How to Make Vases Covered with Magazines
- 1). Wash your vase in hot, soapy water, rinse with vinegar and allow to dry overnight. Cut through a sheet of medium-grit sandpaper four to six times to sharpen your scissors.
- 2). Leaf through your magazines and select pictures that will complement one another, such as photos that fit a theme, are from similar eras or have shades of the same colors. Spray each picture with a light coating of acrylic sealant, which will make it easier to cut and prevent ink runs, according to decoupage artist, Amy Azzarito.
- 3). Cut pictures from your magazines with the scissor blades tilted slightly to the right to create a beveled edge. This keeps the underside of the magazine page from showing through when you glue your picture to your vase.
- 4). Arrange your pictures on a disposable cutting sheet in the positions you want them to take on your vase. Move them around, adding or removing pictures until you are pleased with the effect.
- 5). Lay a second cutting sheet on top of the first, with your picture arrangement in between. Flip the cutting sheets over so that your pictures are now "bad" side up, without disturbing your arrangement.
- 6). Dip a sponge in mucilage, which is a clear, vegetable-based glue, and wipe it across each picture from its center to its edges in long, smooth, overlapping strokes.
- 7). Wipe the spot where you intend to place each picture with mucilage and position it as you wish. Work from the center of the picture to the edges, using long, smooth, overlapping strokes of your sponge, to eliminate any air bubbles.
- 8). Continue placing pictures on your vase until they are all in their correct positions and allow everything to dry overnight.
- 9). Check all your pictures for any dimpling or air bubbles the next day. Prick bubbles with a corsage pin or make a clean slice across them with an artist's utility knife. Dot mucilage into the gap with a cotton swab and smooth it with a damp sponge.
- 10
Wipe away excess mucilage with a vinegar-dampened sponge. Allow to dry overnight again. - 11
Dip a 2-inch-wide foam paintbrush in white glue. Apply a smooth, even coat of glue over the entire picture arrangement, using long, overlapping strokes. Allow to dry overnight. Repeat twice, drying overnight each time. - 12
Apply an even coat of clear spray acrylic sealant over the entire arrangement to protect your decoupage.
