The Art of Decoupage: Decoupaging Furniture and Decor

In 17^th century Europe, decoupage was considered the poor man’s art. During Victorian times, decoupage became a popular hobby and was used to craft decorative art books, boxes, vases and wall plaques. The art form gained new popularity in the 1970’s, as a way to revive Victorian styles and designs. Decoupage is used today for any style of decoration, on just about any type of surface from wood to leather and glass, and the results are beautiful!

You can create many beautiful, artistic, hand-crafted gifts, household decorations, and useful items with this newly revived paper craft. Use the decoupage technique to refinish and add new life to an old, boring piece of furniture. Layer decorative scrapbooking papers and create a collage. There are lots of options to use the decoupage technique for making artistic pieces. The art of decoupage is a great way to recycle those beautiful cards, wrapping papers, and magazines that would otherwise end up in the landfill!

There are just a few supplies needed to decoupage, making it an economical art medium. Collect images that are one-sided, so designs on the back don't bleed through. For best results, copy a book or magazine image onto plain white paper. You can decoupage tissue paper, cards, and even dried pressed flowers in a variety of prints and styles. Apply single images or layer different paper and images, overlapping each other.

Other supplies include small scissors (like embroidery scissors) for cutting out the designs, tweezers (for picking up and placing designs on the surface), and a small art paint brush (the 1” sponge brushes work well and are inexpensive and disposable for easy cleanup). If you’re using dried flowers, use a tiny art brush to position, as tweezers can break the fragile flowers and leaves. A magnifying glass helps with placement of fine details. Work in a well lit area with low humidity to ensure quick and thorough drying. You’re ready!

1. Make sure your surfaces are clean and dust free.

2. Cut out your paper images and dried flowers carefully and plan your arrangement.

3. Brush a thin layer of the decoupage medium on the entire surface (work in small areas at a time, like the top, then each side of a box) and, while still wet, place your images, papers or dried flowers. Gently pat them into position and let them set. Let this first layer dry completely then add a second layer of medium over the design.

4. Continue to layer your papers or flowers, applying a coat of medium to each layer. Once complete, apply 2-3 more coats of medium, allowing each to dry thoroughly.