To be honest, I don't like napkins. And I work very little with them. But I firmly believe that any decoupager should be able to perfectly stick a napkin. Despite the fact that it is much easier to stick a decoupage card, a printout, and rice paper, most of the work is done with napkins. This is due, of course, primarily to the fact that while we have napkins are the most affordable material for decoupage. I don’t like napkins not because of their capriciousness, but because it is necessary to adapt to their size. And the capriciousness of napkins is their shortcoming, which is very easy to deal with. And I will try to convince you

But let's start with the bad news. There are napkins that, in principle, are not suitable for wet decoupage. I don't know what it is connected with, but they start to spread as soon as water gets on them. And here no pre-treatment with varnish will help. You can try to stick these napkins in a hot way. In a nutshell, this is how it works.

The prepared surface is smeared heartily with PVA glue. After the glue dries, put a napkin on the surface and iron it through the paper with a hot iron. We recommend using baking paper. I tried through a simple one - the result is the same. The napkin is glued evenly without wrinkles. But that's where the positives end, in my opinion.

And now about the cons of this method. It can only be used on absolutely flat, wooden surfaces. Stick on a surface covered with acrylic paint. Acrylic lacquer is very high temperature, to put it mildly, does not like. And another very important point. We always cover the work with varnish. So, a napkin glued in this way must be very carefully varnished. The first layer should be very thin. The napkin should not get wet. Otherwise, even small ones may form on the napkin, but in huge number bubbles. And now apply the next layers of varnish boldly.

Those. the conclusion is this - this method of gluing a napkin should be in the arsenal of any decoupage machine. But applying it must be in view of all of the above.

They also try to glue napkins on a sticky pencil. I didn't do it myself. But good reviews I have not read about this method. There will be a desire - experiment.

And one more way that some decoupage artists successfully use. But I didn't like him. The napkin is sprayed with hairspray, then ironed with a hot iron. The procedure is repeated several times. Yes, a certain effect is achieved, but if the fragment is large, then it may not work. Hairspray is water-soluble and, unlike acrylic, does not polymerize when dried. More durable than usual, the napkin remains for a short time.

Well, now about how I tame napkins. Well, along the way, some more advice from me.

In the work I will use exactly the materials that were mentioned in the previous lesson. This does not mean at all that it is necessary to work with exactly the same materials.

We start with surface preparation. In this case, it is the simplest and most common - wooden.

As with any surface, the very first step is a primer. I take PVA glue and dilute it with water in a ratio of 1: 1. In order to never forget about the primer, we must firmly grasp why we do it at all. In this case, on wooden surface. Everyone knows that wood has a porous structure, i.e. the surface is absorbent. There are a myriad of pores, but they all absorb differently. Some are especially gluttonous, if they are not sealed, they can absorb not only paint, making the surface spotty, but then glue. Which will lead to the fact that over time, an air bubble may form in this place, because. the wood will continue to breathe. In addition, during the priming process, fibers will rise on the wood, which were simply pressed to the surface during processing. And they definitely need to be shredded.

Having primed the surface two or three times with intermediate drying for at least 1 hour, we finally let our work dry for at least 24 hours. Then we take a sanding sponge or the finest sanding paper and diligently sand the entire workpiece. It should be absolutely smooth.

When the primer dries completely, cover the entire surface with 2-3 layers of white acrylic paint. Because the layer of napkin with which we will work further, the translucent surface almost always needs to be covered with white paint first. Otherwise, the picture will become inexpressive or the colors will change a lot. Drawing the background is done after the napkin is pasted. The paint can be applied with a brush, sponge, roller or just a piece of foam rubber. I always use a roller and a brush.

Take a closer look at the work of experienced decoupagers. The surface of their work looks absolutely smooth. And I advise all novice decoupagers, from the very beginning, to achieve just such a result. Moreover, there is nothing complicated in this. Take the smallest skin and skin all the work. If after this procedure the paint layer becomes slightly translucent, apply another layer and, after drying, sand it again. This must be done even if the napkin is glued to the entire surface. This will prevent damage to the napkin when you sand the varnish.

When the quality of the surface suits you completely, cover it with one thin layer of varnish and let it dry completely. This will help you stick the napkin easier. On a smooth surface, a napkin soaked with glue will slide and be easier to straighten. Separate the top paint layer from the napkin.

And now let's figure out how best to glue the napkin. If the fragment is small. There is no need to be especially smart. A fragment from a napkin is cut out or torn out. But most often they cut and tear out. It is better to cut along even clear boundaries. Where it is impossible to cut, it is better to tear out. Separate parts of the pattern, connected to the main pattern by thin connecting lines, always cut or tear out separately. Because in the process of sticking, you will still tear them off. And trying to straighten them, you will lose time, during which you can straighten the main fragment that has not yet become sour. They are much easier to stick on later. Let's look at the example of this napkin.

If you need to paste a fragment about a quarter of a napkin or more in size, it is better to use the file method. In a suitable container, I have a tray, put a regular stationery file. Place a napkin face down on it and gently fill it with water. There should be enough water so that the napkin slides freely over the file, but does not float.

In these two pictures you can see that even almost a whole napkin was glued without a single fold. We coat the entire napkin with glue.

After the napkin is glued, cover it with one layer of varnish. This is necessary so that when you do the painting, you can erase the paint if you accidentally climb onto the drawing. Choose the color of paint for painting. This is quite an exciting, but painstaking process. But you can't save time on it. If you unsuccessfully pick up the paint, you can spoil the whole work. I have repeatedly seen works where the napkin seems to be well pasted and the composition is well-composed, and the background color of the napkin does not match the color of the painting. And because of this, the work looks like the result of the work of a first-grader in a labor lesson. Check the paint color before it dries. When it dries, the color will change, but when varnished, it will become the same as it was when wet.

There is another way to work with a napkin - lamination. The method is quite interesting, but it takes a little more time. For him, we also take a file or film. Put a napkin on the file front side up. We prepare a solution from water with a small addition of varnish of about 10: 1 and fill it with a napkin on a file. We smooth the napkin, as in the method with the file. We take out the file with a napkin and leave it until the napkin is completely dry. The second time we fill the napkin on the file with a solution of water and varnish in a ratio of 3: 1. And let it dry again. And finally, we dilute the varnish a little with water and cover the napkin with a brush. Napkins laminated in this way can also be glued to a dark background. Just pre-paint the back side with white paint.

Here, perhaps, are all the most common ways to stick napkins. Well, now, let's bring our work to mind. The napkin is pasted, the background is tinted - varnishing remains. There are several opinions about varnishing. Someone thinks that two or three layers of varnish are enough, someone stops at five or six. But there are those who believe that the varnish should be at least 20-25 layers. And if you need more. In my works, I never apply less than 25-30 layers of varnish, although I work mainly with printouts. It's up to you to decide, but when working with napkins, in addition to appearance it is also necessary to be guided by the fact that if the napkin could not be glued without folds, then there should be as many layers of varnish as needed to hide these folds. Sanding should be done with the finest sandpaper or a medium sanding sponge. The first polishing - after three layers of a varnish, the subsequent every two layers. The first polishing must be done very carefully so as not to damage the napkin. This is where all the defects in surface preparation can come out. If rough areas remain on the surface, there is a risk of damaging the napkin on them. After 5 or 6 sanding, it is necessary to ensure that after grinding the surface is absolutely uniform, matte, without flashes. Once again I want to repeat, if you just want to protect the surface with varnish, the napkin is pasted without wrinkles and there is no desire to get an imitation of a polished surface - you should not transfer the varnish and apply more than 5-6 layers.

Unfortunately, I am a bad photographer, and photographing such works is very difficult. In the light, they glare strongly and the work looks spotty and not expressive. And with diffused room light, the effect of varnishing is not transmitted. But to show what the varnish looks like after 30 layers of varnish, I photographed the work on the windowsill. In the same photo, you can see that brush marks can be avoided with this method of varnishing.

That's like everything. I hope I managed to convince you that, on the one hand, decoupage is available to everyone, but on the other hand, in order to get a good result, you need to make some efforts and have some knowledge.

Creative success to all and see you soon!

→ Methods for sticking napkins

February 19, 2010

Now I will talk about how to glue decoupage napkins without wrinkles.

In general, my personal opinion is that there is no concept of “how to do it right” in decoupage. Everyone chooses the way that he does best, and there are a great many of these ways!

To begin with: the napkin can be glued as a whole, or in parts. This usually depends on the pattern and on the surface on which the napkin is applied. For example, you won’t be able to stick a whole napkin without folds on a spherical surface with all your desire - you need tucks.

Secondly, the question “cut or tear?” If the drawing has clear boundaries (for example: it is a separate flower, or, as in the photo, - bat) - unambiguously cut out.

If we are working with a drawing whose background we will need to finish, trying to hide the border between the napkin and the background, we tear the napkin with our hands.

Before applying the napkin, be sure to tint the surface of the workpiece with white paint, otherwise the napkin will lose its brightness, because after varnishing it will become half transparent. The result will be disappointing: the napkin will take on the background color and may become almost invisible.

Now about the methods of gluing, they can be combined into two types:

1. First smear the surface to be decorated with glue - then apply a napkin.

2. First, attach the napkin to the surface, and then smear it with glue or varnish, the glue will soak the napkin through and through - and it will stick.

For gluing, by the way, you can use a variety of adhesives: specialized potches for decoupage, PVA glue, diluted PVA glue, glue stick, even egg white, or you can stick it directly on the varnish (in the case of varnish, the napkin adheres to the surface almost tightly, therefore for beginners, it’s better to use PVA glue - it’s cheap and easy to wash off if something doesn’t work out).

Now for the tools: you can use brushes or smear the glue with your fingers. Some masters believe that you can do everything more accurately with your fingers, because their sensitivity is higher. I prefer to work with a flat brush (fan brush, synthetic, #4 or larger):

Let's start gluing!

Method 1: PVA glue and decoupage

We breed PVA glue 1: 1 and, having attached a napkin, we begin to smooth the napkin, moving from the center to the edges. You can do this with a brush or fingers, but the main thing is to move a little bit in different directions so that the napkin is saturated with glue evenly. In this case, the edges of the napkin must be evenly lifted so that the resulting wrinkles are immediately removed.

A popular way on the forums is to “pour a puddle of glue into the middle of a napkin and smear it with your fingers in a circular motion". The author of this technique is kzero. Excess glue is then removed with ordinary napkins.

Method 2: glue stick (or PVA) and iron (from here)

This method is suitable for large flat surfaces. The surface is smeared with glue, dried with a hairdryer, covered with a napkin. The napkin straightens as much as possible and is covered on top with baking paper. Ironed.

Top with another layer of glue. It turns out very smoothly:

Method 3: plastic file and decoupage (taken from here)

For this method, we take an ordinary plastic file in which we put business papers. The cut out napkin for decoupage is placed on the file! Facing the file! and pour water on top.

Gently spread the napkin on the file with your fingers. In a puddle of water, this is not difficult :) Excess water is drained.

The most important thing is that at least one edge of the napkin sticks to the surface, then the rest of the napkin will begin to stick behind it.

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Method 4, auxiliary: sprinkler

The napkin is pre-sprayed with water from a spray bottle so that it stretches. Then dry and, if necessary, iron. Thanks to this method, the napkin stretches less when pasted and less wrinkles form.

You can also sprinkle a napkin with an aerosol acrylic varnish and, after drying, iron it. From this, the napkin will “get stiff” and will not stretch and wrinkle so much. It is only necessary to take into account one thing: when spraying with varnish, the napkin already ceases to be permeable to water or glue, which means that it is necessary to coat the surface with glue BEFORE applying the napkin.

Method 5: remove the consequences. After a fight, they wave ... with a skin)))

If we glued the napkin and it dried with a crease, all is not lost. The fold itself can be gently sanded with a sandpaper-zero. Most importantly, do not overdo it, otherwise you will erase the pattern of the napkin.

Method 6: Applying wrinkle-free wipes (my own method)

Well, the number of my students has long exceeded one hundred people, which means that the method has gone to the people, it's time to show it to a wide audience :)

For this method, a fan synthetic brush and water are used. Fixing the napkin with varnish or glue occurs after its application.

If there are questions, I will gladly answer.

If someone has problems watching the video - mk based on my method in step by step photos from the master Kukushechka can be viewed on the website of the Country of Masters.

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You can transform old or ordinary items into unique ones using various techniques, but one of the most popular and affordable is decoupage. Available materials and tools are used in the work. All you need is “special” is paper or napkins. And about how to master decoupage for beginners, we will tell below. You don't have to buy anything super expensive. Glue, napkins, varnish, brushes, scissors. That's the whole set of necessary tools.

Decoupage for beginners: we collect everything you need

To begin with, briefly about what and with what you have to work. In general, decoupage is fixing on the basis of material or paper with a printed pattern. In order for the pattern to last longer, it is covered with several layers of varnish. Here is a brief description of the decoupage technique.

Decoupage is a technique that allows you to make something special out of ordinary things.

Base

As bases for decoupage, any slightly absorbent base is suitable. What can this technique be applied to? On the following grounds:

As you can see, the list is solid. Not suitable for decoupage only very porous bases with large quantity irregularities. And so you can decorate everything: from dishes of any kind to furniture and doors (and you can both the surface of the doors itself and glass inserts).

List of tools

Few tools needed:

All of the tools. Unless you still need stationery - a ruler, a pencil, an elastic band.

Expendable materials

Now let's talk about consumables. We will not talk about napkins and paper here - there is a separate paragraph about them. In addition to them, to make decoupage with your own hands, you will need:

That's all that may be required, so although it requires decoupage for beginners, cash investments, but not very large ones.

Napkins, paper

For decoupage, napkins and printed paper are used. They are glued to the surface, varnished. There are the following types of materials for that type of decor:

In general, special pastes are also used to create three-dimensional images, ordinary photographs from which the bottom layer of paper has been removed and other drawings. But it is not easy to work with them, and this is not decoupage for beginners, but for those who are already developing their skills.

Napkin decoupage: techniques

The main idea of ​​decoupage is to decorate the surface with an image or pattern. The process is creative and there are no concepts of “right” or “wrong”. Surfaces and patterns are different, so different techniques are used. You just have to choose the way that works best for you.

Bottle decoupage is a good start for beginners

The easiest way to start mastering decoupage is by gluing large fragments. When you learn how to glue napkins without wrinkles, you can move on - master the methods of volumetric decoupage or the use of crequelure varnish. In the meantime, let's figure out how to work with large fragments.

Preparatory work

First of all, you need to remember that napkin decoupage for beginners will have to start with the preparation of the base. It should be even, smooth, without pits, cracks, humps (except for those provided specifically). To help - putty and sandpaper. After the surface is leveled, the workpiece is covered with soil (selected according to the type of material) and then covered with white paint.

The stage of applying white paint is mandatory. The fact is that the napkins are very thin, and when glued, they become translucent. If they are pasted on a white surface, the pattern is still bright. If the surface is colored or dark, it fades noticeably, there is no proper effect. Therefore, the paint must be applied even to plastic or ceramics and, possibly, in several layers.

What to do with a napkin

First you need to decide in what form to use a napkin.

How to decide whether to tear a napkin or cut out elements from it? According to the size of the picture. If the fragments are large, have clearly defined boundaries, they are cut out. If the drawing is small, one will be pasted next to the other, they are torn. In this case, it will be easier to match the edges.

Gluing methods

You can choose how to stick napkins for decoupage only by experience. First of all, we decide what exactly we will glue. Can:

• Varnish.
• Special glue.
• PVA - divorced or not.
• Glue stick.
• Egg white.

Gluing on varnish is no worse than glue. But after drying, you can’t do anything anymore - the napkins become almost monolithic with the product. If you don't like something, there will be no chance to change it. Therefore, beginners most often use PVA glue - it is cheaper, it is convenient to work with it.

If you decide to use PVA, you will still have to think (or try) to use it diluted or undiluted. Most often it is diluted with ordinary water in a ratio of 1: 1. When such an adhesive composition is used, one must be prepared for the fact that the napkin soaks from water, can stretch in different directions, and tear from careless movements. Basically, you have to get used to it.

Glue stick is also a good option... if you can get all the bubbles and wrinkles out. This is normal on smooth, slippery surfaces. If the surface is rough, it is much more difficult. It is safe to work with egg white, but it is specific, so if you want, you have to try.

How and where to apply adhesive

Beginners usually choose a small size for their first object for decoupage. In principle, this is not bad. It’s just desirable that the shape be simpler: without a lot of bends.

If the object of decoration is small, you can use a brush or fingers to apply the glue. With the same "tool" then level the napkin. The brush is used flat or true - to whom it is more convenient. Many people prefer to work with their fingers - you can feel all the folds.

When gluing napkins for decoupage, glue can be applied to an object or a napkin. They do it this way and that. When applied to a napkin, again, there are two techniques:

• Glue is applied evenly to the entire glued piece, applied to the base in the middle. With movements from the middle to the edges, air bubbles are expelled and wrinkles are straightened.
• A certain amount of glue is poured into the middle of the fragment. Further actions are the same: lay on the base, smooth.

In the second technique, it is easier to deal with bubbles and wrinkles - with a large amount of semi-liquid glue, this is easier.

What and how you will do is not important. It is important that there are no wrinkles or bubbles.

You can also do it if you spread the glue on the base: make a small puddle in the place where you are going to glue the fragment, lay it down, and, lifting the edges, drive out the bubbles and smooth out the wrinkles.

Decoupage of a flat surface: glue + iron

When decorating flat surface You can do it easier than driving bubbles through the entire napkin. On the primed surface, apply a layer of PVA glue or coat with a glue stick. We smear it well so that “paths” do not form. Let's dry. You can use a hair dryer to speed up the process.

On the dried surface we lay and level the napkin, smooth it with our hands. We put a piece of baking paper on it and with a hot iron from the edge we begin to smooth it.

Decoupage for beginners - maybe try something like this?

Due to the fact that the glue is heated, it impregnates the napkin. Usually it turns out quite evenly. When everything is glued, smear glue on top and let it dry. This is perhaps the most easy way learn decoupage for beginners.

File + water and glue

Decoupage for beginners using a file for documents (we choose a denser film), water and glue. This method is good if you decorate with large drawings (cut out). Pour a little clean water into the middle of the file, put the cut out fragment into it, face down. We carefully straighten it, expelling bubbles and straightening wrinkles. It's easy in a puddle of water.

When the fragment is straightened, lift the edges of the file and drain the water. The pattern remains adhered to the smooth film. In this state, it is convenient to “try on” and look for the best place for him.

Having found the area where you want to place the decoration, we apply the drawing on the film and begin to smooth it. This is a very difficult moment. It is necessary to ensure that at least one edge of the napkin sticks. After one of the edges of the image has been fixed, gradually smoothing and gradually lifting the edge of the film, we achieve that the napkin remains on the base. If you act gradually, gradually gluing the picture to the base, there will be no bubbles or wrinkles. This method is suitable as decoupage for beginners.

When one edge is stuck, everything is easy

The last stage - we coat the adhered napkin with diluted PVA glue. After it dries, we already apply a protective layer of varnish.

A few secrets

This cannot be called a method of gluing napkins for decoupage. These are little tricks and tricks that can help you deal with creases faster or better.

1. Before work, the cut fragments are moistened with water from a spray bottle. The napkin stretches, drying it no longer shrinks. If she has become very warped, she is ironed. Then use as usual. Since the paper is already straightened, it almost does not stretch. Everything goes easier.
2. Moisten the fragment with acrylic varnish in the form of an aerosol. In this case, the napkin will become stiff, it does not stretch and does not form folds. But lacquered, it no longer allows glue to pass through, therefore we coat the surface with glue and a treated napkin on it with glue.
3. Soak a napkin that is already on the base (dry) and only then coat it with glue. It's hard to explain, watch the video.

We eliminate flaws

If the surface is decorated with small torn fragments, from which it is necessary to obtain a single whole, straighten the edges of the fragments with a brush or fingers. If somewhere there is a heterogeneity of color, we dilute the paint of the desired shade and paint over the translucent base.

When the surface is no longer very wet, but not yet dry, you can use thin brushes and acrylic paints draw details, add brightness and clarity.

The next step is the design of the edges of the product. Here the approaches are different. Somewhere you have to cut the edges evenly, painting over the sidewalls, somewhere you can wrap the napkin on the back side and glue it there. In general, this is also a whole science.

Bringing to the finish look is no less creative process

After that, you can already leave the product to dry. To speed up the process, you can use a hair dryer, but you need to keep it at a considerable distance, move all the time and make sure that it dries evenly. If, after drying, you see that there is a crease on the glued napkin, you can still fix it. We take fine-grained sandpaper, sand it. We act gently so as not to damage the drawing around.

Varnishing

The dried product is covered with acrylic varnish on water based. You can use another, but this one is recognized as the best. First one layer is applied, after it dries, the second. You can stop at this, but if active use is expected (caskets, chairs, etc.), there can be more layers of varnish - three or four.

Photo of decoupage products

Learning the technique is not bad, but without knowing the possibilities, it is difficult to imagine what can be done and what can be expected. A few photos will help you decide what you can or want to do.

Turning an old table into a new and very unusual one is the power of decoupage

Stools are also an art object

This technique is called reverse decoupage - napkins are glued to the glass with the front side

Any needlework has its own tricks and life hacks. This usually comes with experience. In the process of work and a lot of spoiled crafts, several ways of gluing napkins were invented. Of course, it is hardly possible to completely avoid wrinkles, but it is quite possible to minimize them.

Materials, workpiece selection, tools

To achieve a quality result, quality materials are required. In this case, the commonly used PVA glue loses to acrylic counterparts: products with decoupage made with PVA often turn yellow over time. Decoupage adhesive varnish devoid of these shortcomings and allows you to achieve the best result.

The shape of the base also matters - the success of the event depends on its features. It is much easier to glue a napkin without folds on a flat workpiece than on a voluminous one. Therefore, beginners are advised to train to do decoupage on flat blanks: panels, clocks, housekeepers. When working with bulky blanks (vases, glasses, Christmas balls etc.) wrinkles are much more difficult to avoid. You have to undermine the napkin in several places, work with gluing the elements separately.

As tools, brushes are used to help evenly distribute the glue on the surface and smooth the napkin. It is better to choose brushes that are flat and moderately hard, the ideal option is a large fan brush made of synthetic fiber.

Gluing methods

First important point. Don't forget to peel the napkin! For decoupage, only the top, bright, colorful layer of the napkin is needed. It is thin and translucent. Many beginners get large wrinkles and bumps on the product just because they forget to remove the extra paper layers of the napkin before gluing!

1. This method is good for small applications, cut or torn from napkins and decoupage cards of small elements.

The motif is applied to the surface and smeared on top and smoothed out with light movements from the center to the edges, gradually expelling air and excess glue beyond the borders of the fragment. In the process, wrinkles and wrinkles are removed, and the excess composition is blotted with soft white paper or a sponge.

2. Hot decoupage method. Flat large surfaces are processed in a different way.

At the first stage, it is necessary to apply decoupage glue to the surface and let it dry.

Lay out the napkin and straighten it on the surface, cover with baking parchment and iron. In addition to heat treatment, due to which all wrinkles are smoothed out, the napkin is exposed to static electricity and literally “sticks” to the surface like a sticker.

At the last stage, a final layer of glue or varnish is needed. With this method, the surface is smooth and beautiful.

3. The third way - stationery method- also resembles working with stickers, only in this case the process is different.

Again, the motif cut out (or torn from a napkin) is applied with its face to a thin transparent envelope for business papers and moistened with plenty of water.

The napkin is straightened in liquid with a brush. The water drains, and the fragment sticks to the polyethylene. Further, the process is similar to working with vinyl stickers- a napkin on the file is applied to the surface (which is already pre-coated with a layer of decoupage glue), smoothed through the file with hands or a plastic card, then the transparent envelope is carefully removed, starting from one edge.

At the end, another layer of decoupage varnish is applied over the napkin. Let the product dry, decorate further as you wish.

To facilitate the work, the napkin can be pre-wetted or applied with diluted glue, dried. It will become less plastic and more rough. This application is easier to work with.

How to remove creases

What to do if wrinkles form despite all efforts? You can save work - fine-grained sandpaper is used to eliminate fine wrinkles. The abrasive skin is pressed with a fingertip (you can make it look like a ringlet) to the surface and the wrinkle is ground down with gentle movements along the fold, avoiding contact with neighboring areas if possible.

The slight abrasion that forms as a result is not striking, and decoupage, in principle, gravitates towards vintage effects. At the end, the craft is varnished, and the defect is leveled against the general background.

Alternatively, you can pick up shades of paint, like on a napkin, and tint already sanded folds.

From this article you will learn:
- about the practice of choosing PVA glue and special glue for decoupage in decor with various materials;
- yellowness from PVA glue and poor-quality gluing - myth or reality?
- about the preparation of a working solution for decoupage with PVA glue.

Video version of this article (part of the video course "Stylish decoupage from scratch for beginners: basics and materials")

"About decoupage glue PVA or special decoupage?"

Decoupage uses special or professional glue and PVA glue.

How to choose glue? When to use professional glue, and when to use ordinary PVA?
Having started decoupage with PVA glue and having tried special decoupage glues for comparison, I decided to use it once and for all in the following cases.
PVA glue for decoupage:
- with napkins more about decoupage with napkins;
- with rice paper more about decoupage with rice paper;
- with decoupage card
I use special glue for decoupage when decoupage with printouts
Since I am telling my decoupage experience, speaking on the topic of special decoupage glue, I will note that for all its merits, it has some stickiness of the composition. Stickiness is according to my impressions of the decor with it in comparison with PVA. Moreover, it was noted that this property is common for decoupage adhesives from different manufacturers, again, in contrast to PVA glue. And this stickiness creates certain inconveniences, especially when sticking motifs from napkins and rice paper. Perhaps this is a personal inconvenience. Nevertheless, with all the advantages of a special decoupage glue (and this is a really high-quality product), it is more convenient for me to use PVA in cases of decor with a napkin, rice paper and a decoupage card.

Yellowness from PVA glue and poor-quality gluing - myths or reality?

Existing myths about PVA glue:
MYTH 1 "This glue makes the surface yellow"
MYTH 2 "Details glued with PVA will peel off after a while"

Let's take a closer look at these myths. There is a widespread belief that PVA glue turns yellow on the product over time. This is not true. As a rule, the finish coatings turn yellow, and not the PVA glue itself.

Therefore, by choosing the “right” finishing varnish and using it in accordance with the instructions, you can be sure that decoupage products, if handled with care, will delight you with their beauty for a long time (see useful links at the bottom of this article about finish coatings).
Another myth which is not confirmed in practice is that the motifs pasted with the help of PVA will peel off after a while. For more than 5 years of serious decoupage, not a single detail has come off on any surface.

Thus, practice shows that PVA glue can be successfully used for beautiful and high-quality decoupage.

Preparation of a working solution for decoupage with PVA glue

Here is one nuance in working with PVA glue you need to know. The composition of the adhesive should not be thick. Therefore, you should not immediately use the purchased PVA glue for decoupage: immediately from the bottle - it is thick. To do this, when decoupage, it must be diluted with water in a ratio of 2: 1 (about 2 parts of glue and 1 part of water). This is best done once, at the time of gluing.

Preparation of the working composition (each time the composition is prepared for 1 time):
1. Pour into a separate bowl a portion for 1 time;
2. Dilute PVA glue with water (2: 1)

So, when choosing decoupage glue, you know that both special professional decoupage glue and PVA glue can be successfully used here.Opinions about the yellowness of PVA glue and its short-lived adhesive properties are myths that have not been confirmed in practice.
As our own practice shows, PVA glue diluted in certain proportions is best used for decoration.napkins, rice paper and decoupage card; special decoupage glue is used when decorating with printouts.

Catch all this and much more in the video course about the magic tool "2 in 1"
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