DIY + Giveaway | Using Decoupage from Furniture Makeovers

Earlier this spring I wrote a little review on Knack Studios' Barb Blair's new book, Furniture Makeovers and now we're thrilled to bring you a DIY from the book as we ride along on the book's official blog tour! Chronicle Books sent over one of my favorite projects from the book, "Using Decoupage". And as you'll see Barb's technique and explanation, make for a simple project that anyone can do. I know I have an old dresser here just waiting for a good makeover! But first, check out this cute trailer for the book!



And now here's the instructions on how to decoupage (Knack-style):

Using Découpage

Découpage is an age-old technique that was used centuries ago in places like France, China, and Russia and was extremely popular in the 1960s when crafting became the “groovy” thing to do! The word découpage actually means “the art of using cut-out paper, plastic, or other flat material over which varnish or lacquer is applied.” Over the past several years, découpage has evolved, and even modern enthusiasts have embraced its beauty.

 

Before you start, prepare your piece of furniture by filling any unevenness or holes with wood filler using a putty spatula, sanding with a fine sanding sponge, and cleaning the surface with a damp shop towel. You want the surface to be completely smooth before you apply the paper design.

Materials
Ruler
Paper for your design
Scissors or craft knife
Adhesive: wallpaper paste if using wallpaper, or Mod Podge depending on the paper being used
Small paint tray
Paintbrushes: small craft brush for adhesive, Purdy Nylox brush for final Mod Podge layer, and White China Brush Series brush for polyurethane finish
Craft knife
Plastic squeegee
Mod Podge
Polyurethane, water based
Sanding sponge

1. Measure with a ruler and cut the paper carefully with your scissors or craft knife so that it matches the size of the area to be covered. Pour an ample amount of adhesive into a small paint tray, and using the craft brush, apply a thin layer of adhesive to both the surface of the furniture and the back of the paper. You will want to keep the adhesive only in the area where you are working. Adhesive dries quickly, so apply the paper immediately, and lay the paper design down carefully.

 

2. Once you’ve applied the paper to the piece of furniture, smooth it gently with your fingers. I recommend using a small plastic squeegee to get the paper ultra-smooth and squeeze out any excess glue that will cause rippling. The most important thing is to work from the center of the paper out to the edges; this technique works out any air bubbles and excess glue. Be sure to keep some extra towels on hand to keep your fingers clean while working with the paper. You do not want to transfer glue or dirt from your hands to the top of the paper. I promise there will be lots of glue on your fingers, as this is a very messy technique, so try to keep your hands as clean as possible throughout the project.

3. Continue applying pieces of paper as stated above, working in sections until the furniture you are working on is entirely covered with the desired amount of paper. Upon completion of each section, apply a layer of Mod Podge over the top with the Nylox brush, especially in a collage design, to ensure proper adhesion.

4. When all of the paper has been applied, and the Mod Podge is completely dry, it is time to apply a coat of polyurethane to the project. This provides both a nice finished look and protection for the paper you have so lovingly applied to your piece. I highly recommend a polyurethane coating over Mod Podge, because I have found that sometimes Mod Podge can remain “tacky” even when it is completely dry. A polyurethane coat, applied with the China brush, ensures a smoother surface, and will dry completely. After you have applied two to three coats of polyurethane, allowed proper drying times, and sanded lightly with a sanding sponge between each coat, your piece is ready to go.

All above photo's by J. Aaron Greene.

Whether it be decoupaging, dry brushing, stenciling, using milk paint, the techniques are endless and guaranteed to bring inspiration to your next furniture makeover project.  Definitely a must-have if you're considering refinishing an old piece.

Follow the rest of the blogtour here:

Tuesday, July 23 – The Curated House and Ambrosia Creative

Wednesday, July 24 - The Bedlam of Beefy

Thursday, July 25 – Decorology

Friday, July 26 – Bloesem

(and previous posts here):

Monday, July 15 – A Beautiful Mess

Tuesday, July 16 – The City Sage and Cranny + Me

Wednesday, July 17 – Urban Comfort

Thursday, July 18 – Indie Craft Parade

Friday, July 19 – Simply Grove

Photo: Carlton Riffel Photography

Book + Knack Tote Giveaway!

Now for the giveaway! Chronicle Books is offering a signed copy of Furniture Makeovers and a Knack tote for Poppytalk readers! To enter - there are two ways: Leave a comment here at our blog post for one entry and/or leave a comment on our instagram @poppytalk at the tote image (as seen above) tagging a friend at the same time for another.  Entries will be open till Tuesday, July 23/13 until 6pm (Pacific). We'll announce a winner Wednesdsay here at this post. Good luck!

Update:  Congrats to Natalie Kay!  You are the lucky winner!  Please email us at poppytalkblog[at]yahoo[dot]ca with your mailing address!

Furniture Makeovers is also available to purchase on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, IndieBound, or Chronicle Books.
Simple Techniques for Transforming Furniture with Paint, Stains, Paper, Stencils, and More
By Barb Blair • Photographs by Aaron Greene
ISBN 9781452104157
ISBN10 1452104158

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DIY: Faux Marble Table Top

This weekend I did a little makeover (IKEA hack really) on our old DOCKSTA table that was looking a little dingy.  We've had that table for over five years I think (maybe 7) and the top was showing it, definitely in stains, scuffs and dings.  So I know this is more of a temporary solution as I don't know how long this will last, but whatever it is, it's a big improvement over what we had.  Check out my before and after:

It's hard to see the stains in the picture (but trust me they're there), and yes I switched out the kitchen chairs with the dining ones (they just seemed to want to be together after this - and we don't have a dining table anyway yet).  We hope to build a nook type banquette eventually here with maybe even a real tulip table one day (dream).

My how-to? I used faux marble contact paper!  I know (pretty temporary) but I might purchase a glass top to cover it, or when it does start to peel (er, um melt), I'll just lay some new stuff!  (I was inspired by Catherine Therrien's project in April's Style at Home where she used washi tape). Laying it was super tricky and measuring it was worse, as anyone who has one of these tables knows, it's super heavy; so to flip over to trace out a nice circle was not going to happen.  But basically I just placed the paper (design face down) and then traced with a pencil the circle that way.  And then applied!  The paper I picked up (Grip-Tac) was pretty bubble proof so really no bubbles to be had, but the ones that did appear I popped with a pin.  And that was it.  My faux marble table top! (Psssst! I kind of want to marbelize everything now).

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DIY: Hanging Belt Vessel

I've been saving some pretty cute Italian juice jars recently for a possible project in my future, and finally was inspired. Later last week I saw a hanging lantern (a white glass one with leather straps).  And so I thought it would be fun to adapt that idea into a DIY hanging terrarium for our bathroom window.  This project could morph into other things of course from a lantern, a flower vase, my son suggested even an aquarium, but an airplant terrarium it is; and it happens to be super easy to make! I love the air plant I found –a long piece to fit easily into the juice bottle. I picked up my air plant at the Prickley Pear (they have heaps) in friendly neighborhood Steveston (or for Once Upon a Time fans - Storybrooke). One could use any jar (mason, milk, etc.) of course;  I picked up the skinny belts at H&M –so affordable at $7 for a project like this; but I also ran into some on sale at Joe Fresh (Superstore) for under $5 this weekend (thanks Janis for the tip)!

Materials Used:
Peanut butter (to remove the label)
Jar (milk, juice, mason)
2 skinny belts
an awl (or a similar pointy tool - I've even made belt holes with forks in the past in a crunch).
scissors
air plant
pebbles
moss (optional)
crazy glue or strong double sided tape

To start –I cleaned the label off the jar - and was looking for a non-chemical solution to remove the glue/paper off the jar and found an amazing alternative –peanut butter!  Yay! Just smear it over the glue part (let sit for a few minutes) - and then scrape off with a butter knife.  It was gone in about 3 minutes with a little muscle!

Next –measure your belts.  One will be wrapped around the neck of the jar and the other will be wrapped from the bottom up buckling at the top.  After you have measured –take the belt pin and mark where you will be wanting to punch your holes for each one.  One will be very short, the other longer.  Using the awl, push a hole right through the belt to create a new belt hole for each.

Prepare your jar interior.  If using as an air plant terrarium, really you don't need anything but the plant if you like, but I added pebbles for a little interest - and you could also opt for some moss.  I ended up passing on the moss, as I was afraid if I didn't like it - it might be hard to remove (due to the small neck on my bottle).

And then for the final set up.  This part is simple really –probably harder to explain than do.  But basically start with the neck belt first.  Wrap it around and buckle.  Then using a scissors, trim the excess left over belt.  With the second belt, set the bottom of the jar on the center of the belt and then pull both ends through the inside of the first belt on each side of the jar (you might have to loosen the first belt a bit to do this), and then once pulled through, just buckle up the top and then secure the neck buckle.  You can at this point secure the belts a little more to the jar with some crazy glue or a strong double sided tape (on the bottom and sides).  Or if you want to make it really sturdy, grab another belt and run it opposite the other. And then - that's it!  Easy yes?

And that is it!  A simple and fun-to-make little decor piece to hang in a bath, kitchen or give as a gift!  Happy making!
~Jan

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DIY Birch Bark Nightlight

Contributor post by Chelsea of Lovely Indeed

I recently was gifted a little supply of birch bark, and it immediately got my brain working overtime on how to use this awesome material! I had never worked with it before so I thought simple would be best. And to me, birch bark has always been beautifully simple anyway. So after a little bit of daydreaming, I came up with this sweet, simple nightlight -- perfect for little ones and big ones, too! Gather your materials:

• birch bark sheets (if you need a source, a quick Etsy search should turn up a few)
• a plain nightlight (I found mine at a dollar store)
• paper and pencil
• scissors
• gold spray paint
• masking tape
• firm foam 
• strong adhesive
• clamp

Begin by removing the shield from the nightlight and masking off the electrical portions. Also, cut a piece of foam to a 1/2-inch cube. (If you don't have foam, you can use any material that will create some space between the light and the birch bark.)

In a well-ventilated area, spray paint the nightlight and the foam gold.

Draw a heart on a sheet of paper and cut it out. I chose to draw freehand because I wanted a natural look, but you can also print out shapes from your computer. Trace the heart onto the back of the sheet of birch bark in a nice flat spot. Carefully cut it out with your scissors, being careful not to snap or bend the bark.

Spread a layer of adhesive on opposing sides of your foam cube and sandwich it between the heart and the nightlight. Use a clamp to hold the pieces together while they dry thoroughly.

Once they're dry, remove the clamp and test out your light! Put it in a spot where you need a little glowy love. Have fun!

......................

Chelsea Costa is an actor and blogger living in Los Angeles. Her blog, Lovely Indeed, focuses on a DIY lifestyle and all of the happiness that comes along with it. Follow her on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram.

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Amazing DIY Table + Free Downloadable Plans

Fiona and Doug of Cartolina just finished an amazing DIY table and office expansion to accomodate their new shipping and distribution system they are changing to this year. Doug built them a new shipping room with a space devoted entirely to packing boxes along with this fantastic table using plumbers, cast iron pipes and fittings. Isn't it fantastic? Luckily they're sharing how it's made on their blog including downloadable plans! My mind is now spinning with possibilities! (Click here for the link to the DIY and free downloadable plans to make)! A few more pics below.

Visit Cartolina online and be sure to check out their cool iPhone apps including their new mailroom app which includes retro-inspired templates to communicate with your clients (so awesome).

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