Decoupage on wood - Features of work, description of types and techniques, detailed master class for beginners

History of Decoupage

Such technique of decoupage was introduced in medieval Europe. By means of such decor they decorated the facades of furniture in Germany in the 15th century. In Italy in the 17th century there was a big demand for such decoration. The cabinetmakers used paper decor in the form of pictures to decorate inlaid furniture.

The fashion for such products arose after the era of the Great Discoveries, when furniture pieces decorated in Chinese or Japanese style became popular among the European elite.

Materials and tools

Before starting work, you should master the basic instructions and rules underlying the technique of decoupage, get acquainted with a set of tools and peculiarities of processing the pasted surface with drawings.

Before the beginning of the work it is necessary to prepare:

• wooden products, the surface of which will be decorated;
• paper napkins with suitable images;
• brushes;
• PVA glue;
• colorless acrylic varnish and acrylic paints;
• dry napkins;
• primer;
• scissors;
• putty on wood.

Tip! Beginners can buy in stores for creativity special kits for decoupage, which have everything you need to work.

Preparatory phase

Before you start decorating a wooden surface, it should be properly prepared for work. Usually in the technique of decoupage the restoration of old wooden surfaces, which must be prepared for the work. To do this, the workpiece is cleaned of dirt and dust with a damp microfiber.

If there are cracks, irregularities and chips on the wooden surface, they must be sealed with a special wood putty. The primer should be applied to the wood surface with a spatula. When the putty dries, the wood should be processed with a fine sandpaper.

After that, you need to prime the surface, dry it again sanded. After that you should remove the working dust and proceed to glue the paper image. If the wooden product, which will be decorated in the technique of decoupage, is old, the priming should be carried out twice. This pretreatment will make the wooden surface perfectly smooth and allow the paper decorations to stick firmly.

When the workpiece is ready, you need to decide on the decorations by choosing a suitable thematic image. Tissues with the image can be used anything, most importantly, that the picture should be glued on evenly. The easiest way for a beginner to work with three-layer paper napkins, which have a certain quality of paper.

Step-by-step instructions for the decoupage technique

Before you begin, you need to remove the layer with the image and cut out the necessary pictures for decorating. You do not have to worry about the fact that thin paper can tear. The picture in the glued state will look intact, if it is properly placed on the wooden surface.

Instead of scissors, you can carefully tear out the images on the thin colored layer of the napkin with your hands. Beforehand, it is necessary to make at least a rough sketch so that it would be easier to lay out the necessary decorations from paper pictures on the surface of a wooden workpiece.

After all the pictures from the napkins are prepared, the paper fragments should be placed on the object to be decorated in order to see how the overall pattern will look like. When the sketch of the future decor will look finished and it will be clear where to glue the paper fragments, you can proceed directly to the decoupage itself.

Decoupage technique: the main points

The algorithm of such a decor is simple:

• on the paper fragment is applied with a soft brush glue;
• the picture is glued to the wooden surface;
• the glued image is dried;
• Colorless acrylic varnish is applied to the decor made of paper napkins.

Varnish coating of the finished work is the final step. The lacquer is applied in two layers. If desired, special coatings can be used to create a patina effect or an aged surface with characteristic cracks.

These are the basic basics of the decoupage technique. Besides them there are special varieties of such decor, which will be described below. After you have mastered simple decoupage you can pass to more complicated ways of decorating wooden surfaces with images from paper tissues.

The technique of decoupage "tissue-in-wood"

This is a more complex technique, for the use of which in the decoration of wooden products will require additional materials:

• wax;
• cloth for polishing the waxed surface;
• a gas burner for firing;
• metal brush.

This decoupage technique is performed on the basis of wood brushing - artificial aging of the surface. First, the wooden surface is prepared, which is given an antique look. To do this, the front side of the wood is burned with a torch, then part of the burnt surface is removed and the wood is brushed: a metal brush that is moved with light pressure along the wood fibers.

This technique removes the top layer of soft wood fibers, making the texture of the wood clearer and more distinct. Brushing resembles scraping the wood. Such an operation must be done carefully, otherwise you can damage the wooden workpiece.

Pre-firing the wooden surface destroys the soft wood fibers and simplifies the brushing process.

After brushing is complete, the wood should be sanded with sandpaper of different grit sizes, pre-treated with a stain or varnish. Sanding should also be carried out along the fibers of the wood.

After such wood aging, start waxing. When the waxing is finished, the surface should be sanded and polished. Then the paper pictures can be glued on by applying glue. When the paper decor is fully applied, the surface is dried and coated with acrylic varnish. You can also use the technique of craquelure - the creation of small cracks, imitating an aged paint surface. For this, you can use a special krakelure varnish.

Master class on decorating a cutting board in the technique of decoupage

After mastering the decoupage method, you can try to make your first work. Beginners should choose small products with a flat surface for decorating. The best for this is a cutting board made of wood.

For the work you will need to prepare:

• Wooden cutting board;
• a white wood primer;
• paper three-layer napkins;
• PVA glue;
• sponges;
• brushes;
• acrylic varnish and acrylic paints.

If the surface of the board is old and dirty, it should be sanded. Then the prepared workpiece is primed and dried. While it dries, select a suitable pattern for the decor. To create an original image, you can combine fragments of designs from different napkins, creating original themed pictures.

A white layer of primer will be the background for the image. It may not be covered by glued images around the edges. The glue will be applied with a brush to the paper picture, not to the wooden surface.

When all the fragments of the image are glued, you need to let the decor dry, and then cover it with acrylic varnish in several layers. It is optimal to apply 5-8 layers of varnish. Each layer should dry well before applying the next one.

Having mastered the technique of decoupage, you can with your own hands transform the living space at home or at the cottage. Such decor allows you to give old furniture a spectacular appearance. With the help of decoupage you can create original household items that will be a great gift for family and friends. Those who are seriously interested in such applied creativity, can turn it into a profitable business.

Photo ideas of homemade decoupage on wood