This instruction is about Découpage (French for "cutting") and how to dress up a heart made of clay. The endresult will be a small heart of clay, dressed with a motive from a napkin.

Step 1: You Need This...

To do this you need a couple of things:

- Your motive (napkin, picture from newspaper etc)
- A Decoupage brush
- Decoupage glue (the green bottle)
- Decoupage sealing varnish (to make the motive glossy)
- An object to put your motive on (can be made of almost any material)

Step 2: Tear Off Your Motive...

Napkins are very easy to use for decoupage since they are so thin.
The thinner paper the smaller or invisible overlapping edges will become.

Tear of the napkin layer of paper that has the motive.

Step 3: Tear or Cut Out a Piece

Tear out a piece of the napkin that is suitable for your object (in my case the heart of clay).
It's easier to work with smaller pieces when you glue them later on, avoiding airbubbles and wrinkles.

Step 4: Brush Some Glue on Your Object

Start by putting some glue on your motive. Use a thin layer of glue for best result.

Step 5: Place Your Motive on Your Object

Now when you have put some glue on your object, it's time to place your motive on it.
Place it in the middle and put some glue on your brush. Start applying the glue from the middle and work your way out to the edges. We don't want any airbubbles to be visible so always start from the center of your motive when applying it. Use as much glue as you need. The napkin is supposed to be wet with glue everywhere.

Step 6: Rip Your Edges...

When you approach the edges of your object I suggest you rip the napkin into slices as image describes. The reason to this is to avoid wrinkles and bubbles when putting glue on it.

If you think it's to hard, just tear of the edges and apply them seperated as small pieces. I prefer not to tear them fully off since the edges gets more soften not doing it.

Step 7: When Frontside Is Done, Turn It...

K. So we are done with the frontside. Lets turn it and continue on the other side. Fix your edges by flipping them over to the backside and glue them as before. Tear out some new pieces from the napkin and fill out the rest of your object.

Remember to put glue on your object first before applying the pieces

Step 8: Glue Is Dry and It's Time for Some Glossy Feeling

When your découpage has dried and is not sticky you can apply the "Sealing varnish".
Just brush it on as if it was paint and be careful so that you don't miss a spot.
If you're not satisified with the glossy result, you can apply another layer of varnish when the first layer has dried.

Step 9: The Finished Result.

The heart is done. And from now on it is used as a place for jewels.

See the second image for another example of what you can use découpage on.

Please post your upcoming découpage items in this forum thread :-)
Good luck!
Cheers