Wrapping Paper Decoupage Footstool and Purse
I’d picked up this wrapping paper for a couple of dollars at 
Marshalls and liked the colors and the little 18th century fairies on it so much, I wanted to figure out a way to preserve some of it. And that’s when I got the idea of decoupaging a plain pine footstool.
Marshalls and liked the colors and the little 18th century fairies on it so much, I wanted to figure out a way to preserve some of it. And that’s when I got the idea of decoupaging a plain pine footstool.
Basically I just painted the stool the same background color as the wrapping paper itself using Folk Art craft paint. Then I cut around the four different fairy figures. I arranged them in a pattern I liked and using Aleene’s Tacky Glue, I painted a thin layer of glue over the top of the stool. Then I placed the figures in their final positions. I let the glue dry, then added a top layer of glue over all the figures.
When that was dry, I got a bit carried away with adding extra flourishes. You’ll see here swirls in gold, flowers in bright colors, and little hand-painted peacock feathers. (You probably already know I’m not a “less is more” girl, so I imagine this really won’t surprise you.) The hand-painted touches, however, do add a sort of cohesiveness to the images so they’re not just floating randomly on the panel.
I let that dry, too. Then I varnished over the whole lot of it. Two coats.
I ended up liking how the stool turned out so much, I decided to do a very similar effort with a plain pine cigar-box style purse.
The process I used here was almost identical to the one for the stool. And the materials are all the same for the front of it, as you’ll see pictured at left.
On the back, however, I varied it slightly. I featured only my favorite of the fairy images, and then added a few extra cherubs and flowers, cut from used Victorian-styled calendars. I also added one 
real-and-for-true peacock feather (courtesy of Michaels) which I glued on and varnished over as well. The trick to decoupaging the feather was to take it a little bit at a time, and brushing the glue on with a fingertip instead of a paint brush so the fibers don’t stick as much together.
real-and-for-true peacock feather (courtesy of Michaels) which I glued on and varnished over as well. The trick to decoupaging the feather was to take it a little bit at a time, and brushing the glue on with a fingertip instead of a paint brush so the fibers don’t stick as much together.
Copyright 2006-2009 Jenn Thorson. All rights reserved.
