We’ve just moved into a new house, and our old furniture doesn’t match at all with our nice, new furniture. Instead of getting rid of it, we decided to make the old furniture completley different, and a bit funky as well by covering it in old music sheets we picked up from the op shop.
The main piece we want to do up is a bookshelf, but I thought that was a bit of a big task to start out on, so I’ve started out by decoupaging the lazy susan first. I am loving the finished lazy susan, and can’t wait to start on the bookshelf this week! If you’re keen to have a go at some decoupage, then here’s a little tutorial for you.
You Will Need:
* Lazy Susan (or whatever piece of furniture you want to decoupage)
* Decoupage glue
* Old music sheets or old books- whatever you want to decoupage with
* Sponge brush
* Craft knife and/or scissors
Before we start, here’s a few tips:
- Use quite a large sponge brush, this will reduce any brush strokes you might get from a regular brush, or from a smaller sponge brush.
- A craft knife is way more useful then scissors.
- I cut some of the old music sheets into halves and quarters. These were good for edges, and covering small missing pieces.
- Use a two-in-one decoupage glue. One that is an adhesive, as well as a sealer.
Directions:
Make sure your piece of furniture is clean. Put your decoupage glue into a container so it’s easy to spread. An ice-cream lid would work well.
Add a layer of glue over the entire piece (if you’re doing a very large piece, just do one section). Make sure you do the sides as well on a piece like this.
Put the first piece of paper down (I’m using whole sheets of sheet music, as this is easiest). Glue over the parts of this piece that will be covered again. Layer pieces on until the furniture is completely covered. If there are any edges lifting up then glue them down.
For Round Furniture:
Using the craft knife (or scissors), trim around the edge of the lazy susan leaving about 2 inches of overlap.
Cut segments out from edge of the lazy susan about an inch or so apart. It’s best (and easiest) if you’re willing to get a little bit messy for this next part!
Dip your fingers in the decoupage glue, and coat the little flaps of paper. Check this is enough glue on the sides of the lazy susan, and then meld the flaps of paper down over the edge. Continue with all the pieces, making sure they overlap a big. Try to ‘rub out’ any crinkles, or parts of the paper that want to stick out.
Once you’re happy that this is all covered, wait for it to dry. You might need to wait up to 24 hours.
Once it’s dry, you can do your final layer of decoupage glue, which will be the sealer (remember, if you’re using a two-in-one glue, then this is just the same stuff you’ve already been using!). Let this one dry as well, and then you can start using it!
