Unleash Your Creativity

Decoupage - History and Instruction

Decoupage is an easy craft and produces such delightful results that you will want to continue creating wonderful new projects.

The art of Decoupage is simply cutting out pictures and pasting them on furniture or home accessories to simulate painting.

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This art was also know as poor man's art because in the olden days those who couldn't afford to hire an artist to decorate their furniture could obtain quite elegant effects with cut-outs pasted on and covered with multiple coats of varnish or lacquer.

Decoupage flourished in Europe during the 18th and 19th centuries and many elaborate decorations on boxes, trays, chests and tables, formerly believed to have been hand painted, were later found to be merely cut outs cleverly applied by a crafty artisan.

There are three ways of doing this work and each has its own name. Decoupage is an original arrangement of cut-outs or paste-ons used on pictures, murals, furniture and accessories to simulate painting. Montage is a mounting of materials that may or may not be cut-outs or paste-ons. Photographs, travel folders, handbills or old postcards might be artistically arranged on a screen or mural and varnished or lacquered. In collage, various items such as bits of string, wood, shells or romantic keepsakes are used in a shadow box arrangement. It is often very difficult to decide which of these three designations should apply to the finished composition. Usually the word decoupage is used to incorporate all three methods.

With a sharp pair of scissors and good vision, anyone with a fair sense of composition and a feeling for color can do quite professional looking work. Materials can be found in art supply stores, thrift and antique shops, bookstores, attics, auctions, garage sales and just about everywhere. Seed catalogues, magazines, old books, wallpaper, gift wrappings, foil-covered paper, lace paper doilies (they come in gold and silver too), posters, travel folders, Valentines and greeting cards are all excellent materials.

Beads, sequins, shells, feathers, fans and a host of other materials which can be found in antique and thrift shops are excellent for making shadow box arrangements or collage.

Art supply stores and importers carry decorative papers for lining boxes, drawers, desks and covering telephone books, albums and screens. They also carry gold-foil medallions, corners, frames, leaves, stars, bells, eagles, cupids, and other small items for decorating trays, boxes, book covers, picture frames, desk sets and accessories. Tiny floral bouquets such as are found on old Valentines make stunning designs for small articles. Gold edging placed on a box, picture or tray will enhance its beauty and give it an elegant and professional touch.

When cutting out designs from decorative papers, prints or magazines, the scissors should be tilted slightly towards the right to obtain a bevelled edge. A straight up-and-down cut will result in a hard, raw edge which may show the color of the underside of the print. Razor blades, X-Acto knives, straight and curved scissors are all held in this way, slanted as you cut.

When pasting it is advisable to lay the work face down on a large sheet of glass or on a marble topped table. Some people prefer to use wallpaper paste for large areas, but any of the modern water - soluble pastes, Decoupage mediums or glues are good and may be used full strength, except on glass where they should be diluted. Lay the work face down, dip a brush in water, then in paste. Brush paste on smoothly, working from the center to the edges. It is important to be sure there is enough paste. For large areas, after the cut-outs have been pasted on, a rolling pin may be used to smooth them out. If edges do not stick at first they may be lifted carefully and a small amount of paste applied with a toothpick.

Always keep a damp cloth handy to press down the edges of the design and to wipe off excess paste. For stubborn places, a small cotton swab dipped in cleaning fluid may be needed. Painted surfaces and glasses are no problem as they are easily cleaned.

The type of finish which the composition will need depends upon the use to which it will be put. A greeting card would not require a finish, but a serving tray would require from six to twelve coats of varnish or lacquer. The more the article is varnished or lacquered, the more the decoration will recede into the background and simulate painting. Lacquer, which comes in spray-on cans is easy to use and effective on large objects. You may also use the prepared Decoupage medium available in craft supply stores by following the directions on the container.

A metal tray would first need a coat of rust resistant paint, followed by two or three thin coats of an oil base paint in the color of your choice. Trays may be bought with a flat, black finish and sprayed with several thin coats of lacquer before any decorating is done. A tray lends itself beautifully to decoupage and can be made very gay and whimsical, very handsome and formal or decorated to portray a hobby or sport.

Boxes are used and provide interesting results when done with decoupage. All shapes of unfinished boxes are available in craft supply stores. Match, jewel, sewing and all kinds of boxes made of paper, tin, leather, plastic or wood, may be decorated with paste-ons or cut-outs and gold edging. A box should be given two or three thin coats of an oil base paint, and after decorating, at least three coats of varnish should be applied. The final coat is rubbed with dampened emery cloth for a fine, soft, matte finish.

It is fun to cover boxes with fabric, decorative paper, or wallpaper. ‘Contact," which has an adhesive back and comes a yard wide may be bought in any length you need at variety  stores. It is excellent for covering large objects and interiors of desks and chests.

Wastebaskets of wood or heavy -cardboard are handsome covered with marbleized or tortoise-shell papers or small geometric prints. Each side may be edged with gold -striping and medallions applied to the center of each panel.

When planning a design for a large area it is wise to make a rough sketch on tracing paper, drawing circles and oblongs of various sizes to indicate where the cut-outs will be placed. The actual -cut-outs should be laid out in these spaces and different arrangements -tried until the best one is found. The cut-outs are then pasted and transferred to the object. Penciled guide lines are an invaluable aid in keeping the arrangement in order and can easily be wiped off after the decoration is applied.

Decoupage can be as expensive or inexpensive a hobby as you wish. Certainly the tools required are -few—scissors, X-Acto knives, razor blades, pencils, paste, glue, varnish, turpentine, lacquer, thinner, oil paints, brushes, sandpaper, and a sheet of glass are about all that are -required, together with the decoupage materials themselves. Either way, no hobby will bring as many hours of pleasure or more compliments on your finished work as this old-time art.