Do you have old cabinets that need replaced but cost too much? Are your lampshades looking a little worse for wear? Would you just like to give a different look to things like mirror or picture frames? You can update the way many things in your home look by starting with an adhesive called decoupage. The adhesive looks like thick, white glue and is used to affix paper or fabric to any number of objects.
Purchase the decoupage adhesive at craft stores and some discount department stores. Its not expensive and a little goes a long way. The glue is generally applied with a foam paint brush, or a much smaller brush, if youre working with tiny objects.
Cabinet doors can look scratched and chipped but you can easily give them a brand new look. Remove the hardware from the cabinet door and attach the new cover with decoupage, or just work around the cabinet door handle. One easy way to do that is to cut squares of fabric or paper. Apply a small amount of the glue to the cabinet door then position the square. Move on to the next square, then the next. Completely cover the door with the squares. If there are bubbles, or raised areas on the door, use a little sandpaper to smooth before applying the new fabric or paper. When the glue has dried use the decoupage to give a sealing coat to the paper or fabric. Simply paint the glue over the new cabinet door youve created with the paper or fabric. You can use the decoupage technique on many different items. Plastic, wood, metal and other materials will easily accept the decoupage. Change the look of your hamper, picture frames, trash cans, drawer fronts, mirror frames, cornices, lamp shades and much more. There are few surfaces that you cant change using the decoupage adhesive. You dont necessarily have to completely cover the surfaces you want to update. Cut patterns, stripes or other shapes that can be decoupaged onto the particular surface. Use scrapbook paper, leftover wallpaper pieces, pictures cut from magazines, product labels, and other paper-type materials to decorate the items in your home. You can even decoupage lace onto various things in the house. Fabrics you choose for the decoupage projects should be lightweight but not ultra-thin. Stretchy fabrics can cause some problems, too. Cotton, rayon, lightweight lace, satin and even narrow or wide ribbon are all suitable for using with decoupage. Thin paper, cutouts, punched out paper pieces, and even confetti can all be used to decorate with decoupage. Take an ordinary plate, decoupage a piece of Christmas fabric onto it, and you have a display plate for the holidays. Or, cut out paper shapes with a punch and glue them all over a lampshade. Strategically place the cutouts over stains or tiny tears in the lampshade and itll look brand new again. Decoupage lace onto a bedroom trash can for a touch of elegance. Use the special glue to attach cutouts of moons, stars and suns and affix them to a childs bedroom ceiling. There is no limit to the things you can change with paper and glue. Even the soap in your bathroom can benefit from a decoupage make over. Cut a holiday picture, glue it to the soap, then add layers of decoupage over the picture. You can still bathe with the soap, but over a period of time, the image will begin to fade away. The more layers of decoupage you put over the picture, the longer the picture will stay intact while bathing. Have lots of fun with the decoupage projects around your house and get the kids involved! They can glue fabric lettering on their bedroom doors. They can print out pictures of pets and make a border for their walls. Kids can even glue paper or fabric to other things in their rooms, like mirror frames, hamper or drawer fronts. Supervise children while doing any decoupage projects.
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