Decoupage instructions for beginners. How to make decoupage. Decoupage crafts DIY.
Cutting out – Decoupage instructions.
Motifs on the napkin for decoupage are usually cut or torn out.
Cut very close to the edges of the pattern. Your hand should always remain motionless. It’s better to move the pattern itself. First cut out the motif at the edges of the picture, only after that proceed to cut out the smaller details. The background inside the figure is also cut out. To do this, you can make a cut along the line of the picture. Only after that proceed to remove layers of the napkin for decoupage. Otherwise, it will be inconvenient to cut the thin top part.
Decoupage card drawings are usually cut out. First, cut the background around the picture, then, slowly, cut out the motif along the contour.
Tools for decoupage. Decoupage supplies.
Pictures from paper are always made thinner. Usually, this is done in 2 ways: with sandpaper and removing layers. For removing layers, the picture for decoupage is placed in water in a spread out position. After a while, it is taken out and put on a glass or plastic surface with the image down. Carefully straighten out so there are no air bubbles, separate the layers with a needle or toothpick. From time to time, don’t forget to moisten the paper, as dry paper tears very easily. The last color layer should be dried with a hair dryer without removing it from the surface. It cannot be removed when it is wet, otherwise, the image might tear and remain on the surface. Don’t neglect these Decoupage instructions.
To make the layer thinner with sandpaper, lay the sheet on a flat smooth surface with the pattern downwards and with gentle rotating movements remove the top layer with sandpaper. It is better to fix the sheet with tape.
If the pattern is too large, cut off the edges of the decoupage picture from the back at an acute angle with a knife or blade. The width of the cut should be at least 1.5 cm.
Decoupage instructions for beginners. Primer
PVA glue or acrylic putty for decoupage is usually used as the primer. The primer is necessary to ensure that all subsequent coats will adhere well to the surface. When working with wood, you can use diluted acrylic paint or colorless acrylic varnish as a primer. If the surface after priming has become a little rough, then sand it with sandpaper.
For old varnished furniture, metal and plastic, ceramic and glass surfaces it is better to use special primers for critical surfaces (special). Galvanized items are coated with acrylic varnish in an aerosol package.
The product will look much more elegant if you leave as few uncut areas of the background as possible.
Unglazed ceramics are coated with acrylic varnish or acrylic paint. Paper, cardboard and papier-mache are primed with varnish or acrylic paint. After priming, place the paper and cardboard under the press. Otherwise, the pattern may “shift” a little bit. These are very important Decoupage instructions.
Tinting. Decoupage instructions.
In order to make the white color look older, to tan it a little, you can use toning (tinting). In particular, it is used in the making of decoupage in retro style.
Tinting is carried out with watercolors – mixing earthy colors with water. If it is necessary to tint a picture made on a photocopier, do not apply too much paint to the image, otherwise, it will be blurred.
Sometimes tinting can be done with a paper bag of black tea. It should be soaked and applied to the drawing. It will leave yellow-brown traces of different saturation. You can place the image in water tinted with tea. After tinting, the drawing should be dried.
Decoupage instructions for beginners. Gluing
Gluing is the most difficult stage of decoupage. The glue should be chosen according to the working base. You can use PVA glue, pencil glue, special glue for decoupage, glue varnish. The latter is usually used when gluing decoupage on fabric. It does not only glue but also creates a transparent coating that fully protects the image from water. If it is necessary to glue the image, a spray varnish is good. Let me tell you about some more Decoupage instructions.
You can glue it in different ways.
Using a flat brush. The drawing is placed on the work surface and smeared with glue with a flat brush. Very carefully straighten all the folds (the napkin under the influence of glue quickly spreads along the work surface). Glue from the middle to the edges of the motif.
Using an iron. Varnish is applied to the surface. After it dries, the cut out motif is put on baking paper and ironed. There are almost no folds formed. You can use this method only if you glue a motif on a flat surface.
With a hair dryer. Apply varnish to the surface, let it dry. Put the prepared motif on baking paper and blow it with a hairdryer at a distance of 8-10 cm. Do not turn on the hair dryer at full power!
Use a glue stick. Smear the work surface with a glue stick, put the pattern on top and iron with a roller or rolling pin. Do not cover immediately with acrylic varnish – otherwise, bubbles will be formed. The first layer should be covered with any non-acrylic varnish.
A puddle of glue. Attach the napkin to the work surface and pour glue on it so that the napkin is completely covered in it. Then spread it with your fingers and remove the excess glue with a dry napkin.
Wetting. Spray the napkin with a little water from a spray gun and glue it to the work surface until it dries. Creases should be straightened with a brush. And I have some more Decoupage instructions for you.
Working on a light background
If the motif is glued to a light background, you have to cut it out very carefully, especially if the background of the napkin is dark. Otherwise, the remains of the background will look ugly against the light background.
Working on a dark background
The motif usually looks too dull on a dark background. To avoid this, the motif is glued to the primer, and then the rest of the surface is painted, without touching the motif and its borders. You can attach the motif to the work surface, draw around it, paint inside the outline with white paint and glue the design on.
In the third case, firstly, take 1-2 layers of white napkin that were cut out together with the pattern and glue them to the working surface, then glue the motif on top. Let’s move to the next Decoupage instructions.
How to varnish a product. Decoupage instructions for beginners.
Varnish in decoupage is one of the main materials. It is used quite often in the following cases:
✓ instead of glue when gluing the picture;
✓ it is sprinkled on the napkin to keep it from spreading on the surface (in a fixed position);
✓ printout is covered with it before placing the paper in water to separate the layers;
✓ it protects the glued motif from paint during the following painting.
The last coat of varnish is the most difficult and important stage of the work. Decoupage looks good only if the glued motif completely blends in with the rest of the background, being at the same level with it. This can be achieved by coating in many layers. This is always combined with sanding layers of varnish with fine sandpaper. This allows you to smooth out the irregularities and bloated areas of the picture. The First 3-4 layers of varnish are applied, then sanded, removing the varnish only in the convex places. Then a few more layers of varnish are applied and smoothening is performed once again. Everything is repeated until the drawing is completely drowned in varnish.
A good varnish usually lays down evenly, is easy to sand, does not form irregularities while drying, does not turn yellow and is odorless.
When choosing a varnish, consider the artistic task as well. For example, glossy varnish is not suitable for the style of shabby chic. And for making an antique look it is better to use special varnishes with different shades from gold to burgundy.
Apply the varnish with a swab or a broad brush. The most important thing is that when applying it, don’t leave traces from your swab or brush. Sometimes on a flat surface varnish is simply poured and smoothed with paper. After the last layer of varnish is applied, the surface of the product is polished or coated with a special wax. And just a little bit more Decoupage instructions.
Decoupage instructions for beginners. Blending
Blending is performed with pastel crayons, water and paints. When using pastel crayons, the powder from the crayon is shaken off onto paper and rubbed onto the surface with a brush or cotton swab. The surface is sprinkled with a varnish fixer, but not a water-based one. The surface should be flat, otherwise, the pastel will lie down unevenly.
If you need to paste several identical pictures, you can make color copies of them and work with them.
Decoupage instructions for beginners. In the process of bending with water and paint, the pattern is first coated with 2 coats of acrylic varnish. Then water is poured over the outline of the drawing. Use a brush to take some paint and stretch it over the entire puddle. If it is too thick, water is added. After that, everything is left until it is completely dry. When selecting colors for the blending, it is necessary to take into account the main colors in the drawing. Only colors close to the main colors should be chosen. For shadow colors use gray if the shadow is cold, and brown if the shadow is warm. These are all Decoupage instructions for today – hope you enjoyed it.