Decoupage Bird Napkin Wood Cigar Box - Photograph

© All Rights Reserved

© All Rights Reserved

© All Rights Reserved

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I made a decoupage bird box, using a wood cigar box.

I created this using a 3-ply paper napkin, which I separated to use only the ply with the image on it.

First, I tried to remove all of the cigar labels and underlying label glue that were on the box.

Then I painted the box with one coat of Apple Barrel Antique White matte acrylic paint (20505E) and let it dry. (Notes: (1) I left the box hardware on, and painted over it, but scraped it off somewhat, after the paint was dry. (2) Where the cigar labels had been, the paint didn't adhere as well as it did on the rest of the box. But I decided it added to the grunge / old / vintage effect look that I wanted, so I didn't do a second coat of paint.)

Next I used Liquitex Matte Gel as my decoupage medium, and put the napkin onto the box top, lid front and back edges, and lid box hardware. I used plastic wrap to press down on the napkin, and also used a brayer across the top of the plastic wrap that was on top of the napkin. (See: How To Decoupage with Paper Napkins (plastic wrap tip). )

When that was dry, I repeated the same step for the box sides, using leaf sections from the napkin.

When that was dry, I repeated the same step for the box front, using leaf sections from the napkin.

Note: For the sides and front, I cut out leaf sections from the napkin, experimented with how the layout of them should look first, before doing the actual decoupage step. Unlike the top, where the napkin fully covered the entire lid, the sides and front were only partially covered with napkin pieces. I applied the decoupage medium to the entire surface, carefully placed the napkin pieces onto it, then used the plastic wrap to press them down. The plastic wrap might have left "crackle" lines in the areas that were decoupage medium only, but I liked that effect.

Once that was dry, I applied one coat of Liquitex Gloss Gel as a sealer, because the napkin ink doesn't run when I use that. (Note: in the past, when I used Delta Ceramcoat Gloss Interior Varnish as the first coat of sealer, the ink in the napkin ran.) But due to the nature of the Liquitex product, the coat dries with brush strokes that could be felt, which I don't find desirable.

I did the second coat of sealer using Delta Ceramcoat Gloss Interior Varnish, which is more runny and less viscous than the Liquitex Gel, to get a smoother final finish.