Decoupage Flower Vase Step-By-Step

I made a couple of decoupage vases the other day, and thought you might be interested in a quickie tutorial - since I bet we all have several of those plain glass vases that come with our flower deliveries.

It had been several years since I decoupaged anything, and I'll warn - if its your first time trying to decoupage, maybe skip using a vase, and try this on a flat surface, like a table-top. The process is the same, no matter what you are decoupaging. The difference is that adhering to a flat surface is a little easier, as you can smooth out the paper. With the curved surfaces of a vase, its a little trickier. But, still easy enough for a beginner (don't let me scare you out of trying this).

So the first thing you want to do is choose the paper you want to use. I used plain old scrap-booking paper.

Then I poured some Mod Podge into a plastic container. Mod Podge is the brand I use - but there's several to choose from at your local craft store. It's very similar in consistency to regular white school glue. You'll need a sponge brush or a regular paint-brush will work too.

Dip your brush into the glue. Not too much, just a small amount until you feel comfortable working with it.

Next take your piece of paper, cut to whatever size you choose, and put the paste on the side you want to stick to the vase. For me it was the white side of the paper. Cover the entire piece with glue, making sure to get even the edges. Don't worry, I worked on the granite counter, and the glue wiped right up with a wet rag.

Put the sheet on the vase and smooth it down onto the glass.

Don't spend too much time positioning for perfection...because you'll want to quickly cover the entire piece you just layed down with a layer of mod podge. Smear it over the whole piece of paper. You'll notice how it now lays and adheres to the glass much better.

Smooth out as many of the wrinkles and air bubbles as you can with your brush or your fingers.

I folded the edges at the bottom of the vase down and pasted them into place too.

Cut your next sheet and repeat the process. For this square-shaped vase, I used 4 sheets and pasted them all on. It was a quick and easy project. For the vase below, it was a bit more time consuming, because I chose to paste small pieces on, using the flowers on this paper.

But, the process was the same: cut the paper to the size and shape I wanted, paste the back-side and put it down on the glass, cover the entire piece of paper with a layer of mod podge, and smooth it out.

The glue will dry clear after a few hours. Obviously, you don't want to get the outside of the vase too wet, or the glue can come loose. And you wouldn't want to stick the flowers to the inside of the vase unless you were only planning on putting in dried flowers or branches that don't need water.

Here's how the vases looked the next morning after drying:

And here they are today - ready to be given to Saxon's teachers for Teacher Appreciation Day. He signed the bottom of each vase with permanent marker, and we made little tags with their names on them.

DIY Paper Flowers for Teacher Appreciation Week

This week is Teacher Appreciation Week at my son's preschool. They sent home an email last week with suggested items to bring for the teachers and staff each day. Tomorrow is Flower Day. And another day this week is Greeting Card Day.  Students are welcome to purchase these items, or make them by hand. Saxon and I decided to make our own flowers. I was planning on doing some fun tissue paper craft with him. But then two things happened that got in the way - he fells asleep at 6 PM and I realized we have no tissue paper.

So, I searched the net for other flower-related craft projects and found this awesome paper flower tutorial. at A Little Hut. The do-it-yourself project was very simple, if not a bit time-consuming considering I wanted to make 5 of these. However, the process became quite easy after repeating it so many times. And Saxon slept through the whole thing. Oh well - he will sign them in the morning!

Note: I did not use card stock. I used lightweight scrap paper. And I used Elmer's Craft Glue, which nearly dried on contact - so I didn't have to use the clothespins to hold my folds together. I held them with my fingers for a few seconds and they stayed. That's some great glue! The artwork on the bottom is a stamp that I colored in with a pink marker. I used fun, scalloped-edged scissors to cut the green card-stock.

So here's how they turned out...I think we may end up saving these for Greeting Card Day and just buy some flowers in the morning! Clearly, these are not as polished-looking as those stunning red ones from the lady who wrote a book on crafting with paper. But, I think anything that someone attempts to make by hand for another person shows a lot of appreciation, don't you? The teachers deserve more than just a quirky-card made in china and printed in the gazillions. Maybe I should spray them with perfume too!