For a textured look, push a sponge or crumpled plastic wrap into the third coat while it's still wet. Craft stores also offer "Fragile Crackle" that you can apply instead of the varnish for a cracked, antique look. You may also apply one coat of stain on top of the dry varnish, and then wipe it off for an antique look.

Seal the entire object with acrylic sealer and allow to dry.

Be proud of your creation!

With a little motivation and creativity, you can create useful artwork. Just have some confidence in yourself, and give it a shot.

Other Articles By Kate Kemp:

Published: September 17, 1999

Use of this article without permission is a violation of federal copyright laws.

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Editor's Note: This article reflects the opinions of Kate Kemp only and not necessarily the views of this or any other publication, organization or Website owner.

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