My first Project! Decoupage

Hey people,

So I recently did my first DIY project. I decoupaged a table! According to Merriam Webster's Website Decoupage (pronounced Da-ku-pazh) is the art of decorating the surface by applying paper cutouts and then coating them with several layers of finish. There are many sites and tutorial that can show you how to do this. Although its fairly easy to do. Depending on the size of your project it can be a little time consuming. Some people do parts of the surface while others do the entire surface.  The finish product was cool and cute and well worth it. Here's how I did it.

This is the table I used before. My friend who no longer needed had given it to me. Not bad. I decided I would use it as a small accessories vanity of some sort. Its a little too small to be a full vanity. Although you can find tutorials any and everywhere on how to decoupage surfaces. I'm going to show you how I did mine

Tools

Scissors

Cutout/ Paper pieces- You can use pictures, napkins, magazine cutouts etc.

Surface to apply paper to

Paint brush

Adhesive mixture- Most people use Modge Podge but I opted to do it myself using regular elmers glue and water mixed together.

Spray paint or paint for base color (optional)

Old sheet - to put under the piece of furniture to minimize mess

Clear coat or some type of finish to seal

Procedure

First thing I didn't was cut out the pictures I wanted to use for my table. I used fashion and beauty pictures of things that I liked. I wanted it to be pretty and girly. I cut out products and accessories and people and celebrities with cute outfits on and perfume. I also cut out words that described the girly table. Like pretty, sexy, beauty, fashion and lovely. You know, stuff that described me. (lol)

This took a while especially since I chose to layer my pieces like a collage. I ran out of pieces half way through and had to go cut some again.

First thing I did was wipe down the surface. Some people sand it if its a wood item. Although mine was wood. I did not sand it.

Next I prepared the adhesive mixture. I just mixed some Elmers glue with water. You don't need a whole bunch of glue for this. About 8 table spoons of glue mixed with 4 table spoons of water was enough for this project. I didn't really do any measuring for this. You just used the water to kinda loosen up the paste.

I spray painted the table so that if any of it where to show throw if would be the color that I wanted. This is optional especially if you plan to cover the entire surface. I let that dry for about five minutes.

Now I'm ready to start placing my pieces. I start with the largest pieces to act as the background images. One at a time I used the paint brush to brush on the adhesive to the back of the cutout and smooth it onto the surface. After smoothing it to the surface I brushed on some more adhesive over it. This helps to stick the other pieces when you begin to layer. I did this over and over until the entire surface that I wanted covered was covered. 

For the edges and the legs I did the same thing except I fold the pieces over the edges and smoothed them. It was not hard to do that since magazine paper is really thing. When i had every piece in place I let it dry. I was in no rush and it was late so I just let it dry over night. I'm sure it doesn't need over and hour to dryer using magazine paper.

Last I sprayed the entire table with a glossy protective spray from Krylon. It looked good still without the spray but I wanted it to have a glossy look.

That's it! So i hope you like it. Feel free to leave your comments and feedback. Let me know what you think!

Smooches!

Why Buy A Couch When You Can Make One?

Hello Again!

Everything is moving along nicely. It feels great to not be sitting in an empty room. Even better that I'm saving a lot of money. The past few months I've been looking on Craigslist for a sofa for my living room. So, I thought I'd find a used one. Either one that was in decent condition or almost new, or one that was in good condition but cheap or less so I could try and reupholster it. I'm the type of person that likes to do things herself. (As you can clearly tell) Why pay for it when I can do it or make it myself? That's my motto.  I like new stuff, don't get me wrong, I love new clothes and new shoes. I like to shop. I even like new furniture. But if you are just tuning in, I'm trying to save some money. Plus I like the fact that you can take something old a raggedy and turn it into a beautiful work of art. Creativity and art! Right up my ally. 

On Craiglist you can find anything for sale. I've noticed that there's a lot of stuff from Ikea on there. One very popular sofa is from Ikea's Klippan series. Here's what looks like.

I like it because its very simple. Clean lines. So it would be very easy to re-decorate with pillows and fabric. I was planning on learning to re-upholster so I thought this would be easy to do. You don't even have to buy expensive upholstery fabric. You can decorate it with some graphic sheets or a quilt.

Another couch I see a lot on CL is the Lillberg sofa. I believe the series is discontinued at Ikea but this is what it looks like.

The cushions come in different colors and the wood finish is different. I thought this would be easy to change around and paint as well. I was looking for something that would be easy for me to try my newly learned DIY tricks on. I'm not into all the wood but I figure I can change that with paint. So, I was in the goodwill look for some stuff I can use. I saw this frame.

Now I know its just a futon frame and it's a little scratched up.Its not small though. I figure I can make the cushions and paint the wood myself. I'm excited about this one!

Furniture Update

Hello Lovely people!

I know it's been a while. Forgive me. I've been procrastinating a little I must admit. I have so much to show you though. I'm not sure at what pace this is all supposed to be going. I mean, since it is not my full time occupation to blog and build things all day, things haven't gone as fast as I thought. I have to be very careful not spend all my money on fixing up my place. " I gots bills to pay man!"

So, I got some new furniture. Well its not "new-new". But remember, I'm trying to spend as little money as possible fixing this place and I love free stuff. Especially If I'm redecorating or repainting it. I would feel a lot better if I messed up a piece of furniture I didn't spend money on! So lets take a look at what I got.

Remember my sad little desk space. My back was starting to hurt from using the computer this way.

My sister gave me this desk. Its a pretty good desk. It has some scratches but its functional. With a little primp and polish this desk can look brand new in no time!

Look over there! My little flat screen is sitting on top of a stepping stool that is supposed to be in my son's room! (lol)

Mow its sitting pretty on this little side table I got from my bff! Well, not exactly pretty, but hey at least its not on that stool anymore. I'm definitely going to paint that.

 I also received this little side table that I thought was perfect for my room as a little vanity accessory table.

I found this little sculpture too. Its shaped like a woman or something. Looks kinda tribal. I may re-purpose it though. So, there you have it. That's some of the things I got so far. My apartment is filling up and I barely spent any money! I like that! Make sure you stay tuned to my updates. I have more to show you!