Paper craft ideas - Decoupage
By GreenMoo
@GreenMoo (11833)
February 8, 2011 1:54am CST
I've been flicking through an old book of home crafts and have seen an article on decoupage. That's where you stick paper cut outs to a flat surface and build up layers of varnish to create a hard smooth surface. It's ideal for decorating items like small boxes or picture frames.
It's easy to buy very cheap small wooden boxes in the shops near me, and I think they'd make beautiful little gifts decorated using this technique.
However, the book I've been flicking through is fairly old and the designs they picture are pretty dated. I could really do with some inspiration for quirky and interesting paper products to use to make some designs. A design made up of used postage stamps would make a wonderful little writing box for instance. Can you think of any other ideas? Is this is a technique you've used yourself? What have you made?
1 person likes this
8 responses
@GreenMoo (11833)
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14 Feb 11
I guess that if you were short of maps you could probably pick up travel guides from second hand shops, or even cut maps off tourist leaflets and things like that. The London Underground map would be nice, on top of pieces torn from street maps. Don't know where I'd get a London Underground map from mind!
1 person likes this
@lilaclady (28206)
• Australia
8 Feb 11
I used to love doing decoupage, you can print out photos of people and put them on a box, that is a very personal pressie plus there is another thing you can do....if you can get various patterned tissue type paper, tear it up into small bits, don't cut it..then you can cover boxes or as I did concrete animals...you just stick the pieces on with clear drying glue, you don't have to be even putting them on, just cover the surface, then when finished just put a few coats of glur over it and let it dry in between each coat....
@GreenMoo (11833)
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8 Feb 11
Photos! What a flash of inspiration! I don't know why I didn't think of that myself LoL
The tissue paper idea makes me think of making elephant balloons with newspaper when I was a kid, but using tissue paper must make a lovely coloured effect.
Thanks for the ideas!
1 person likes this
@lilaclady (28206)
• Australia
8 Feb 11
I have seen some beautiful patterns in the tissue paper, some years ago I found a concrete rabbit and I painted it white then put some purple and white patterned tissue to cover it and gave it to a nursing home for easter, it really looked good....
@cher913 (25781)
• Canada
13 Feb 11
my mom used to do this and i have a plaque that she made with birds on it. but i love the photo idea! i like old ephemera that could be used (there are a number of free websites where you can get vintage ephemera for free) and i like your idea of using stamps. it could be a holder for well, stamps! lol
@GreenMoo (11833)
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14 Feb 11
I was thinking that it could be a little writing box containing paper, envelopes, postcards, a pen and .... stamps! But it would have to be fairly small otherwise it would take forever to get together enough stamps! I can't think of anything else postal related that could fill in the gaps if you didn't have enough.
@jillhill (37353)
• United States
8 Feb 11
I used to do quite a bit of decoupaging...like I used wallpaper from a wallpaper book you get free from the store as they change out their books monthly! They have very interesting patterns....Like some for the bathroom have beautiful shells..and some of the paper is gorgeous!
@GreenMoo (11833)
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9 Feb 11
Someone else suggested wallpaper samples and I thought that the paper would be too thick for decoupage work. But if two people suggest it then it must be OK!
I'm already thinking that I've seen some kids wallpapers that have really bright and cheerful simple designs that would be ideal for my niece.
I'm sure the two could somehow be combined ...
@Hatley (163772)
• Garden Grove, California
9 Feb 11
hi greenmoo once I did some decoupage with pressed leaves and colorful blossoms pressed flat , glued down then layers of varnish over them
to make a bpx fpr a friend who was keeping articles about gardening in her bpx. I felt leaves and blossoms would be really appropriate for a gardening box. I also have thought of using fronts of seed envelopes for a c olorful box for a gardening friend. decoupage is a lot of fun.
@hdc4free (260)
• United States
8 Feb 11
I used to do this all the time, and plan to do more soon to decorate my house, I am in need of nice looking containers to help me organize, so I plan to decoupage some shoeboxes to use as extra storage.
There's lots of fun stuff you can use free: cut pictures from magazines, wrapping paper & scraps of pretty paper, ribbon, stickers, pretty tissue paper, pictures torn from old calendars, pages from catalogs. You can also paint your surface first, either solid or with pictures or patterns, then add some decorations to it, then varnish the whole thing. It's so fun and easy!
@GreenMoo (11833)
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8 Feb 11
Wrapping paper would be nice. You could either cut out designs from it, or perhaps tear into small pieces with rough edges and overlap them to make something really colourful.
I'm sure you'll be able to find instructions for the technique on the net if you do a search.
