I wanted to share a proper tutorial on how I learned to decoupage and to share how effective it can look. Here is a book shelf that I completed for my friend Sarah.
My first step was to stain the pine shelves. Sarah was looking for a browny-grey stain rather than paint because she wanted to be able to see the wood grain. Here's a pic showing what the shelves looked like when half completed:
To decoupage you need to have a good foam roller, some decoupaging glue (I buy mine from Spotlight), a paint brush for getting into corners and some fancy paper (Sarah chose this paper- her partner just loves how masculine it is!)
Ensure the surface you are applying the paper to is clean and smooth, then with your foam roller apply a thin layer of the glue to both the surface you are decoupaging and the backside of the paper. My picture doesn't show it as a thin layer, but that's about how much glue I used for the entire 30 x 30 cm area so it does get quite thinly spread.
Next, carefully place the sheet down on the area. You must work quickly for this part and work section by section so the glue doesn't dry in between. The glue dries incredibly quickly!
Smooth down the sheet, working out any air bubbles carefully.
When you have completed the whole area you need to use the foam roller again and roll glue over the whole piece. This will seal it and leave a nice shine. If the surface will be used for something that gets a bit of use (eg a table top) you can spray a layer of poly over the whole piece. I skipped this step as it wasn't necessary for this particular piece.
For more projects and pieces of furniture check out my facebook page www.facebook.com/RetroVintageLove
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