Advanced Projects

Decorating a Briefcase

The type of briefcase I decorate is the solid rectangular vinyl type. I have tried soft side leather ones and they don’t work well because the surface is flexible and varnish hardens the leather. So I use vinyl ones that cost about $20. They are available in black, brown and grey.

Paint a background if desired. If you are painting a light colour onto a black briefcase I would apply an undercoat of white gesso or titanium white. If you are sponging gold paint on a black background then you can work right on the vinyl surface.
Seal with Liquitex Gloss Medium & Varnish or Jo Sonya’s All Purpose Sealer
Glue your paper cutouts on with PVA glue (100%, do not dilute). It is awkward working with PVA because you must constantly sponge away the excess but this is the only glue I have found to be tough enough
When your design is complete, leave the briefcase for 24 hours for the glue to dry completely
Next day, glue down any edges that are lifting
Seal with Liquitex Gloss Medium & Varnish or Jo Sonya’s All Purpose Sealer
Apply up to 6 more coats of sealer, crosshatching them Allow to dry a day
Sand with 360
Allow to dry a day
Varnish with your preferred varnish

Remember that oil-based varnish will yellow with time. If you want the colours to remain bright and true, use water-based. I have used both successfully on briefcases. The briefcase below was finished with oil-based varnish because I wanted a golden glow.

My finished briefcase.

Advanced Techniques

Cloisonne

What is it?

According to Websters Dictionary cloisonne is enamel decorated with colours separated from each other by fine wire or thin metal partitions.

What is it in decoupage terms?

Cloisonne is a technique for embellishing cutouts. It involves simulating the real cloisonne by adding a thin gold, silver, copper etc edge to the cut outs before adhering them to the surface. The photo shows gold cloisonne. To do this

I use metallic gold wrapping paper.
I stick the cutouts on the paper using sealer (Liquitex Gloss Medium & Varnish or Jo Sonya's All Purpose Sealer).
Do not use glue. It leaves a residue which must be removed and this can damage the cut outs.
When the sealer is dry, cut around the cut outs leaving 1mm of gold showing (see the photo)

This process takes longer to do because you are cutting twice. But the effect is worth it. You will also find that the cutout is thicker so varnishing will take longer. If you are using two-pack resin for the finish, it doesn't matter how thick the cutout is.

See Audrey Raymond's book *Traditional Decoupage* for another description of how to do cloisonne. This is where I first learned it.

This is what it looks like done with gold paper.

This is what it looks like done with silver paper.

Illumination

What is it?

According to Websters Dictionary illumination (as in manuscripts) is decoration by means of coloured initials, borders, pictures etc. Another meaning is to decorate with bright lights.

What is it in decoupage terms?

Illumination is a technique for decorating your cutouts with gold, silver, copper etc highlights.

To do this

Cut out small holes in your already cutout objects. (for example, cut out parts of the design in a character's clothing, or windows in a building)
Glue using sealer (Liquitex Gloss Medium & Varnish or Jo Sonya's All Purpose Sealer) a piece of metallic paper behind the cutout so that the paper shows through the hole you cut .
Do not use glue. It leaves a residue which must be removed and this can damage the cut outs.
Glue your cutouts onto the piece in the normal way.
You will find that the cutout is thicker so varnishing will take longer. If you are using two-pack resin for the finish, it doesn't matter how thick the cutout is.

See Audrey Raymond's book *Traditional Decoupage* for another description of how to do illumination. This is where I first learned it.

Combining Cloisonne and Illumination

When you are thinking about combining cloisonne and illunimation remember that a little bit goes a long way and don't overdo it. This is meant to be a subtle highlight not the main feature.

First cut the holes for illumination in your cutouts.
Glue using sealer (Liquitex Gloss Medium & Varnish or Jo Sonya's All Purpose Sealer) the holey cutout onto the metallic paper.
Now cut again leaving the 1mm cloisonne border around the cutout.
You will find that the cutout is thicker so varnishing will take longer. If you are using two-pack resin for the finish, it doesn't matter how thick the cutout is.

You can see in this detail of my briefcase that the hair ornament is an illumination and the cloisonne effect is around the edge of the figure's head and the butterfly.

See Audrey Raymond's book *Traditional Decoupage* for another description of how to combine cloisonne and illumination. This is where I first learned it.

Gilding

Gilding is relatively easy if you have the necessary supplies and equipment. In fact, it's easier than I imagined. Here's what you will need:

Dutch metal leaf(this is not real gold so it's a little cheaper to use)
Size (Langridge Size)
Bole (Indian Red Oxide paint - any acrylic brand will do)
Transparent shellac
White cotton gloves (for handling the leaf)
Soft brush

Here's how

Materials

Make sure the object you are going to gild is free of blemishes. Any bump or scratches will show up when the gold leaf is applied. So sand and wipe over with a damp sponge to remove the dust.
Sponge the bole on the object you are going to gild. You probably need two coats to cover.

Mask with Bole Applied

Allow the paint to dry before going further.
Sponge on the size.
Leave for about an hour to get tacky.
Put on your cotton gloves and pick up a piece of leaf.
Lay it over the object and let it settle on the size.
Dab lightly with the soft brush to ensure it is flat.

Mask with one coat of Gold Leaf Applied

Once the whole object has been covered, brush over it to remove the ragged little bits of leaf that remain.
The leaf will break and leave gaps. If the gaps are too large for your liking, reapply more size and gild again.

Mask with 2 Coats of Gold leaf Applied

Allow the object to dry for several hours.
Apply two coats of sealer. If you have shellac, use that. Either will work. This is essential because it stops tarnishing.

Now you can découpage on top of the gilding.

Note: if you are using silver leaf, do not undercoat with Indian Red Oxide. Use Jo Sonya's Storm Blue or a similar darkish blue. Black also works well with silver.

Découpage Candles

Materials

Candle
Scotch Magic Tape
Sanding pad
Paper cutouts / Quilling strips / fine ribbon or braid
Oil based varnish
Gesso or Magic Effects Special White Paint
Elephant ear sea sponge
Paints
Sealer (Liquitex Gloss Medium & Varnish or similar)
Glue (PVA and Clag or Elmers mixed 1:4)

Preparation

Mark the area of your design on the candle
If the candle is wrapped, remove the wrapper to 5mm more than the design area
If the candle is not wrapped, mask off the area to be left plain with paper and fasten with Scotch Magic Tape
Lightly sand area to be painted with a sanding pad, and remove dust with a tack cloth
Apply two thin coats of oil based varnish to the uncovered area. Allow to dry (24 hours between coats)
If you are covering the candle completely with paper image cutouts apply with suitable glue (PVA + Clag or Liquitex Gloss Medium & Varnish)

If doing images on a painted background, sponge on 2 to 3 coats of gesso. DO NOT SAND. Allow to dry between coats.
Sponge on background colours over dry gesso and allow to dry.
Apply cutouts with suitable glue. Borders may be cut from large sheets or use quilling strips.
Allow to dry.
Seal work with 2 coats of Liquitex Gloss Medium & Varnish
Dip or brush on 5 coats of varnish, lightly sanding between the 4th and 5th coats.
Using a craft knife, cut around the top of your design and remove the wrapper and tape.
Finish the cut edge with ribbon or braid (5mm space)