Botanical Decoupage

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What You'll Need

Materials

  • Martha Stewart Crafts decoupage
  • Utility knife
  • Paint
  • Brayer or bone folder
  • Cotton swab
  • Fine grit sandpaper
  • Polyacrylic varnish

Instructions

  1. Unroll the wallpaper, and tape it to a prepared craft surface. Tape all sides down, so that the wallpaper lies flat.

  2. Seal the patterned side of the paper with one coat of Martha Stewart Crafts decoupage. Fragile paper should be sealed on both sides, but let one side dry before doing the other.

  3. After the paper is dry (and flat again), cut out the motifs on a cutting board with a utility knife, or use scissors. If you like, use double-sided tape to try out various designs with your images.

  4. Before gluing the motifs to your furniture, be sure the surface is prepared properly. If you are painting your furniture before decoupaging, it must be sanded and then painted; the paint must be cured for at least 4 or 5 days.

  5. Working quickly, apply Martha Stewart Crafts decoupage with a paintbrush to the back of the cutout motif, and place it onto furniture. Use a brayer or a bone folder to press out wrinkles, and a cotton swab to wipe away excess glue that comes out. Intricate pieces will need additional gluing, so go in with a small paintbrush to affix small parts to the piece. Take your time to make sure all parts of the motif are securely glued down using the cotton swab, paintbrush, and brayer as your tools. Let glued image dry overnight.

  6. Varnish motifs with three coats of polyacrylic varnish (lightly sand with the finest grit sandpaper and dust in between coats; be sure each coat is dry before starting the next). When applying varnish use light coats, and never brush again over areas that have been already been done as this will make the varnish cloudy when it dries.

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