When you unwrap your Christmas presents from under the tree this year, try to save the Christmas wrapping paper without tearing it too much. The decorative pictures on those colorful wrappers are just perfect for handicrafts, such as Decoupage.
While younger children can find hours of entertainment cutting out the pictures of Santa and his reindeer, red and white sugar candy canes, snow men and the like, and turning them into home made greeting cards, for example. You can be collecting your own set of paper pictures, to be used as a decoupage project.
Decoupage is a French word and it is hundreds of years old. It refers to the painstaking craft of sticking and varnishing cut out pictures on to everyday household items, such as plates, mugs, tea trays, lamp shades, small boxes and anything else with a surface that can be sanded, painted, glued and varnished.
I am unsure whether the French learned this art from items brought back from China by early traders, though it could have been the other way around with the Orientals learning from the French for all I know. The Chinese and Japanese are famous for their examples of this craft, with jewelry boxes, vases and even furniture screens being very popular. The process is sometimes referred to as "Japanning" because of the Asian influence.
And while the Oriental furniture is often based on dark varnished wood, your decoupage items can be crafted onto plates, cups, boxes or items of all shades and colors. All you need is a few simple tools like some scissors and a scalpel or box-cutter, some sand paper, varnish, paint and some glue.
One lady friend of mine in Sydney has a special thing about mermaid pictures. She lives with her totally spoiled Siamese cat, and has some mermaid plates in her home. Now she tells me she is going to create some mermaid waste paper bins.
I guess mermaids are a girlie thing, and she loves them. Other women get the same warm fuzzy feelings over cutouts of fairies. Just like little girls enjoying fairy parties all over again! But you don't have to use Santas or snowmen, mermaids of fairies. Just choose a theme you'll be pleased with, or something the person you give the item to later will enjoy.
Sort out the pictures you want to use and decide what target object they will go on. Cut out your decoupage pictures and lay them on the item so you have a rough idea of how and where you're going to glue them.
If the object needs painting, give it a rough sanding first, then brush off the sawdust thoroughly. Give the item a couple of thin coats of paint, drying completely between coats, and then sand it very lightly with fine paper.
Glue on your cutout Christmas wrapping pictures - or any decoupage pictures for that matter - onto the object and pat them down carefully, wiping with a sponge.
When the pictures are dry, you add a couple of coats of varnish to your creation, and, voila! You have a piece of decoupage art to show off to your friends. They'll even make great personalized Christmas gifts next year!
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