Upcycle all kinds of old
and ordinary items with decoupage and give your home a facelift!
Whatever your style, there is a paper for it, and a method
of adding it to almost everything you can think of, from wood
to candles. I tend to associate decoupage with a vintage look,
but this book shows how you can make it look modern just by
choosing the right papers and the right object. I also imagined
it to involve a lot of time and skill, having read an old
book suggesting that twenty coats of varnish is not too much…But
fortunately there are many modern products now that make it
a breeze.
The book starts by looking at some of these
products, and describing what can be decoupaged and how, with
useful instructions on techniques such as painting, distressing
and cutting out. The rest of the book is filled with projects,
and these serve as suggestions rather than the type where
you can buy everything and reproduce it exactly. They are
organized into rooms – e.g. kitchen, living room, outdoors
etc, and the author describes how you can comb attics, junk
shops and markets for old things and do them up. A travel
trunk is covered with map paper and becomes a coffee table,
old tins are painted and decorated to brighten a kitchen,
and old trays are brought to new life. New things can be made
over too: plain candles are covered with pretty floral napkins,
a plastic box becomes a fun toybox, and blanks of all kinds
from craft stores are turned into useful decorations and containers.
Each project starts by briefly describing
the item being upcycled and a list of what you need, then
the instructions follow. These are words only, but this is
a simple enough method, mostly consisting of preparing, painting
and using a medium like Mod Podge to attach the papers. There
are also galleries of items showing what else can be done
to further inspire. I was pleasantly surprised how fun and
easy it all seems to be, and getting hold of the few items
required is not difficult. The book was originally published
in South Africa, so everything is not available elsewhere,
but there are many alternatives to paper, adhesives etc and
some are given. A user friendly book on an old method which
has been updated for the modern crafter.
If you cannot find a good range of decoupage
materials locally try www.searchpress.com for a list of suppliers.
If you cannot find a good range of decoupage materials
locally try www.searchpress.com for a list of suppliers.
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