Quick Gift - Decoupage Notebook

I have 5 nephew's and 2 nieces. and it seems that every year we are more broke than the last. So the Christmas Gift budget for the extended family keeps getting smaller. So for a couple of years now I've been only giving gifts to the kids. Last year I made then crayon rolls from Skip to my Lou that I embroidered there names on - loved her tutorial.

This year I think I've hit sonic speed in how fast I was able to make all 7 gifts. I made them Decoupage Notebooks. I wrote a blog post early this year about my Decoupage secrets. I had to move my project to my cutting table because my scrapbook table is a mess!

For these 7 I bought kids wrapping paper one for the boys and one for the girls. The wrapping paper was very thin so the first few had way to much Mod Podge. I then used letters for the boys initials and I had small letters to be able to do the girls names (the short versions of there names).

If I do this again in the future I think I want to write something up that might inspire them to keep a journal and put that note inside.

My Decoupage secrets

Ok, I'm going to give up my decoupage secrets. Every year I make a bag for the 'Cochenille Design Retreat' participants, but because this year they will be making bags, one more from me was not going to be any big whoopie!

So a retreat participant that has come almost every year for the past 20 years, suggested I bring materials so that we can decoupage a note book. Easy cheesy - I can put a spin on that.

First Big secret - you never want to print on white paper!!!! The white around the images makes things look cheap. Print on color paper.

If you find a nice 12 x 12 paper just cut it down and them put it in your printer.




Second Big secret - As soon as you put glue on a paper printed on an ink jet printers - It's going to smear!
Two options:
- print it out and take it to the copy center and make a copy (FYI if you are going to do this print it on White paper and bring your color paper with you to the copy center and hand it to them)
- The secret I have only told to a small group of people (until now) is you can spray it with Spray Adhesive, a fine full coat over the entire image. So you don't have to go to the copy center and you don't get smears!






Then pre-cut and layout your paper so that you know where you are going to put everything.


Then brush on a layer of Decoupage Sealer and Finish.




Arrange your papers on the decoupage glue on the notebook.

Third Big secret - Take a Brayer and run it across all your papers - press firmly - this will ooze out all the extra glue that makes the paper ripple when drying.


Then give it on overall layer of the Decoupage Glue Sealer and Finish.


When your done and it's all dry take a Exacto knife or a razor blade and cut off any excess paper that might be hanging off the edge.



and your done!