Decoupage Directions

Decoupage can be an easy, but rewarding craft.

Decoupage is a highly creative activity with minimal skills and tools needed. If you have ever cut images out of magazines or photos and pasted them onto any type of surface, you are already moderately experienced with decoupage techniques. You can use decoupage to decorate hat boxes, furniture or any hard surface that you can apply glue to. Use decoupage to make collages of greeting card or calendar images, or even photos and magazine clippings.

Things You'll Need

• Object with a hard surface
• Photos, greeting cards, calendars or magazines
• Scissors
• White glue
• 1-inch paint brush
• Decoupage medium

Instructions

1. Choose an object to decoupage. Use an item with a hard-enough surface to stand up to heavy layers of glue. The top of an end table is an excellent choice, as is a jewelry box or hat box.

2. Use scissors to cut out photos, words and shapes from old calendars, photos, magazines and greeting cards.

3. Glue the cut-outs onto the surface of the object with white glue. Overlap some of them to create a collage arrangement over the entire surface.

4. Dip a 1-inch paint brush into some decoupage medium and brush it in a thick layer over the entire collage of cut-outs. It is not necessary to allow the glue on the cut-outs to dry completely before brushing on the decoupage medium because the medium itself is largely made of glue.

5. Allow the entire project to dry overnight before using your item or moving it around.