Decoupage is a craft well suited to the use of clip art. Decoupage was used in East Siberian tombs during the 12th century. The craft was introduced to China where it was used to decorate boxes, windows and lanterns. Its popularity spread to other regions of Asia, Italy, France and the Far East during the 17th century and by the 18th century, decoupage was known in Europe.
The English called decoupage ‘japanning’ in the 18th century, and it became popular with the upper and middle classes by the 19th century. From England the craft travelled to the American colonies by 1730. It was also well received in Sweden, Austrian, Normandy, Poland, Germany and Australia.
Decoupage uses a simple technique of adorning hard surfaces with paper cut outs. Once the cut outs are glued to the surface of an object, layers of varnish are added until the varnish is flush with the paper. This makes the paper cut outs appear to have been drawn or painted onto the object.
Decoupage has a very lush, lustrous look to it. The supplies needed are glue, scissors, varnish, a paint brush to apply the varnish, sand paper, the paper cut outs and the object to decorate. Decoupage is a fun craft that is easy for children to do, though when cutting and using varnish it should be supervised in a place with lots of air flow. Decorate anything that has a hard surface like metal or wooden furniture or large smooth stones. You can adapt the craft, for young children.
For an Easy Kid-Safe Project:
- Find a glass jar.
- Decorate the jar with images from magazines, or downloaded printables and clip art from the Internet.
- Substitute the varnish with a mix of white glue and water – mixed together in equal amounts and paint over the cutouts. It is fine to only use one or two coats for this.
- Other surfaces children could decorate: lunch boxes, school books, shoe boxes, cardboard photo frames and old furniture.
Imagine the possibilities of a child’s room filled with objects adorned with their favourite character or things!
