Decoupage Wood Bracelets
Applying tissue decoupage paper to wood bracelets
By Dea Shelton

 

Supplies:
Wood Bracelets
Acrylic Paint:
     Burnt Umber
     White
      Ivory
Tissue decoupage paper Mini images
Satin Glazing Medium by Golden
Small sea sponge
Soft brush
Glazing medium by Golden
Water based gloss varnish
Elmer’s Glue-all (not school glue)
Fibers and Other embellishments

 Step 1
Seal wood bracelets with a good all-purpose sealer. Let dry.  Lightly sand with fine sand paper.

 Step 2
Base coat wood bracelets with two coats of acrylic paint, let dry between coats.

 Step 3
Cut out images with a small pair of scissors, you do not need to cut the images exact as the paper will blend into your paint.  Pre-do a layout by arranging images on bracelets. 

 

Step 4
Apply Elmer’s glue to back of image using soft brush, let paper relax for about 15 seconds and immediately adhere to bracelet using your fingers, make sure your fingers have a small amount of water& glue on them so they don’t stick to your paper, use your fingers to smooth image onto surface, clean up any excess glue with your brush.  Once dry, apply thin coat of glue to front of image.  Let dry.   Arrange images in a staggered fashion to show more interest. 

Step 5
Once your bracelet is dry (remember it may feel dry, but if it is cold to the touch it is still wet), apply a generous amount of stain over entire surface. Wipe off with a damp sponge for the amount of image you would like to see on your bracelet.  Acrylic Stain can be made using equal parts of an acrylic paint and acrylic glazing medium, or you can purchase this prepared by Golden or Liquitex.   Our favorites are Raw Umber and Burnt Umber by Golden, this gives a vintage feel to your projects.  I also like to make an ivory/or white glaze using the glazing medium and white paint for a whitewash effect.  The retro white bracelet was glazed with a white stain, and the brown dream bracelet was sponged with the Burnt Umber glazing medium by Golden.

Step 6
Before you apply your varnish you can stamp you bracelet with various words and images to give it more interest.  Use a good solvent based ink pad, such as Staz-on, this will prevent your ink from running when you varnish your finished project.  We used wood stamps and Staz-on Timber grown to stamp our words on to the round bracelet.

 Step 7
Apply two coats of gloss or satin water based varnish to your bracelet with a soft brush, let dry between coats.  Don’t use a sponge brush for this application as you will get air bubbles.  Let dry.

 Step 8
Apply rhinestones, and other embellishments to your bracelets using Elmers Glue.  Let dry.

 Tips & Tricks

Put your varnish on with a soft brush to avoid brush strokes and air bubbles.  Change the color of your charms and pearls by wiping on alcohol inks with a soft rag, permanent markers also work.  If your paint is cool to the touch it is not dry.  We restrung the retro ladies bracelet with a 1mm elastic and crystals and knotted at the end.