Down the Memory Lane- Reverse Decoupage

Hello everyone,  Vaishali here

Hope all of you are doing great. Today’s post is about one of the most interesting  aspects of decoupage ….Reverse Decoupage !!!!

Reverse – the word made me visit moments  down the memory lane…..the lovely childhood days and vacation times !!  It’s this time of the year when  in most parts of India the kids have summer holidays in schools and mason jars at homes are filled with sour raw mangoes and tamarinds. This is an opportunity to engage in some naughtiness….sneak into the kitchen and grab some delicacies,  as the mother takes an afternoon nap.  I am sure many of us can relate to this !!!!

My creation today…..An acrylic photo frame with reverse decoupage  depicts one such simple, naughty childhood moment.

I have a picture tutorial to take you through the process. I have taken an A4 size clear acrylic sheet from the store to make the photo frame.  Whenever the plan is  to do reverse decoupage, you will need a see through surface.  You can take any  clear glass or acrylic object.

Next, I selected the decoupage napkin (tissue), named  ‘Lighthearted’. The tissue print was just perfect to express the naughty lighthearted moment of childhood. Itsy Bitsy has some lovely decoupage napkins.          

Coming back to the process. In reverse decoupage you always work on the back /bottom of the surface. Example, in a glass plate, you decoupage on the bottom surface so that the design can be seen from the top view and yet remains safe! Here in acrylic, both sides are same and plain. So, I considered any one side as the back one and decoupaged the tissue, FACE DOWN , on the back side using Little Birdie Decoupage Glue- Matte.  I also decoupaged some flower design parts from the tissue – Rose Brilliance. After allowing it to dry for 15-20 minutes, I applied  a top coat of decoupage glue on the tissue area.

Now to add further effect, I applied one step crackle medium. I must say reverse decoupage and crackle effect compliment each other beautifully.

Important points –

In regular decoupage with one step crackle medium-

  1. Apply a base coat (say a dark colour) of acrylic paint and let it dry. This colour will be seen through the cracks.
  2. Then apply the one step Crackle Medium and let it dry completely, naturally.
  3. Apply top coat of the paint (say any light colour). As the top coat of  paint dries, the cracks appear. Make sure that the base coat and top coat are of contrasting colours.
  4. Lastly, decoupage, a light print  tissue over it. Crackle effect is seen through the tissue.

In Reverse Decoupage with one step crackle medium- Note how the steps reverse.

  1. Decoupage the tissue with lighter print face down on the surface.
  2. Apply the one step Crackle Medium and let it dry completely, naturally.
  3. Apply the top coat of paint (light colour). As the paint dries, cracks begin to appear.
  4. Apply base coat (dark colour). It will be seen through the cracks.

Hope it helps. Here are pictures that explain the process of one step crackle in reverse decoupage.

After completing the above steps, this is how the acrylic looked from the front.

 

Now it was the time to work on the front panel…As I was taking pictures, I felt that the corrugated, packaging sheet would make  a wonderful backing to the acrylic panel. Happy to use even the good quality packing material from my DT kit.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I  used some paper twines, mason jar paper embellishment,  flowers, burlap lace, hexagon chipboard shape, butterfly  and stamped sentiment to decorate the panel further. Imagined it to be a scrap book layout, while doing so.

Also added a wooden peg to hold  a picture….something different from usual. Clip a picture instead of framing it !!

Initially, I displayed the acrylic photo frame on an easel…..Later I   decided to make my own display stand. I had a scrap piece of wood with a slit….Applied some Fiber Paste to it. Oh! I love the Fiber Paste sooo much!!. It gives a subtle, fibrous texture and adds so much depth. Easy to apply …just spread it with hands or a palette knife. Can be colored as well. I will definitely use this product in my future creations. Added some hand written lines, chipboard

embellishment and some stitched lines with permanent marker. My stand was ready to display the frame….

I also reverse decoupaged a mason jar shape acrylic piece from my stash to create a coordinating magnet.  Some close ups of my creation-

I thoroughly enjoyed the process of reverse decoupage and could not stop here. I decided to give reverse decoupage a try using Two Step Crackle Medium. Made a coaster size acrylic magnet. It can be used as a coaster as well, if you do not embellish it. Here are some quick steps of the process. Remember that the steps go reverse when compared with regular decoupage.

Embellish it in your own way to create a lovely magnet to display.

Life is beautiful indeed with all the precious moments and there is always a reason to smile. Keep Smiling !!!!!

Create , Express, Enjoy…..

Vaishali

Here is a list of supplies used in my creation

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

20 comments

  1. Beautiful projects and a wonderful detailed tutorial Vaishali ….I feel like leaving everything and looking for some transparent substrates to reverse decoupage !!

  2. OMG what a fantastic post loved it completely awesome work with superb explained write up thank you so much for sharing ?

  3. Amazing creations indeed !!!
    So impressed with the detailed and elaborate explanations Vaishali. ..thanks so much for sharing. …

  4. I am very happy that the tutorial is appreciated and the information shared in my post is helpful

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