Decoupage as Art - Easy How To

We are going to decoupage an art panel with colorful scrapbook paper and a laser printed image like you see above.

My children do not have the most interesting art on their walls, especially in my boy's room, so I got a little clever and decided to create some decoupaged artwork for their walls.

You will need:

Art Board or Unprimed Wood Panel
Background Scrapbooking Paper
Art Image Printed on Heavy Paper in Laser Printer
Mod Podge Gloss Lustre Finish
Craft Paint Brush
Rubber Craft Brayer
Paper Towels 

Step 1: Trim your background paper to cover the front of the art board.

Step 2: Print your image off on a laser printer so that it will fit on your art board.  My son, Matthew, found an image of a painting of football players that he liked, so I printed it off on our laser printer and then trimmed it to size.  

NOTE: You cannot use images printed from an officejet or inkjet printer because the Mod Podge will smear the ink.  Only images printed from a laser printer can be used with Mod Podge.

Step 3: Apply a coat of Mod Podge to your art board.  

Step 4: Lay the background paper over the board and, using your brayer, roll the paper back and forth in both directions making sure there are no bubbles in the paper.  Remove the excess mod podge glue from the edges with a paper towel or your brush. (Yes, this is green scrapbook paper you see above.  I do not paint like that ... ha ha)

Step 5: Mod Podge the center of the background paper that is on the art board.  Don't worry about extra Mod Podge on the background paper because you will be covering the entire image in the next step.

Place your artwork image in the center of the board over the area where you brushed the Mod Podge glue and after you have placed it correctly, use your brayer to work out the bubbles and make sure it lies flat.  

Step 6: Using your brush, cover the entire board and image with Mod Podge.  Remove excess on the sides with a paper towel or the brush.

Step 7:  Let the board dry for about 30 minutes then add another coat of Mod Podge to the entire surface in the other direction.

 

Step 8: Let dry for another 30 minutes and your picture is ready to hang!

Pretty easy, ay?  I made a set of 3 for the boy's room and hung them on their wall.  They love them and they were so easy to make.  Now, go make some of your own!  Be creative!  There is so much you can do with Mod Podge ... the creative choices are endless.