You can transform old or ordinary objects into unique ones using various techniques, but one of the most popular and accessible is decoupage. Available materials and tools are used in the work. All you need “special” is paper or napkins. Below we will tell you how to master decoupage for beginners. You don't have to buy anything super expensive. Glue, napkins, varnish, brushes, scissors. That's the whole set of necessary tools.

Decoupage for beginners: collecting everything you need

First, let’s briefly talk about what you’ll have to work with and what you’ll have to work with. In general, decoupage is fastening on the basis of a material or paper with a printed pattern. To ensure that the design does not wear off longer, it is coated with several layers of varnish. Here is a brief description of the decoupage technique.

Decoupage is a technique that allows you to make something special out of ordinary things.

Base

Any weakly absorbent base is suitable as a base for decoupage. What can this technique be used on? On the following grounds:

As you can see, the list is substantial. Only very porous substrates with a lot of irregularities are not suitable for decoupage. And this way you can decorate everything: from dishes of any kind to furniture and doors (and you can use both the surface of the doors and glass inserts).

List of tools

You need a few tools:

Everything from tools. Unless you still need stationery - a ruler, a pencil, an eraser.

Consumables

Now we will talk about consumables. We won’t talk about napkins and paper here—they’re a separate item. In addition to them, to make decoupage with your own hands, you will need:

That's all that may be required, so although decoupage requires a financial investment for beginners, it is not very large.

Napkins, paper

For decoupage, napkins and paper with a printed pattern are used. They are glued to the surface and covered with varnish. There are the following types of materials for this type of decor:

In general, special pastes are also used to create three-dimensional images, regular photos, from which the bottom layer of paper and other drawings have been removed. But it’s not easy to work with them, and this is not decoupage for beginners, but for those who are already developing their skills.

Napkin decoupage: techniques

The main idea of ​​decoupage is to decorate a surface with an image or design. The process is creative and there are no concepts of “right” or “wrong”. The surfaces and patterns are different, so different techniques are used. You just need to choose the method that works best for you.

Decoupage bottles - a good start for beginners

The easiest way to start mastering decoupage is by gluing large fragments. When you learn how to glue napkins without folds, you can move on - master the methods of volumetric decoupage or using crackle varnish. In the meantime, let's figure out how to work with large fragments.

Preparatory work

First of all, you need to remember that napkin decoupage for beginners will have to start with preparing the base. It should be even, smooth, without holes, chips, or humps (except for those that are specially provided). To help - putty and sandpaper. After the surface is leveled, the workpiece is covered with primer (selected according to the type of material) and then coated with white paint.

The stage of applying white paint is mandatory. The fact is that the napkins are very thin, and when glued they become translucent. If they are glued to a white surface, the design remains bright. If the surface is colored or dark, it fades noticeably and there is no desired effect. Therefore, paint must be applied even to plastic or ceramics, and possibly in several layers.

What to do with a napkin

First you need to decide what type of napkin to use.

How to decide whether to tear the napkin or cut out elements from it? According to the size of the picture. If the fragments are large and have clearly defined boundaries, they are cut out. If the drawing is small, it will stick one next to the other, they will be torn. This will make it easier to match the edges.

Gluing methods

You can only choose how to glue napkins for decoupage through experience. First of all, we decide what exactly we will glue with. Can:

• Varnish.
• Special glue.
• PVA - diluted or not.
• Glue stick.
• Egg white.

Gluing to varnish is no worse than gluing to glue. But after drying, you can’t do anything - the napkins become almost monolithic with the product. If you don't like something, you won't have a chance to change it. That’s why beginners most often use PVA glue - it’s cheaper and easier to work with.

If you decide to use PVA, you will have to think (or try) to use it diluted or undiluted. Most often it is diluted with ordinary water in a 1:1 ratio. When using such an adhesive composition, you must be prepared for the fact that the napkin gets wet from the water, can be pulled in different directions, and can tear due to careless movements. In general, you need to adapt.

A glue stick is also a good option... if you can get all the bubbles and wrinkles out. This occurs normally on smooth, slippery surfaces. If the surface is rough, this is much more difficult. It is safe to work with egg white, but it is specific, so if you want it, you have to try it.

How and where to apply the adhesive

Beginners usually choose their first object for decoupage to be small in size. In principle, this is not bad. It’s just desirable that the form be simpler: without large quantity bends.

If the decoration object is small, you can use a brush or fingers to apply the glue. Then use the same “tool” to level the napkin. Use a flat or straight brush - whichever is more convenient for you. Many people prefer to work with their fingers - you can feel all the folds.

When gluing napkins for decoupage, you can apply the glue to the object or to the napkin. They do this and that. When applying to a napkin, again, there are two techniques:

• The glue is applied evenly to the entire piece to be glued, applied to the base in the middle. Using movements from the middle to the edges, air bubbles are expelled and folds are straightened.
• A certain amount of glue is poured into the middle of the fragment. Next, the steps are the same: lay it on the base, smooth it out.

In the second technique, it can be easier to deal with bubbles and folds - with a large amount of semi-liquid glue it is easier.

What and how you do is not important. It is important that there are no wrinkles or bubbles

You can do the same if you spread glue on the base: make a small puddle in the place where you are going to glue the fragment, lay it down, and, lifting the edges, drive out the bubbles and smooth out the folds.

Decoupage of a flat surface: glue + iron

When decorating a flat surface, you can do it easier than driving bubbles through the entire napkin. Apply a layer of PVA glue to the primed surface or coat it with a glue stick. Spread well so that no “tracks” are formed. Let it dry. To speed up the process, you can take a hairdryer.

Place and level the napkin on the dry surface and smooth it with your hands. We place a piece of baking paper on it and begin to smooth it with a hot iron from the edge.

Decoupage for beginners - maybe try something like this?

As the glue heats up, it saturates the napkin. Usually it turns out quite smooth. When everything is glued, coat the top with more glue and let it dry. This is perhaps the easiest way to learn decoupage for beginners.

File+water and glue

Decoupage for beginners using a document file (choose thicker film), water and glue. This method is good if you will decorate with large drawings (cut out). Pour a little into the middle of the file clean water, place the cut out fragment in it, face down. We carefully straighten it, expelling bubbles and straightening wrinkles. In a puddle of water this is not difficult.

When the fragment is straightened, lift the edges of the file and drain the water. The design remains stuck to the smooth film. In this state it is convenient to “try it on” and look for the best place for it.

Having found the area where you want to place the decoration, we apply the design on the film and begin to smooth it out. This is a very difficult moment. You need to ensure that at least one edge of the napkin sticks. After one of the edges of the image has been fixed, gradually smoothing and lifting the edge of the film little by little, we ensure that the napkin remains on the base. If you act gradually, gradually gluing the picture to the base, bubbles or folds will not appear. This method is suitable as decoupage for beginners.

When one edge sticks, everything is no longer difficult

The last step is to coat the stuck napkin with diluted PVA glue. After it dries, we apply a protective layer of varnish.

A few secrets

This cannot be called methods of gluing napkins for decoupage. These are little tricks and tricks that can help you get rid of creases faster or better.

1. Before work, the cut out fragments are moistened with water from a spray bottle. The napkin stretches, but when it dries it no longer shrinks. If it has become very warped, it is ironed. Then use it as usual. Since the paper is already straightened, it hardly stretches anymore. Everything goes easier.
2. Moisten the fragment with acrylic varnish in the form of an aerosol. In this case, the napkin will become rigid, it will not stretch or form folds. But varnished, it no longer allows glue to pass through, so we coat the surface with glue and glue the treated napkin onto it.
3. Wet the napkin that is already lying on the base (dry) and only then coat it with glue. It's a little difficult to explain, watch the video.

We eliminate flaws

If the surface is decorated with small torn fragments, from which it is necessary to obtain a single whole, straighten the edges of the fragments with a brush or fingers. If there is color unevenness somewhere, dilute the paint of the desired shade and paint over the translucent base.

When the surface is no longer very wet, but has not yet dried, you can use thin brushes and acrylic paints to draw in the details, add brightness and clarity.

The next step is to decorate the edges of the product. There are different approaches here. In some places you have to trim the edges evenly, painting the sides, in others you can wrap the napkin on the back side and glue it there. In general, this is also a whole science.

Getting it to the finish line is an equally creative process.

After this, you can leave the product to dry. To speed up the process, you can use a hair dryer, but you need to keep it at a considerable distance, move it all the time and make sure that it dries evenly. If after drying you see that there is a fold on the glued napkin, you can still fix it. Take fine-grained sandpaper and sand it. We act gently so as not to damage the drawing around.

Varnishing

The dried product is coated with acrylic varnish on water based. You can use another one, but this one is considered the best. Apply one layer first, and after it dries, apply a second one. You can stop there, but if active use is expected (boxes, chairs, etc.) there may be more layers of varnish - three or four.

Photos of products using decoupage technique

Studying technology is not bad, but without knowing the possibilities, it is difficult to imagine what can be done and what can be expected. A few photos will help you decide what you can or want to do.

Decoupage can transform an old table into a new and very unusual one.

Stools are also an art object

This technique is called reverse decoupage - napkins are glued to the glass with the front side

And again we will talk about plates. I have already written about why I advise beginning decoupage artists, especially those who want to make work not only for themselves, but also for sale, to take a closer look at this type of decoupage. If for reverse decoupage you can only use transparent glass plates, then for direct decoupage any will do. Direct decoupage is somewhat more labor-intensive than reverse decoupage, but the result is much more interesting. On ceramic or glass plates, decoupage in most cases should look like painting on ceramics or porcelain. Of course, any decor, be it ornament, relief or textured surface, is welcome. But traces from a foam sponge (the most common defect in decoupage work), streaks from a brush, smudges of varnish are unacceptable. If you want to make a relief on some part of the work or decorate a plate with an outline, first achieve the ideal look of the entire work, and only lastly apply additional decor, and do not try to hide the defect with it. Believe me, it is always noticeable. Decoupage on plates can be done with napkins, decoupage cards, and printouts. Surface preparation and finishing work are the same in all cases. I will dwell in more detail on the most difficult option - decoupage with prints on large diameter plates, with a pattern covering the entire plate. Regarding napkins and decoupage cards, I just want to give a couple of tips. If you do decoupage with a napkin, it is often more convenient to glue it not entirely, but in parts. In this case, you can redraw the drawing. For example, this napkin, it would seem, is not at all suitable for decoupaging a plate. But I tore it into separate fragments and assembled it into this drawing.

If the printout can be made exactly as you need, then when working with decoupage cards, as with napkins, you have to adapt to the design. And most often, especially when working with decoupage cards, you can’t do without significant painting. By using printouts when decoupaging, underdrawing can be minimized. This is especially true for those who, like me, cannot draw. If the plate is less than 19 cm in diameter, then there are no special problems, because It is possible to print the entire picture on an A4 sheet. With a larger plate size, depending on the chosen picture, you can go in two ways. For example, on these plates the lower part of the picture is a printout, and the upper part is an underpainting. Anyone can paint a sky like the one on the first plate and a tree crown like the one on the second.

And, when using such pictures, any large-scale painting will already be noticeable. Therefore, I made these plates in the manner that will be discussed.

Of course, you can’t do without minimal painting. But I will try to tell you how to reduce it to a minimum.

I chose this picture for the future plate. My plate has a diameter of 24 cm. And if the picture is simply printed on an A4 sheet, then at least a 5 cm wide underdrawing will be required. I realistically assess my capabilities and therefore choose the option with minimal underdrawing.

First of all, I mentally (shown in red for clarity) draw a line in the picture that divides it into two parts, neither of which should be wider than 19 cm. If possible, the line should follow the existing lines of the drawing. The more successfully you manage to outline this line, the easier it will be to work with this picture in the future.

Then, in any graphic editor, rotate the picture so that the intended line takes a vertical position.

Not everyone knows Photoshop, so I will try to explain what to do next with this picture using only Word. Open a new page and in the “Page Options” settings set the page width to be at least 2 centimeters larger than the diameter of the plate. I set it to 27 cm. We set the minimum width of the margins, so that the drawing can fit on this sheet without distorting the dimensions.

Insert the drawing onto the sheet.

We cut off the right side of the drawing, so that the line that we mentally outlined is completely in the remaining part. The picture shows that the width of the picture is now 24cm instead. was only 16.47 cm.

Go to “Page Settings” again and set the standard A4 format.

Now the sheet with this part of the drawing can be printed.

We carry out a similar operation with the right side of the picture. And the mentally outlined line must enter completely into this part.

After printing, we get two such images.

We start decoupaging the plate with a primer. First wipe the plate with any degreaser. A primer can be used specially for glass and ceramics. I always use a primer, which I wrote about before. It suits me in all respects - high quality, cheap, and everything I need for priming is always at hand.

The first layer is applied to the plate with a very thin layer of white acrylic paint. I use construction acrylic paint. After 20 minutes, apply a very thin layer of acrylic varnish. It is better to apply the paint with a foam roller or just a piece of foam rubber, and the varnish with a wide synthetic brush. When the varnish has set, apply again - a layer of paint, a layer of varnish. But I repeat, the layers must be very thin.

After the second pair of layers has dried, the surface should be lightly sanded with the finest sandpaper. Apply paint and varnish again and let dry for at least 12 hours. And sand again. The surface of the plate should be absolutely smooth both in appearance and to the touch.

We cut out the printouts along the contour of the picture and along the line that we previously mentally outlined. Those. you get two halves, which when added form a complete picture. My printouts are made on calligraphy rice paper and do not require any additional preparation for gluing. If you make printouts on plain paper, then you will have to work with them more. When printing on thick office paper or photo paper, it is necessary to remove excess layers of paper. There are several ways to thin paper, any of them can be used. Prints made on plain paper no thicker than 60 denier. There is no need to completely thin it out. You can thin only the edges of the picture around the entire perimeter using sandpaper or tape. Such printouts must be soaked in water for several minutes before gluing. Decoupage cards also need to be soaked before gluing. The only exceptions are cards from those manufacturers who indicate that their cards do not need to be soaked.

The picture is glued to the plate with PVA glue or decoupage glue. When gluing it is necessary Special attention pay attention to the joining of the two halves of the picture. In most cases, it is almost impossible to cut out pictures so that they fit together exactly. But it’s better to have small gaps between them than for one part of the picture to overlap the other. When gluing a napkin, glue is not applied to the plate, but placed on top of the napkin. When gluing prints and decoupage cards, both the surface of the plate and the glued side of the picture are smeared with glue. When gluing printouts on rice paper and thinned printouts, do not apply glue to the printouts first. They are applied to the surface of the plate greased with glue and coated with glue on top. It is very important to ensure that there are no air bubbles left under the picture. All excess glue and air must be carefully expelled from under the picture with a rubber spatula or roller. After gluing, the picture must be allowed to dry thoroughly.

As I already wrote above, it is very difficult to do without painting at all, but it is possible to reduce it to a minimum. So on this plate I ended up with several small areas along the line where the picture joins that need to be painted on. Before painting, be sure to cover the picture with one layer of varnish. If you don’t like something when you start painting, thanks to the varnish layer, the paint can be easily wiped off immediately. It is quite difficult to choose the exact color. To get the desired color you have to mix at least 3-4 colors. But never save time at this stage. A small spot that does not match the color with the pattern can ruin the entire work. You need to look at the color of the paint before it dries, this is exactly what it will be like after varnishing. All painting must be done when only one coat of varnish has been applied. After several layers of varnish it is almost impossible to hide it.

When the painting is completely dry, we begin varnishing. Apply the varnish in a thin layer with a wide synthetic brush, making sure that no smudges form. After three layers of varnish, you can begin sanding with fine sandpaper. First, you need to sand very carefully, trying not to sand off the folds that formed when gluing on the edges of the plate. Due to the concave shape, it is not possible to paste without folds along the edges of the plate. Try to distribute the folds evenly without reducing their number. The smaller they are, the larger they will be. And it will be much more difficult to get rid of them. After the fifth to sixth layers of varnish, you can sand after each layer. Usually, at least 20-25 layers of varnish are required so that the folds and places where parts of the pattern join are completely invisible, but it’s worth it. The photographs below show what the edges of the plate looked like and the place where the fragments of the drawing were joined before and after underpainting and varnishing with sanding.

Decoupage plates

Decoupage plates are a unique and stylish way to decorate plain plates and get creative.

Basics of decoupage tableware: materials, techniques, recommendations

Today, vases, plates and various bottles, most often champagne bottles, have become a popular activity for modern housewives and even a way to make money using a favorite hobby.

Interesting fact: the first attempts at decoupage were discovered not 2-3 centuries ago, but even during the times of Ancient Egypt. Then, in order to preserve the papyrus, it was placed on the wall and covered with several layers of transparent resin.

After many years, it could be traced in the elements of a particular culture, but this technique reached particular popularity in the 17th-18th centuries in Italy and France when decorating various elements: from furniture to postcards and accessories.

In modern techniques, there are only 5 main techniques or types of decoupage:

1. Traditional or classic. For decoration, the image is pasted onto the selected surface and coated with varnish. It, in turn, is also divided into three types depending on what materials are used: decoupage using photographs, transferring a design from paper to the surface and using a special decoupage varnish.
2. Reverse decoupage. Patterns and drawings are applied not to the front side, but to the back side of the object (it is mainly used to decoupage plates).
3. Creating a volumetric effect. Not only napkin elements are used as materials, but also beads, stones, textures and fabric, and egg shells. Using this technique, decoupage is done on vases, watches, champagne bottles, plates, boxes and almost any other items that you like as a base.
4. The artistic technique attaches particular importance to blurring the boundaries between the base and the glued part to create one complete picture.
5. The deco patch absorbed the basis of the patchwork. Various shreds and pieces of paper are used for decoration. Three-dimensional objects look good in this style, so most often they make three-dimensional animal figurines and decorate champagne bottles.

What to pay attention to when decorating plates

Every housewife tries to make her kitchen cozy and unique. The most various methods decoration and the most common is decoupage.

Utensils created with its help: vases, plates, champagne bottles, saucers will not only decorate the kitchen or dining room, but also a good gift for loved ones.

Decoupage plates are an excellent choice for those who are just looking at this type of art. You can use any type of plates for decoration.

But, if you are not yet confident in your abilities, it is better to focus on flat products with a smooth surface. Optimal choice there will be plastic or porcelain utensils without drawings or ornaments.

Also, in addition to the basics, you need to stock up on the following tools and materials:

• napkins with scenes and patterns;
• decoupage glue and varnish;
• brushes with bristles made of synthetic fibers;
• acrylic paints;
• stencils and scissors.

Decoupage of plates can be created both on the front side of the product and on the back side.

In the second case, this is possible if you take a completely transparent glass or plastic plate as a basis. This technique is called “reverse” decoupage.

The main stages of creating a masterpiece from a plate

Decoupage of plates is not a complicated process at all and will not take much time and effort.

The first and most important step in the work is the complete cleansing of the working base. It needs to be washed, dried and degreased very carefully. If these conditions are not met, the end result may not please you and will forever discourage you from studying this technique further.

Next, we choose from the available napkins those that we like best. You can also combine several sections of different napkins to achieve one overall design. After the choice is made, you only need to separate the top layer of the napkin.

If you have chosen several patterns, then you should figure out in advance where each one will be located directly on the base. Place them on a plate and see how the composition looks. If the base will be decorated with one napkin, then you need to attach it to the plate and mark where the hanging areas will be. They need to be cut with scissors in advance.

Next, acrylic glue is applied to the laid out decorative elements and carefully distributed over the surface using a brush. You can also use a brush to smooth out any unevenness that may have arisen when laying out the drawings. You need to make sure that there are no air bubbles or folds under the napkins. After the glue is evenly applied to the entire plane, you can leave the product to dry.

The last step is coating with acrylic varnish and the decoupage of the plate is completed.

After this simple technique has been mastered, you can turn to reverse decoupage and the use of additional decorative elements: photos, creating a scuffed or craquelure effect.

Decorating other elements of dishes

I am sure that each of us has faced a dilemma when a beautiful bottle (for example, of liqueur or champagne) was left at home. The contents were gone, but it was a pity to throw it away. In this case, a good solution would be to decorate it using decoupage. You can use a variety of bottles, not only those of champagne or other alcohol, the main thing is that the bottle itself has an unusual shape.

Imagine how several bottles made in the same style, for example, Victorian, ethnic or Provence, will look in the kitchen.

The most popular now are images of flowers, small plots and ethnic patterns. In the Provence style, images of olive branches, spices and baskets of flowers using abrasions and craquelure would be appropriate.

You can also decoupage a vase that you are already tired of or has gone out of fashion.

This is an excellent solution for updating your interior. You can now find it in stores great amount absolutely transparent glass vases different forms and sizes. This is exactly what is best suited for decoration.

Decoupage is not a very complicated, but incredibly diverse decoration technique. Completely different objects are suitable as objects: plates, vases, champagne bottles, boxes, key holders and much more.

Such items will add uniqueness and special charm to your interior, and can also become an exclusive gift for family and friends.

Decoupage plates

Reverse decoupage

Natalia Karpova

Master class “Decorating a plastic plate”

using the decoupage technique.

Purpose: the plate can become an interior decoration item, a gift for mother or grandmother on March 8th. You can prepare such gifts with your children. Adults, by their example, can captivate children and make them want to work like adults. Creating and maintaining an upbeat, joyful atmosphere of joint work helps children express joy and satisfaction with the results of their work.

Target: introduce the decoupage technique and the basic techniques of working in this technique.

Decoupage (from the French decoupage - noun, “that which is cut out”) is a technique of decoration, applique, decoration using cut out paper motifs. Chinese peasants in the 12th century. They began to decorate furniture in this way. And in addition to cut out pictures from thin colorful paper, they began to cover it with varnish to make it look like a painting! So, along with beautiful furniture, this equipment also came to Europe.

Today, the most popular material for decoupage is three-layer napkins. Hence another name - “napkin technique”.

Application can be absolutely limitless - dishes, books, boxes, candles, vessels, musical instruments, flower pots, bottles, furniture, shoes and even clothes! Any surface - leather, wood, metal, ceramics, cardboard, textiles, plaster - must be plain and light, because the design cut out of the napkin must be clearly visible.

Materials for work:

disposable plate;

napkin with a themed pattern;

acrylic artist paints;

degreasing agent (nail polish remover);

PVA glue;

brush number 5;

sponge made from a sponge for washing dishes.

Step-by-step work:

We choose a disposable plate as a base blank.

At the preliminary preparation stage, degrease the surface of the plate with nail polish remover.

We dilute PVA glue in a 1:1 ratio.

Take a three-layer napkin and cut out the desired fragment. Separate the two lower layers; we only need the top layer with the pattern.

Place the piece of napkin on a plate, face up.

Gently coat a napkin with PVA glue on top, starting from the middle. (Be very careful - the napkin is thin and breaks easily)

To decorate the edge of the plate, cut a strip of napkin. Carefully tear off one edge along the entire length of the strip. Separate the top layer from the bottom and paste it along the edge, carefully smoothing out the folds.

We select acrylic paint by color. Using a sponge, apply paint to the surface of the plate in a “choke” pattern to obtain an openwork surface.

Leave to dry (you can use a hairdryer for quick drying).

After the product has dried, coat it with varnish in 2-3 layers.

The plate is ready. I wish you creative success!

Decoupage This is a special form of handicraft with which you can decorate your kitchen with your own hands. You can decorate anything: candles, flower pots, dishes. Any smooth surfaces can be decorated using this wonderful technique. The design is applied to the candles using a heated metal spatula, you can use a spoon, and the design is secured with liquid soap. There are several types of decoupage, you can create decorative dishes, or you can create beautiful dishes suitable for ordinary use. "Cold" decoupage does not involve firing finished product in the oven, and when “hot” - firing is required. Housewives all over the world enjoy decoupage, and I invite you to join the creative process.

Let's start with cold decoupage.
For it you will need dishes, or any item that we will decorate. You will also need a picture, it can be a special picture for decoupage, a postcard, a photograph or just a napkin, decoupage glue or simple PVA, a sponge and a brush with which we will apply the glue.

We clean the surface of the object and degrease it with alcohol, let it dry. Carefully cut out the desired part of the picture and apply glue. If the plate or glass will serve only decorative functions, glue the picture to the inner surface of the dish. If active use is expected, then to the external one. The picture needs to be glued with the front side to the glass, wait until the glue dries, and then carefully wipe off the paper base with a damp sponge. The picture will remain on the glass! Now you can coat the resulting product with a special glass varnish or acrylic paint in order to consolidate the result.

Everything you need for hot decoupage You can buy it from a specialty store or an artist store. Napkins, varnish, glue, paints and a marker for decoupage. Just as in the first case, we glue the picture to the cleaned glass; you can add brightness to it using a marker and paints. We coat the glass base with varnish and put it in the oven. Temperature 60-70 degrees, hold for 25-30 minutes. Such dishes can already be used without fear of damaging the design.

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