The Complete Guide to Decoupage

Chapter 1: What Is Decoupage and Why People Love It

Decoupage, at its heart, is the act of gluing paper onto an object, covering that paper with layers of glue or varnish, and ending up with something that looks like it was painted or printed directly onto the surface. That's it. That's the whole trick. You might take a plain wooden picture frame, cut out a floral pattern from a napkin, and paste it down. Or you might cover an old shoebox with pages from a vintage atlas. A piece of furniture, a wine bottle, a plain cardboard letter of the alphabet — almost any object can become a canvas. When you're done, you coat the whole thing in a clear sealant, and the paper disappears into the surface. It looks like you've transformed a cheap, ordinary thing into something that costs three times as much in a boutique.

But what does that actually look like, day to day? Let me walk you through a typical first session, the one I had many years ago. I was at a thrift store and picked up a small, plain wooden tray for three dollars. It was nothing special — just a flat piece of birch with a lip around the edge. I also bought a pack of printed paper napkins with little teal and gold peacock feathers on them. That cost two dollars. Back in my kitchen, I spread out a sheet of newspaper over the table, got a bowl of water,