How to Decoupage With Magazines on Wood

Wood decoupage items add a classic arts and crafts feel to decor.

Decoupage embellishments bring life to old wood items such as serving trays and tabletops. Magazine pictures offer a endless supply of personalization choices for your projects. Decoupage, a type of collage, offers an easy enough art form for beginners but has also been used by masters such as Picasso and Matisse. Before throwing out old magazines and wood items, consider this simple way to create a decorative craft item.

Things You'll Need

• Magazines
• Craft blade cutter
• Wood item
• Fine sandpaper
• Lint-free cloth
• White craft or decoupage glue
• Rubber brayer or roller
• Varnish or lacquer

Instructions

1. Decide on a theme for the wood piece to be decorated with decoupage. Locate enough suitable pictures in magazines to cover the wood surface. Trim pictures precisely with small, sharp scissors or a craft bladed cutter.

2. Sand the wood surface to be decoupaged using fine-grade sandpaper. After smoothing surface, remove all dust with a lint-free cloth.

3. Paint a layer of craft or decoupage glue on the wood surface where you want to place the first pictures. Lay the magazine pictures on the glue. Smooth wrinkles and air bubbles out with fingers or rubber brayer.

4. Paint more craft or decoupage glue on the wood and over any areas of the first layer of pictures where you will overlay more pictures. Place pictures on the glue layer then smooth out wrinkles and air bubbles. Repeat the gluing and smoothing until you have placed all desired pictures.

5. If the surface is to be used daily, such as a wood table, add several layers of lacquer or varnish after the craft glue dries. Allow the coats of lacquer or varnish to dry completely between layers. Build up the layers until a smooth even surface results.

Tips & Warnings

• Use high-quality magazines which typically use heavier weight paper so pictures hold up to the decoupage process better.

• Decoupage glue alone is suitable only for decorative items.

• Pictures on thick magazine papers require more coats of lacquer or varnish to achieve a smooth surface.

References

• Santa Rosa Junior College: Collage
• Craftstylish; How to Make a Collaged Table; Lee Meredith; November 2008