How to...Decoupage Letters

Brighten up a bookshelf, children’s room or create wedding lettering

My Decoupaged Letters

I have used decoupage lettering several times around the house and as a Mr and Mrs display at my wedding. Decoupaging is relaxing and takes you back to school days being covered in PVA glue and peeling it off your fingers. There are many different patterns of paper available, the hardest bit is deciding which ones to use! 

You will need:

• Glue 
• I used Decopatch Paperpatch Glue Varnish from Hobbycraft
• Paintbrush 
• I got mine from Hobbycraft next to the glue
• Decoupage Paper 
• Mine was from Hobbycraft and I have seen Asda have started to sell similar paper from a brand called Papier Patch

  

  Decoupage Paper

  
  
  
  
• Paper Mache Letters 
• I got mine from Hobbycraft and have used both the 10cm and 20cm size
• Craft board/surface you don’t mind getting glue on
• I used an old glass worktop saver

Method:

1. Take the paper (it is very thin, almost see through).
2. Rip the sheet up into pieces. Depending on the size of your letter will depend on the size of your pieces. For a 20cm size letter you can use larger pieces(approximate size of my pieces 4x2cm). For smaller letters it is easier to work with smaller pieces of paper.
3. Use the brush to paint glue onto a small section of the letter. 
4. Start to add some of the paper pieces, covering each piece in more glue to hold it down. 
5. Continue to add the pieces at any angle, once the glue is on you won’t be able to see the individual pieces.
6. Leave the letter to dry - See tips. 

Tips: 

• Don’t glue the whole letter first then add the paper as it will become a sticky mess. 
• Leave a section that is free of glue for you to hold onto.
• I decoupaged 3 quarters of the letter then let it stand on the non decoupaged end to dry. Once dry, I turned it upside down and finished decoupaging. This prevented the letter sticking to my worktop saver and from me getting super sticky hands.

Design Ideas: For some of my letters I decoupaged the whole letter, while for others I painted the letter first, then just decoupaged the front of the letter. 

Mr and Mrs on a fireplace at our wedding

Happy Crafting x

How to...Personalise a Canvas with Paint

A cheap and simple way to add personalised artwork to your wall.

Rather than buy artwork for the lounge wall I had a go at painting my own. I purchased 3 canvases from Hobbycraft, size 18 x 14 inches (current price £7 each). I used tester pots from the Valspar range available at B&Q. The colour "Merlin’s Robes" was the perfect colour to match our sofa cushions. 

I painted 2 canvases using 2 coats of "Merlin’s Robes". I wanted a bit more design for the 3^rd canvas and to tie it into our lounge. I painted the canvas the colour "Worn Canvas" and then used tracing paper over a cushion on the sofa which meant I could see the pattern through the paper. I used pencil to draw around the design. I then inverted the tracing paper onto the painted canvas and drew around the design again. I found I had to press quite hard to get the design to transfer, and in some places I drew over the very faint line as soon as I had moved the tracing paper away to ensure it was visible.

I painted the lines to match the colours on the cushion. The colours of the lines were "Merlin’s Robes" and "Pretty as a Picture" both from the Valspar range.

From top left image clockwise: cushion, painted canvas, canvases and cushions, 3 painted canvases, sofa cushions

Once the canvases were dry I simply hung each of them on a nail.

Tips: 

• Displays look best in odd numbers
• The Valspar range has 2000 preselected colours of paint you can choose from and if you still can't find the right colour they can mix a colour in-store specially for you

Design Ideas: If you are feeling less adventurous but still want some more colour on your canvas have a go at being more abstract. Paint the canvas one colour then in pencil draw on circles/squares of different sizes, overlapping them if you want and paint each shape a different shade of the same colour, or different colours for a multi-coloured masterpiece. Household objects would be perfect to draw around to get different sized circles for free e.g. a saucer, a plant pot, a milk bottle top, a jam jar lid.

Happy Crafting x

How to…Craft with me!

Hello! My name is Helen and I love to make simple decorative items for the home with a spot of baking thrown in for good measure. I have decided to write a blog to share some of the crafts I have discovered and the things I have made in the hope it inspires you to give crafting a go. 

Throughout 2015 I tailored my crafting for my wedding which had a homemade, musical theme. I made my own bouquet, buttonholes, favours, order of service, order of the day, invitations, guestbook, table confetti and the list goes on; you name it I had a go at making it! This ‘How to…’ blog will show you what I made for the wedding along with other cheap, simple crafts I have used to liven up my home.

A selection of my homemade crafty projects and a taster of the 'How to...' posts to come 

If you have any questions feel free to get in touch. 

Happy Crafting x