Decoupage of Christmas balls - Features, photo ideas and master classes

What is decoupage

The technique of gluing pictures on the workpiece is called decoupage. It is not necessary to know how to draw, because you glue a ready-made image, and after spreading it with glue and varnish, you get a complete product.

How to prepare the blanks

You can work with three kinds of balloons:

• wooden;
• glass;
• Plastic.

On glass ones it is difficult to glue a pattern, and you will need special paints - stained glass ones. Plastic ones can be rough, so they need to be carefully sanded. But a ball made of a board absorbs paint and varnish perfectly, so it is much easier to work with such a ball.

In stores for creativity are sold ready-made pictures for decoupage. But you can also take any image you like from multilayer napkins. They also make good crafts.

Before you start gluing the picture, the workpiece should be prepared:

• sandpaper it;
• paint;
• sanded.

After that, glue the picture, and then apply varnish, glitter, patterns - there can be many ideas for decorations.

It is better to tear off the chosen image from the napkin, not cut it out, so it will stick to the balloon more easily.

Master class on making a decoupage

Having prepared a wooden ball and selected the image on the napkin, you can begin the work:

1. Paint the blank ball in the desired color and let dry so that the paint does not take on.
2. Carefully tear off the edges of the napkin from the pattern and tear off the extra layers, leaving only the one with the pattern.
3. Put the pattern on the balloon in the right place, brush the whole picture with a brush, wetting it in the glue, and let it dry.
4. Coat the whole balloon with transparent varnish.
5. Decorate the ball with a ribbon or a bow.

If you use PVA, dilute it with water at a ratio of 1:1 before you begin. For the next time you work, make a fresh dilution.

Using a Stained Glass Outline

To make the lines on the balloon look three-dimensional, or in the case of decorating a painted base with patterns, use a stained-glass outline. This is a thick paint of different colors in tubes, which is convenient to apply thin lines, leading along the drawing and slightly pressing the tube.

The stained-glass outline can be used to highlight leaves, berries or other elements of a picture. It is applied to the already glued and dried image. The paint is dense enough and does not drip, so it will not damage the drawing.

If you want to make a general background with a stained glass outline or make a thick frame, use a brush.

Gold stained glass can be applied to the base of the balloon curls or draw snowflakes, because we have a New Year's theme.

Decoupage in papier-mâché style

If you've ever done papier-mâché, you've noticed some similarities with decoupage. True, in our case we glue one layer, while there are several layers used. If you want, you can decorate the Christmas tree ball in a papier-mâché style. Only you will have to glue the whole blank.

Soak magazine or newspaper paper in glue to make it soft and pliable, and glue the ball in pieces. A musical score will look beautiful.

Decoupage in a vintage style

You are unlikely to find vintage images on a napkin. Therefore, you will have to look for photos or postcards with pictures from a century ago. Applying a photo of an angel on the toy according to the above described technology, decorate the ball in the retro style with applique from beads or beads, apply stained glass patterns or scrolls. Only pick up the color in tone with the main one. Bright and contrasting colors will not convey the age of antiquity.

If you want to make the effect of a cracked surface, use a craquelure varnish. When you apply it, everything will be smooth and even, but as it dries, the varnish will crack, forming picturesque vintage traces.

New Year's Eve Balloon Series

When you get the hang of decoupage, you can start making a specific series, such as the signs of the zodiac. In this case, choose 12 blanks of the same size and images of zodiac signs in the same style. Base without a pattern on all the balloons do the same color to feel that it is a collection.

Peculiarities of work with plastic balls

To make a decoupage on a plastic balloon, you should take into account some features of the material:

1. First of all, wipe the workpiece with alcohol, primed, and after 2 hours, apply acrylic white paint and let dry. After that, sand it with a fine sandpaper.
2. Tear out the napkin image of Santa Claus, peel off the top layer and make darts, so that the image will fit tightly to the balloon. Glue it with a synthetic brush and smooth out the folds.
3. Choose a background color that matches the picture. If necessary, dilute the two colors. Use a sponge to paint the background, working carefully around the picture. Paint snow drifts and snowflakes with white paint.
4. Apply two coats of acrylic varnish.

Decorating Spheres

If desired, the balloon can be decorated with icicles. Apply a thick layer of glue from the bottom up to resemble the outline of an icicle. After the glue dries, paint the icicles blue.

Go over the icicles with a half-dry sponge dipped in white paint to imitate the snow. When dry, apply 5 coats of varnish. Do not forget to make a photo of this beauty, to show off your talents to your friends and relatives.

Three-dimensional patterns.

To get a three-dimensional pattern, you can cut out flowers and leaves from lace and glue them on a painted white balloon. After the glue dries, brush with a contrasting paint over the designs. Then remove the remains with a wet sponge. The paint will remain only between the patterns and will look like a beautiful shadow.

Work in the style of decoupage does not require special skills, and the results of the work are exquisite and unsurpassed.

Photo ideas for decoupage of Christmas balls