Decoupage to decorate your home

Practiced as early as the 12^th century, decoupage is the art of decorating any object with paper cutouts. One of the most popular do-it-yourself décor projects, decoupage is relatively easy and inexpensive and can be done on almost any surface. So here we give you the 4steps to decoupage and start decorating your home.

Step 1

Sourcing all the materials, select any object that you want to decorate, like a vase, bowl, jewelry box etc. Since this is your first time, choose something that has flatter and larger surfaces, so that you can work easily. Select the paper you want, it can be anything from old books and newspapers, to magazines, maps, gift paper etc. just make sure that the paper is not too thick.

Step 2

Cut out the papers, you can use a combination of the material and cut them in any patterns you wish. Don’t cut the edges too sharp as they might look odd.

Step 3

Prepare the base, you can use fabric or decoupage glue or opt for any white glue and mix it with equal parts water to get a thin stick mixture. Put a little of the base on the back of the cutout and stick it on the surface and then paint the base on the surface, repeat with every cutout. It doesn’t matter if your cutouts overlap; just make sure to avoid bubble and wrinkles in the paper.

Step 4

Clean off excess glue while applying to avoid smudging of the surface. Once all the cutouts are done, let it dry completely. Apply a coat of clear varnish or decoupage finish and set it out to dry. You can apply the varnish a second time if you wish, the goal here is to create the look as if the cutout is a print on the surface and it should have a slight sheen to it.