Decoupage a Vintage Plaque

Aging Your Decoupage Project

I am looking for a decoupage technique that I used years ago when in Home Ec class, back in the 70's.

We took plain wood, sanded it, and then I don't remember the rest of the process.

We stained the wood and made marks in the wood with hammer and nail head, small chain links, scraped some of the wood off of a corner, took a utility knife and cut some small, triangular pieces of wood out of it, all to make it look old.

We found pictures out of magazines that we wanted and gently tore the edges of the paper and applied to the wood. We made the paper look old and antique by applying some kind of stain, I think.

The final step was to apply varnish, let dry, lightly sand, reapply varnish, again lightly sanding and repeating this process until it was to our liking, I believe about three or four coats of varnish.

In between some of these steps we used a tack cloth, but can't remember when. We screwed in an ornamental, metal hanger to hang on the wall. Please help me figure out the procedures for this method of decoupaging and the appropriate supplies I will need.

Thank you for any help you may have.

Victoria

You start by saying you don't remember the rest of the process; then proceed to give an excellent lesson on how to do distressed wood decoupage!

The only comments I can think to add are a few product updates and to tell you where the tack cloth comes into play. After each light sanding of the varnish (or any finish) coats, you use a tack cloth the pick up any loose dust that clings to your project.

Your choices of images are no longer limited to magazine or book photos. Today, you can print anything your heart desires right from your own computer. Read our tips on how to decoupage using laser or inkjet copies by clicking here.

Sierra's Print Artist Gold contains an excellent gallery of vintage ads and artwork which would be wonderful for the type of project you describe.

It looks like the program is no longer in production, so it's sold as a closeout item and you can get it really cheap. (Try eBay if you can't find it elsewhere.)

Here are just a few examples.

Distressing the images can be done using several techniques. You mentioned two: tearing the edges and staining the paper. To control the tear, it's a good idea to lightly moisten the area you plan to tear. For a fairly straight tear, take a wet artist's brush and paint your line. Then lay a ruler along the wet area and slowly tear against the ruler.

Stain is very good for daubing areas to appear age darkened.

Some artists darken images with tea. Others use ink pads. Make-up or craft sponges are good for daubing and smearing.

Sanding is a third technique used to make an image appear older. Just rough up the areas or edges you want to look time worn.

Varnish is a good choice for a vintage look because it yellows with time. However, it is slow drying, requires a solvent, like paint thinner, for clean-up and must be used in a well-ventilated area.

If your images and wood already have the old distressed look you desire at this point, you can skip the varnish and use my favorite decoupage medium Mod Podge.

Mod Podge is water-based, has no noxious fumes and cures much more quickly than varnish. Two to three coats should be sufficient and Mod Podge requires very little sanding.

If you use Mod Podge, be sure the wood stain you use is water- or alcohol-based rather then oil-based, such as J.W. Etc. Craftsmen's Blend Word Stain, available at Create for Less.

Here is a list of all decoupage related articles on The Artful Crafter.