When I was asked this question I had no idea what the person was talking about. Now I know that it’s the art of cutting out different pictures in magazines, books or papers and gluing them onto other things like chairs, dressers, tables or handmade jewelry and jewelry boxes and combining this with special painting effects. After the pictures are glued on, layers of varnish will cover the entire object. Many layers of varnish are needed because you want that “glued on look” to disappear and in its place the look of hand painted inlay.

Decoupage is just as popular today as it was back in 17th and 18th century France. France gave this craft the name of “decoupage” from the verb decouper, meaning to cut out. It’s actually thought to originate from before the 12th century in East Siberia where Nomadic tribes decorated their loved ones tombs. From there it moved to China where cut outs decorated lanterns and other objects. Moving from country to country by way of trading, this artwork found its way to Europe where its popularity exploded.

 Decoupage is easy and its fun. If you can cut paper, stick paper to another object with glue and covering all of that with glue (many dilute their glue with water), varnish, acrylic or a decoupage medium, then you know how to decoupage. You probably have all you need within your home already and this is a great project to get kids involved with. Since most children have short attention spans, (adults too), you can make their “artwork” as big or small as you please and within an hour, your child will have accomplished something they will be proud of.

You can go to any art store and buy supplies that are made just for decoupage like…

*Brayer-small version of a rolling pin used to remove wrinkles.

*Decoupage Medium-a glue and sealer.

*Sealer-although you can use glue or decoupage medium many like to use varnish or polyurethane, acrylic spray looks good too. These give your finished artwork a nice, clear shine.

*Craft Knife-for cutting out those detailed pictures, an Exacto knife works well too.

*Sandpaper-for a more detailed and deeper artwork.

With practice, one can become very skilled at decoupage and create some very beautiful artwork. Many people are selling their works on ebay or have formed their own websites specifically to sell their decoupage artwork.