I was thinking of a thread where everyone can share simple art techniques that can be used by anyone (artist or no artist) anywhere according to personal interest. It can from how to make stencils, paper flowers, tie n die, wreaths, painting tips, decupage, moulding, art ideas for kids, straw painting, tooth brush painting, etc. Inshort any technique that can be use to create simple arts.
Everyone is welcomed to this thread. You don’t have to be an artist to participate. Just post about something you have used to create art in your home, office, room, …anywhere. It can be as simple as making an earing stand with tree branches (Yes, that was khumar’s idea.)
So anyway, I will start with a little teaching I know, I hope people with add their’s as they get a chance.
Decoupage: Decoupage is a very simple technique of gluing paper to objects. After finishing it look as if the paper has been printed on the object or painted on the object.
To decoupage wood all you need is:
- wooden object (box tray, a flat wooden plank, or anyother wooden item you plan to use)
-wood paint. (again if the object is already painted and you don’t want to change the base color then you don’t need paint. If the object is bare and you would like to keep it bare then also you don’t need paint) - transparent glue
- damp cloth
- picture (it can be from a magzine, calander, any book, photos or any place you want it from.)
Varnish/Clear finsh
Steps:
- Make sure your object is clean and free of any dirt or debrie.
- Take your picture and rip of the edges with hands. It won’t look authentic if you edge the paper with scissors.
- If you intend to change the base color of your object, then do so at this time. Use the wood paint and give atleast 2-3 coats. Let it dry out. If you do paint your object, you have to make sure that the paint dries out.
- Lay your picture face down and with a foam brush or a piece of form, apply the white glue.
- Carefully place your picture on your wood surface as you had planned.
- Working from the center using your fingertips, push air and excess glue from beneath the picture.
- With a damp cloth or paper towel, wipe off the accumulated glue.
- Let the picture dry out. It is important that you let the picture dry out before the final step or it will ruin your whole project.
- Once the picture has dried out, apply several thin coats of clear glue/ varnish/clear finish (whatever you have or can be applied) to inlay the picture on to the wood object. Mke sure you let each coat dry out before applying another.
The process sounds time consuming but it is extremely simple and even if you mess up a little bit, it will still look amazing. I had made a decoupage long time ago, I did mess up because I lacked patience to wait for the paint to dry at that time…lol.. So I had little bubbles but after applying the varnish, it looked all fine. Actually it looked like an oil painting…lol…
Some picture I got off google…
Decoupage on wood
http://upnorthartmn.com/yahoo_site_admin/assets/images/Decoupage_008.308105731_std.JPG
In this above decoupage, the edges were burnt, it it done to make the edges crisp. When I did mine, I did burn the edges but I made sure to pat off all the black stuff.
On Ceramic (same technique as wood)
yes that stand is my work of art 
