Home Sweet Home – Decoupage Wall Decor

A warm hello to all my crafty friends. This is DT member Vidhu Thareja back on the blog with another inspirational project. As you all must be knowing that the ongoing blog challenge #30 is all about ‘Anything goes with Filament Decoupage Papers’. So, I have designed a beautiful wall decor using Filament Paper and created a distressed wall effect.

Filament papers are just like rice paper and gives flawless finish. 60 gsm makes it perfect to use on any type of surface because these paper blend very easily with  the base and colors. These papers can be easily fussy cut or hand torn. In short, Filament Papers are a must have for all the decoupage lovers.

Without wasting any more time, let’s begin the tutorial but before going through the step wise picture tutorial have a look at my project.

Filament Papers has beautiful designs which are just perfect for home decor or wall decor projects. I have selected a beautiful vintage design ‘ Window Garden’ for my project.

I had a MDF board measuring 14*8 inches in my stash. I started with sanding the surface with sandpaper to get rid of the dust particles. I primed the surface with Little Birdie Acrylic White Gesso.  I applied two coats of gesso with a synthetic brush. Gave enough drying time between each coats. I avoid using sponge  because sponge absorbs mediums or colours. Use a sponge if you want to create a textured effect. 

I wanted to create background before adhering the paper. For that I have used Little Birdie 1 Step Crackle Medium. In one step crackle effect we use two contrasting colors. Always remember that one step crackle medium cracks the colour.  Instead of using a single color, I have done colour blending with two beautiful shades of Little Birdie Chalk Paints- Hydrangea Blue and Misty Rose using a sponge dauber.  You can apply a single colour also. The sponge should be dry and use same sponge to blend the colours. I left it to dry.

 

Next, I applied Little Birdie 1 Step Crackle Medium with a synthetic brush. Use the dabbing method to apply crackle medium. Outcome of crackle medium depends on the application of the medium. If you want bigger cracks then apply thicker coat of the medium. I left it to dry naturally. It takes 3-5 hours to dry, depending upon room temperature.  Do not use a heat tool to speed up the drying process.

 

 

Crackle medium dries clear. On top of it I applied Little Birdie Chalk Paint – Misty Fog with a brush. Do not over-stroke the colour. As soon as the chalk paint starts drying, cracks starts to get visible. For better results, apply chalk paints and the crackle medium in the same direction.

 

 

As I have mentioned earlier, it is very easy to hand tear the paper and this gives us the freedom to use this paper in unique ways. So instead of adhering the paper as it is, I decided to create some distressed wall effect around the patterns. Here I have used the wet brush technique.

Take a  round brush of zero number and wet the bristles of the brush. Move that wet brush around the image or the motif and then carefully tear the paper with your hands. Wet brush technique is used when we want to blend in the paper with the base and the colours. If you are using normal decoupage paper, then fussy cut the elements. But on decoupage napkin and filament paper, wet brush technique works very well.

I placed the hand torn images on the board to see the placement and then adhered them  using Little Birdie Deco Magic Decoupage Glue – Matte. Filament papers are very easy to adhere. I let it dry and then sealed it with Little Birdie Deco Magic Glue – Glossy.

If you are planning to add interest around the decoupaged image then it is important to seal the image with two coats of glue because it gives you a chance to wipe-off the paint or medium and make corrections.

Have a look, how beautifully hand torn images blend with the  colours. I wanted to create a wall effect around the images so I did some stenciling using Little Birdie 2 in 1 Mixed Media Paste. I have used a palette knife for the purpose. This product gives perfect raised effect to stenciling. Make sure to wash your stencil after every use.

Mixed Media Paste dries very quickly. When it was dry, I dabbed some Chalk Paint – Misty Fog on the stenciled bricks and did some blending around  the decoupaged images. I wanted to give a distressed look to the brick effect so I dry brushed on it with brown acrylic color. While doing the dry brushing, load very little paint in the brush. I have intentionally made the gaps prominent to give it a natural look. 

I was had a chipboard cutout ‘ Home Sweet Home’. I primed it with white gesso and then dabbed brown acrylic colour on it. I let it dry and then rubbed Metallic Wax- Antique Gold with my finger.  To fix it on board I have used Little Birdie Silicon Glue.

 

Now it is turn to seal the entire project with varnish. I have used Little Birdie Decor Varnish – Gloss. It is a water based varnish and dries quickly. On home decor or wall decor projects I apply multiple coats of varnish (about five coats) so that project can be cleaned easily with a wet cloth. Leave enough drying time between each coat of varnish. On exterior wall decor projects like name boards, you can apply top coat of clear resin but make sure to varnish the project with two coats of varnish before poring resin.

 

I like to give a neat finish to the rear side of my project too. Therefore, I have painted the rear side and all the four sides with acrylic brown colour. I have rubbed Metallic Wax on the sides also. Itsy Bitsy has a wide range of metal decor accessories to choose from. I had hooks from that section. I have fixed two hooks to hang this wall plaque.

 

Since it is important to seal the paint with varnish so I have applied three coats of  Little Birdie Decor Varnish at the back of my project too.

A beautiful wall decor is ready to adorn your wall.

I hope you liked my project and find it inspirational also. Do not forget to participate in current blog challenge which is all about creating something beautiful using Filament Decoupage Papers. We would love to see your amazing creations. 

I am excited to inform you  that all these products come with a unique QR code!

Point your mobile phone at the QR code on the product & scan them  to take you directly to our YouTube links where you can see how each of these products are used! Check out all our new products for QR codes in the future ( this will be either on the label or on cap of the bottle).

Use code VIDHU5 to buy any product at  www.itsybitsy.in and get 5% discount on your total bill.

Happy Crafting

Create and Inspire

Vidhu Thareja

List of material used: