How to Decoupage a Bracelet Cuff Blank

Decoupage your own jewelry with your favorite images or quotes.

Decoupage is a decorative technique you can use to apply cut out images, words and designs onto a variety of surfaces. Applying decoupage medium, or glue, to the images or words you've chosen seals them into the finish of household items, scrapbooks, wall art and jewelry. Jewelry blanks with large smooth surfaces, such as cuff bracelets, are good choices for decoupaging. Use decoupage to add a few delicate images to your bracelet or cover the entire cuff in a collage of colorful images for a funkier look.

Things You'll Need

• Bracelet cuff blank
• Magazines, drawings, books or photos
• Images, words or phrases, cut out
• Fine grit sandpaper
• Glue, or another decoupage medium
• 1/2-inch paintbrush

Instructions

1. Cut out decorative shapes, words and photos from magazines, drawings and old books. Choose images small enough to fit on the bracelet cuff blank. Choose a theme, such as foods or flowers and stick to those types of images when cutting from your magazines, photos and books. Staying within the theme, try to use colors that complement each other. For example, lilac purple and soft yellow are complementary colors as are jet black and red.

2. Sand the outer surface of a bracelet cuff blank by hand with fine grit sandpaper to rough up the finish, especially if it is shiny and smooth. Once the surface has lost its shine, you have achieved your goal. Roughing up the finish will help with decoupage adherence, as the glue-based decoupage medium can peel away more readily from shiny and smooth surfaces.

3. Apply a thin layer of decoupage glue or medium to the back of the images or words you've clipped out and selected and use your paintbrush to smooth each one onto the bracelet cuff blank. Consider creating a collage of several decorative images and placing a few meaningful words or phrases over them to create a funky look. Allow the medium to dry for at least 20 minutes or longer if dictated by the packaging.

4. Brush a layer of decoupage medium over the entire bracelet cuff, sealing in the layers of decorative images. Allow it to dry for an additional 20 minutes and repeat the application twice more to fully encase the finished piece. Allow the decoupage medium to dry for a full 20 minutes between each and every layer.