The Craft / Art Room

Craft Projects, Art Projects, General Creativity and Mess-making

Back to the Craft Room

TEA PARTY LADY PROJECTS

Decoupage Tea Tray

Being a Tea Party Lady on a budget isn't easy. With this project you can create your own whimsical tea trays using a method called "decoupage".

Découpage is the art of decorating any hard surface with paper cut-outs so that the paper pictures appear to be inlaid. The name is derived from the French word 'découper' meaning - 'to cut'. 18th century Europeans used to use painted engraved prints to decorate furniture, in an attempt to imitate oriental lacquering.

All forms of découpage employ the same method - the surfaces of objects are sealed, pictures are cut out and assembled in a design you like, and then glued down separately. The design is then covered with several coats of lacquer/varnish, and the finished product looks as though the pictures had been inlaid in the object.

You can decoupage nearly anything that has a hard surface: boxes, frames, furniture, old dishes (turn a plate into a work of art!). And with modern products like Aleene's Instant Decoupage and Mod Podge, projects are a snap!

Tea Tray

For this project you will need:

Acrylic paint: Ivory
Antiquing Wash: Cornflower OR
Light blue acrylic paint, very watered down
All purpose sealant
Decoupage medium: Aleene's Instant Decoupage or Mod Podge
Paper maché tray or any old tray
Sponge brushes
Small rectangular sponge or rag
Cut-out pictures

Seal the surface of the tray OR mix All Purpose Sealant with ivory paint. Cover surface with one or two coats. Allow to dry completely.
With a small sponge, dab on the blue antiquing wash. Allow to dry completely.
Assemble your pictures. Since this is a tea tray, I chose pictures of tea cups, tea pots, silverware and, for accent, pink and yellow roses. Choose your main picture for the center of the tray, and lay out the rest of the pictures all around the center.
With a foam brush, apply the decoupage medium to the back of each picture. Place the picture on the surface and smooth out all the excess air bubbles and decoupage medium out with your thumb or forefinger, pressing from the center outward.
Coat the entire surface with 3-4 layers of Instant Decoupage. Allow to dry completely between coats.
Repeat this process with the back of the tray if you like.