Decoupage vases: style directions and subtleties of design

Decoupage (cutting) technique came to us from France. It really is based on cutting cute pictures that transfer to the surface of the subject. It doesn’t matter what material the item is made of: glass, ceramics, clay, metal, wood, because under the decor layer it is difficult to understand the original structure of the product.

Any vase made using the decoupage technique becomes magnificent and unique. No one will even remember how dull and standard the industrial design looked before the transformation.

The first mention of the technique of pasting with appliques of various objects came to us from medieval China. In this way, the Chinese decorated their furniture. In the XVII century, Europeans also began to massively decorate furniture with pictures. The Venetians applied up to 40 layers of varnish on it in order to reliably protect it from environmental influences.

Decoupage is a masterful way to decorate any item and the interior itself with your favorite pictures. But it is not enough just to cut and glue the drawing to the surface, it still needs to be soaked, remove excess paper, leaving the thinnest layer with the picture. In this state, with the help of glue, the image falls on the subject of decoupage and is fixed with varnish.

Today, craftsmen are actively returning to ancient technology, there are various reasons for this.

• Availability and variety of material. In this regard, the old masters could envy modern needlewomen.
• You can economically and beautifully update furniture.
• With the help of decoupage they stylize the room, using the technique on virtually everything: walls, floor, ceiling, furniture, on windows and doors. Originally decorate the interior with small gizmos: vases, dishes, candles, caskets.
• Creative people get a lot of pleasure from work and the fruits of their labor.

A vase is a common item in every home, and if it does not match the style of decor, it will have to gather dust in a cupboard or sideboard. You can stylize a vase using decoupage technique. We offer you to consider photographs depicting vases prepared to support styles of different directions.

• Country style clay jug.

• Vase in the style of Provence, made in a characteristic lavender color. The decoupage technique used surface aging, braid involved.

• Continuation of the theme of Provence. In work on vases, the craquelure technique was used.

• Items designed to guide shabby chic. Made using texture paste and a technique that imitates abrasion.

• Shabby-chic vases using braided thread.

• Decoupage of a glass vase (shabby chic) ​​using fragments of tulle and jewelry.

• Rococo style, decorated flower vase.

• Direction retro (seventies).

• Pasting vases with newspapers using the decopatch technique (a kind of decoupage) fits the direction of simplicity.

• Beautifully decorated vases can create a holiday. Sometimes festive motifs are in the design of the product itself: New Year's, Christmas, Easter vase.

• New Year's volume decoupage made on a round glass vase.

• Christmas motives.

• Glass Easter vase in country style.

To make a vase decoupage with your own hands, you need to prepare in advance the tools and materials for the upcoming work. Everything is purchased in the construction markets and in needlework stores. Beginners can use the sales department of the office.

In shops for creativity, they buy ready-made pictures on decoupage cards, rice paper, napkins. But this decoration technique allows you to work with the picture on any paper media: magazines, newspapers, photographs, posters - on everything that can be found at home.

So, for work you will need:

• a vase of any size, from any material;
• pictures (the motive is chosen to taste);
• acrylic foundation;
• varnish according to the material of which the vase is made, as well as finish varnish;
• soft brushes;
• sandpaper;
• degreasing alcohol;
• gypsum or acrylic primer;
• PVA glue, half diluted with water, or clerical glue, you can use special for decoupage;
• sponge for shading paint;
• a basin of water in which pictures will be soaked.

The basic set of materials and tools is listed. With it, you can make the simplest version of decoupage. For the flight of creative imagination, additional materials will be needed. If you intend to make the drawing voluminous, use a textured paste with special fillers, for example, sand. This will help create the relief that the landscape picture will cover.

Vases are decorated with rhinestones, round glass beads, feathers, mother of pearl, and even eggshell. Sometimes, to complement the artistic image, you may need fabric, foil, gold thread or ribbons.

The preparation of a glass, ceramic, or plastic flower vase is different. A primer may be applied to the plastic surface. Smooth and gliding materials are left as they are before gluing., only lightly treating with coarse sandpaper to create adhesion between the surface and the adhesive base.

Knowing the basic techniques of decoupage technique, they can be used at home on any objects and surfaces. But for better work you will need an individual approach. Consider master classes in vases made from several different materials.

A plastic surface is usually primed to create a more expensive look. After drying they sand it with sandpaper, achieving absolute smoothness. Then painted twice tonal acrylic paint. Sometimes as the first layer use white paint and then apply a tonecorresponding to the picture. Dry surface before gluing degrease with alcohol. The napkin is placed in a basin with water, then it is taken out, laid out face down and the carrier paper is removed, leaving only the top layer with the pattern. For example, wipes are three-layer, which means that two layers should be removed.

Prepared Thin Layer Pictures smeared with glue and gently applied to a defatted surface. Often, a picture is cut or torn into fragments, and the composition is connected already on the vase itself. Every item gently smooth with a wet brush. The finished product must be left to dry completely, and then applied to the surface several layers of varnish.

The glass is transparent, and decorators often use it to perform the reverse decoupage technique.

An example of direct decoupage is given above. Decoration is carried out on the outside of the vase, that is, on glass.

Getting started on a vase, it should be washed off the dust, dried, and then do everything, as in a direct decoupage, only in the opposite direction. First, a picture is glued under the glass, then a craquelure is applied, the background is extinguished and fixed with a finish varnish.

By decorating a large floor vase, you can completely change its visual structure. With the help of putty and gypsum soil, it is quite possible to turn it into an old antique vessel, then select the appropriate picture and cover it with matte varnish.

The technique of "cutting pictures" only at first glance seems simple. In fact, it is quite versatile, divided into types: direct, reverse decoupage, classic, volumetric. Having renewed the vase in the usual way of direct decoupage, with the help of auxiliary elements it is turned into a real masterpiece. To verify this, consider a few additional techniques used in the decoration process.

You can recreate the image of a hundred-year-old thing from a new, just purchased vase, in several ways. One of them is the artificially created scuff of the subject. To apply this technique, you must prepare two types of contrasting acrylic paint, brushes, wax or a wax candle, and fine-grained sandpaper. The vase is first painted in a light color, give it time to dry. Then wax the places of future scuffs. Apply dark paint and again completely dried.

At the next stage, using sandpaper (or a hard sponge), carefully remove the wax, rubbing the surface to obtain a realistic look of the aged product.

You can simulate an aged surface by cracking paint. For this, the vase is uniformly painted in any color, dried. Then a layer of special craquelure varnish is applied to the surface, dried almost until ready. The vase is again covered with acrylic paint, but already diluted. Leave to dry for a day, during this time, and cracking of the upper layer occurs.

Represents very thin sheets of gilded metal. They are used for decoration instead of gold leaf.If the vase is glass, for work you will need special brushes, glue and varnish (shellac), produced especially for gilding. A vase is made with a potal in a silver or gold version, and then they work using the decoupage technique.

Imitation of plaque, which happens on bronze, brass or copper items obtained by oxidation for a long time. Most often, the patina looks like a greenish-brown surface, but there are other colors that accurately repeat the natural shades of this phenomenon. The patination technique can be made on any material, it effectively helps to emphasize the aging traces of processed objects.

As you can see, decoupage has every opportunity to create a vase of your dreams, according to taste, style and mood.

In the next video, watch a glass vase decoupage workshop.