I just may Decoupage the world!

So, my friend Jess recently extolled the virtues of Mod Podge to me.  Mod Podge is a gluing medium used in decoupage, and probably for other things, but I used it for decoupage.  I've done a wee bit of decoupage in my life (if you're not sure what that is, Jess's blog post here sums it up better than I ever could) but I've never covered a whole piece, and I've never used Mod Podge.

So I had this tea-tray that I bought 3 or 4 years ago, and painted white.  Then I just never did anything else with it, until I started using it as a catch all tray for jewelry making (it's perfect for holding seed beads while I'm bead-weaving.) I don't even have any pics of it from then... not that I would, it was actually pretty ugly. Poor thing...

Anywho... Jess is a crafting queen, and is far more creative and talented than she gives herself credit for. She posted a table she Podged, and then some pics of actual artwork she's doing using decoupage and Mod Podge. (you can see them on her blog here. The pieces I'm referencing are towards the bottom, and, in a word, GORGEOUS!!!!!! I want a custom Jess piece for my walls!) So I got to pondering, what can I decoupage?  Then it hit me--the tea-tray!  So I did...

[caption id="attachment_58" align="aligncenter" width="443" caption="The base of the tray"][/caption]

I have lots of scrapbook paper, but I don't scrapbook (I make cards, but that doesn't use a lot of printed scrapbook paper.  At least, not the way I do it.) Since I wanted to cover the whole tea-tray, I decided to rummage in my stash and see what I could find.  I managed to find a beautiful Victorian-themed set of papers with roses and buds and stuff, and since that really appeals to me, I decided to run with it.  And because I'm a little bit anal about perfection, I even used my paper-cutter to get nice crisp edges on things (right down to creasing the paper before I made it go around corners.) And since my scrapbook paper wasn't quite large enough for all I needed it to do, I had to make little accent-y bits, too. And, because I can't leave well enough alone, I had to cover the whole thing in a coat of varnish with some gold, glittery paint mixed in, just to give that additional bit of antique-y feeling....

[caption id="attachment_61" align="aligncenter" width="614" caption="Fanciness! and accent-y corners!"][/caption]

But the best part, that happened after I got the Mod Podge (see, I just used watered down Elmer's for the sticking down of stuff).  I had no idea it could have that shine!  And that mess is thick, too!  Which I guess is good for protecting, because this is a piece that will get used.  Often.  Just not for tea...

So what's next?  Well, lo and behold, you can decoupage ANYTHING it seems!  I have plans for all my switch plates, cuz, also, fugly! And eventually, my coffee table.  But that's REALLY big and will require a bit more in the way of planning (and glue...)

Thanks for reading!

R.Wilson