Simply Everything Me

You know what is great about DIY and crafts in general? You can make everything fit in you space, create what you like the way you like it.

So quite a while ago my dad bought me this jewelry box (yes, both my parents share the love of DIY and crafts -so clearly this is where I get it from). From the moment I got it I knew exactly what I was going to do with it and how I wanted to decorate it.

So this is what I did:

For this project or something similar you need the following:

1. A wooden blank of your choice
2. Universal wood primer
3. Annie Sloan chalk paint
4. Decoupage paper or other patterned paper of your choice (I used an old gift bag – in my opinion it should just be a little thicker than regular paper)
5. Modge podge

• Remember your paint brushes as well as your foam brushes to apply the modge podge.

Most of these you can get at your local craft shop.

The method to my madness:

1. Plan your project. Decide what colors of paint you are going to use – one or two or even more than that. Also decide where you would like to decoupage the chosen paper on your object and cut in the desired sizes.
2. Once you have a good idea of what you are going to do paint your wooden blank inside out with wooden primer.
3. Next cover your object with the colored chalk paint of your choice. I used Paris Grey.
4. Once dry, use sandpaper with a fine grit (P100 or P120) to lightly sand the first coat of chalk paint until smooth. Don’t sand with too much pressure otherwise you might remove more paint than you intend to.
5. If you plan to use a second color on parts of your project make use of masking tape to prevent painting over the lines.
6. Apply a coat of your second color on the chosen areas. Once dry sand again to get a smooth finish.
7. To distress the paint, I used steel wool. Using steel wool gives a great finish because it darkens the color a bit and create defined lines, as you can see in the image below on the left hand side. You can use other materials to distress, such as plain sanding paper of different grits or a steel brush.
8. After all that painting and sanding you are now ready to stick your decoupage paper. Use a foam brush to apply a thin coat of modge podge to both the paper and wood object. (If you are using cardboard like paper, I would recommend using wood/paper glue to stick it.)
9. Gently stick the paper to your object and smooth it out using your foam brush.
10. Allow the modge podge to dry for 15 to 20 minutes.
11. Apply another coat of modge podge over the entire object. Leave to dry and if desired you can apply a third coat as well. The modge podge should be completely cured after 24 hours.
12. After the modge podge is completely cured you can reassemble your object if this is needed.

You are done.

Now simply place your project where you can enjoy it every day or give it as a gift to a special friend or family member 🙂

I would love to see what you chose to decoupage and how you decorate your wooden blanks so let me know on Twitter and tag me on Instagram or Facebook when you give something like this a try.

 

Lots of Love