Day Coop What??

de·cou·page [dey-koo-pahzh] verb: The act of cutting out paper designs and applying them to a surface to make an all-over collage.

I bet if you were to research the history of crafting, decoupage would be something that has lasted through the ages. Folks have been cutting and pasting for centuries. I'm not talking the right clicking kind of cutting pasting. I'm talking about good old fashioned scissors and glue!

I've had this letter "K" since my daughter was born. Just a boring white letter waiting on me to get some time and inspiration. Thanks to this blog the time has come! Let's do some decoupaging (is that even a word?!)

Because my letter is white, I wanted to paint it so if there is any surface peeking through it won't be so stark. So pull out your painting cookie sheet.... What? You don't have one of those? I retired this sheet from the cookie business when my son started doing art projects that involved paint, glue or water. Works pretty well!

While it dries, it's a good time to get started on the paper. I decided to go for a patchwork look so I picked out some cute scrapbook paper and started cutting small patches.

(The pink lemonade is a necessity when you're using pink paint!)

Don't worry your pretty, little head about making them perfect. They are going to be haphazardly glued.

So now I have my pile of patches and my letter is dry so it's time to start gluing.

Here's the great part. You don't need anything fancy for this project. All those expensive glues at the Hobby Lobby....save your money! You can do this with plain ol' Elmers! I took the messy route and just smeared the glue with my fingers on the back of each patch. If you're a little on the OCD side, feel free to use a sponge brush. Your goal is to make sure it goes on smooth with no bubbles. And if it's hanging over the edge, no worries. You can either trim it our smooth it over the edge when you drench it with your glaze.

Once all the pieces have been glued and smoothed out. It's time to make another pitcher of pink lemonade and go watch Ghost Hunters while it dries.

Now it's dry and it's time to apply the topcoat. I went into this project thinking I was going to use Modge Podge for this part but when I called my sister to see if she had any (I'm cheap.) She told me that I can make my own -- three parts Elmers, one part water. How great is that?! I googled it and sure enough....she's a genius! So I grabbed a sour cream container and mixed myself some Modge Podge!

This is the fun part! Paint to your heart's content and then go to bed.

In the morning I have a shiny, beautiful "K" waiting for me! Now I'm ready for the final step - A shiny polycrylic top coat. This stuff is potent so I took it outside (just beware of bugs and leaves sticking to your masterpiece!) For a small project like this it probably would have been easier to use the spray but I had a can leftover from a furniture project so I used that.

(Thank goodness I had just put this diaper box in the trash. I'm sure my husband would not appreciate a layer of shellac on the patio table!)

And now the big finish....

P.S. I got so caught up in the whole decoupage thing, I did a picture frame as well. Here's a peek.....

Happy cutting!