Decoupage is a master class. Decoupage technique for beginners

Have a hobby of the "Do it yourself" for girls and women in our time has become not so much fashionable as necessary: the lesson provides an opportunity to relax, develops women's energy, even helps to earn money! One of the directions in the vast world of hand-made is occupied by decoupage. A master class in this area can be visited in many places, but you can save yourself, having learned to transform things yourself.

Decoupage. What is it, where it comes from, why is it?

The very word "decoupage" is the French verb "cut" (feel the provence accent when pronouncing it: decoupage). Now it's a whole trendy direction of decorating, decorating or decorating objects with beautiful pictures and appliqués. Covered with a varnish after the label of carved beauty of paper, things and surfaces are transformed so that their aesthetic value increases by an order of magnitude.

Despite the foreign roots of the name of this technique, the very method of decoration was born in the east of Siberia, after which it moved to China, where, picking up the fashion trend, they began decorating furniture and making gifts themselves, making postcards. There they also massively produced blanks for decoupage - paper, colored parts.

Europe met with decoupage, if necessary: with great demand for fashionable then oriental furniture, local cabinetmakers could not provide the entire volume of orders. Therefore, there arose a whole line of production of fakes, which looked no worse than the original. The imitation of the mural painting, supposedly carefully painted patterns - it became fashionable even among the famous at that time persons, right up to Picasso and Madame de Pompadour.

Common techniques

The most popular ways of decorating developed into separate directions, and even acquired their adherents. Each is good in its own way and each is suitable for a certain type of objects or surfaces: shabby chic and ethno, Provence and Simplicity, Victorian style and the most fashionable - 3D decoupage. A master class of one of the techniques will be given below.

We begin the decoupage. Choose a surface, select materials

You can decorate and decorate almost everything, having a smooth surface and a suitable area for your picture. Of course, when you gain experience, you can try the forces in more complex forms of things. And for starters you can use covers of notebooks, postcards, furniture, clothes and shoes, vases, flower pots, candles, boxes, part of the walls, back panel of the gadget.

The most common and, perhaps, the simplest material for decoration - it was and remains napkins. Due to the popularity of decoupage, bright, colorful, interesting in design and design wipes were specially produced. But you can use the rest of the paper products: photos, newspapers, pictures from magazines, calendars, color prints. Optimum will be paper for decoupage, decoupage cards and wrapping. For the style of black and white decoupage fit minimalistic, but bright black printouts.

Of the additional materials will need those that probably already have at home: scissors, sponge, toothpicks, ruler, cotton buds. Separately it is necessary to buy glue and acrylic paints, sandpaper and hair dryer.

It is hard in teaching - it's beautiful in the end. Begin and Win

If the hands ask for something, and the mind says that this should be useful, then the technique of decoupage for beginners is just right. For the first works it is better to choose not too valuable and memorable thing. Maybe first we'll try on an ordinary plate?

After the materials are prepared, the pictures are selected, and the surface of the future masterpiece is degreased, proceed directly to the process of decoration in the technique of decoupage. The master class began.

The most important is the priming

If there is no special primer yet, you can use the simplest white acrylic paint. Then it will be necessary to wait until the surface dries, after which to apply another 1-3 layers, depending on the surface. This can take several hours, since this first layer is very important. For the impatient, there is advice - use a hairdryer. Primer is not just an initial layer, it is a foundation and a base, and it should be as smooth as possible.

Cooking pictures

If it is a napkin (usually they have two or three layers) - then you need to remove the uppermost thin layer - carefully, so that the picture remains intact. If it is a printout or a picture from a magazine, then you need to cut out the image carefully with small scissors. It happens that for styling and additional effect, the pictures are deliberately cut out not quite neatly or tearing out individual pieces along the edge - for this purpose a wet brush is used, which is drawn along the contour of the picture.

So, the primer dried up, and the surface is ideal for gluing. Now the picture can be pasted. Professionally engaged in this masters use a special lacquer or a transparent gel of water-based acrylic. At the initial stage, you can use a composition that is more accessible in all senses - water-diluted PVA glue. The consistency of this mixture should be like that of liquid yogurt, and before using it, you also need to shake it to avoid heterogeneity, which will prevent the smooth application of an already fragile picture.

Attach a picture - this is the most difficult in decoupage, because it must be done carefully, so as not to tear and wrinkle the image. To fix a picture on the plane of the object, you can use a glue stick, previously smeared the surface, and then attach the picture. Another way is to put the image on the surface prepared by the primer, and only then, applying exactly on the middle of the glue, accurately distribute it throughout the rest of the drawing.

If you use diluted PVA, it will take a certain speed, because it dries pretty quickly. You can do this: brush the dipped in water first, and then in the glue. Be careful not to introduce bubbles. If air hits can not be avoided, then with a rubber roller or fingers, expel the bubbles from under the picture. Apply several layers of glue / varnish, for quickness using a hairdryer. Excess glue, draining along the edges, it is better to clean with a damp sponge or cloth.

So, the picture is covered, and the layers of varnish have dried. Now you need to bring the creation to mind. To make the subject look harmonious, you can add a background shade by applying acrylic colors. Try to apply the thinnest layer to avoid cracking in the future. If you want to show the world an ostensibly ancient thing, then use special compounds. For example, our plate in the technique of decoupage, the photo of which is presented below, is additionally covered with a layer of crackel lacquer.

The more layers of varnish protect the surface, the better - professionals can cover their product with several dozen layers, but for beginners it will suit from 2 to 6.

Additional tools and materials

Masters who have reached heights in decoupage use a lot of additional tools to give special effects to their products. It can be the previously mentioned varnish for craquelure, various enamels, bitumen, facade varnish, resin - for "aging". For additional volume, structural bulk glues, gels, silicones are used. Wax paste, silver and gold, patina - the means of additional decoration can not be counted!

Nuances

If you fell in love with decoupage, the master class was useful to you, and you would like to continue creating unusual, original items, then read a few more tips:

• Varnish can be found in the building shop - parquet, acrylic, furniture.

• Choose brushes carefully - they should not leave hairs and stripes on the surface.

• For items to be used in water, a waterproof varnish is required.

• To prevent the printed photocopy from spreading, dilute the PVA and apply it to the image in two layers.

• Pictures from magazines should be held in water or sprayed with water from above to remove the upper thin layer.

• To prevent the picture from becoming "lost," do not use a dark background.

• When objects (vases, plates, glasses) are decorated in dark glass, you can recommend a white background under the picture, using a white color.

• Do not be afraid of experiments, because it is personal experience that helps to find new ideas and solutions that help to acquire your style.

So, as shown by our MC, decoupage is not such a complicated process, and through trial, experimentation, with the help of inspiration and imagination, you can create a real masterpiece that will decorate your house, become a wonderful gift to your friends or, perhaps, the desired acquisition of some connoisseur Beautiful.