Refurbishing Old Furniture with Decoupage

Give your old furniture a new face-lift by gluing paper with different textures or patterns. This process is known as decoupage. You can be very creative with this process and there is no need to worry about messing it up. After all, you may have even thought about simply throwing your old piece of furniture away. However, before you do you may want to try decoupage. There are a few things you will need to gather to complete your project. You will need the following:

Old furniture (bookshelves, desk, table...etc)
Paper (it can be tissue paper, old posters, craft paper, or magazine clippings)
Paint brush
Mod Podge water based glue and sealer by Plaid
Small bucket with rag to clean up.

First you will need to think about a pattern or scheme to help transform your old piece of furniture. Decide what type of paper you will glue onto the surface of your furniture and where. You can use posters, magazine clippings, decorative paper, tissue paper, or other craft paper. You may want to keep in mind that some areas may have more wear than others. For example, I am using a cheap bookshelf to decoupage. Therefore, I am keeping in mind that sliding books may cause wear. So I have chosen not to decoupage the shelving areas.

Once you have your design all mapped out you can begin to tear your paper. I have chosen to use tissue paper and I am crumpling it up before I paste it on the surface. I am also using two identical prints of a famous painting called "The Kiss" by Gustav Klimt. I have decided to attach one of each print on the sides of my bookshelf. Next, spread the glue over surface with a paintbrush. You can also spread the glue on back of the paper you are pasting. Remember to tear your paper to fit any corners too. Smooth out any air pockets with your hands to make sure that the paper sticks well. Continue this process until you have covered the entire area that you wish to decoupage. Let the papered surface dry completely.

When your decoupage has dried completely dip your paintbrush back into glue and spread over the top of your papered area. Spread the glue over the entire surface. This will create a glossy seal that will help preserve your creation. Once you have covered the entire paper surface with your glue step back and let it dry. There is no need to worry about messing up an area. Just reapply paper with the glue over your mistakes and no one will ever notice.

You can apply this technique to a variety of different styles of furniture. You can try different shapes of craft paper with interesting patterns or textures. Be creative an use old posters, magazine clippings, scrap book paper, or old labels. You can even use paint or gold leaf in desired areas. This project is fun and can give your old stuff a whole new look.

Resources:

www.plaidonline.com

www.papermart.com

www.art.com