Decoupage tray

This project combines my love for local art and the celebration of having received a jar of Mod Podge from my sister. It is simply not the same as the mixture of PVA glue and water. Ok, so here is a tray which I had painted a long time ago in a very simply embroidery design. I prepped this one for a more local flavour transformation.

As you can see it is old and worn and stained. So, I decided to take out that trusty can of matt black paint and give it two coats. Here it is at the end of 1 coat.

Then I stuck the print of a painting of  a local artist - traditional art at its simple best using Mod Podge. I gave this five coats allowing for drying time in between.

Then I just cleaned up and touched up the sides of the tray and gave it a coat of spray varnish. Nothing more is required for this rustic tray. I let the sides be as they are. Wish I had access to matt gold washi tape but couldn't find that so I let it be...

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Decoupage switchboard

I love the simplicity of tearing or cutting pieces of  paper and sticking them in a deliberately random fashion - that's decoupage in all its simplicity. Here is a switch panel which I did about 6 years ago in what was my daughter's room (now it's my son's room and I probably have to redo it!). It still attracts a lot of attention....

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It's got the distressed look of things that have aged gracefully, but it's young! You can do this too! Just get some gift wrapping paper and a pair of sharp scissors and get cutting. Here are a few pointers to get you started...

• Choose papers that have some common colours or belong to the same family of colours, some words, writing in different languages or even some plain paper. 
• For starters, keep to the same type of paper. For instance, if you add newsprint to this collage, it will look different as it is much thinner than gift wrapping paper. Once you have done a few, you can experiment with different types of paper. 
• Use fevicol to stick the paper and clean the panel well and wipe it dry before starting. It doesn't matter if paper overlaps a bit. You can also tear some of the paper. Once everything is stuck, paint or spray two coats of clear varnish. Let the surface dry between coats.

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DIY Decoupage pail

Decoupage is an easy way of transforming dull accents into something vibrant. This enamel pail was white with a natural wooden handle and the decoupage was done four years ago; hence the "distressed" look!

Here's a simple step-by-step direction to decoupage:

1. Look around the house for leftover gift wrapping paper. Find a pair of sharp scissors. I have used a gift wrapping paper with square designs which is easy to cut.
2. Cut out designs as desired using the sharp scissors. Cut out enough designs as required for the object on which you want to do the decoupage.
3. Clean the object well and dry completely.
4. Stick the designs randomly using PVA glue. I have painted the rim and handle red using enamel paint. Paint or spray clear varnish. Three coats of varnish will do nicely. Dry between coats.

Please note that if you are planning to do decoupage on wooden objects, you will have to sand it using a fine grade sand paper, after cleaning and drying. This is to make the surface as even as possible before sticking paper onto it.

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