—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, August 7, 1976
66
Hand craft
I Continued from Page 65)
every average person could
do with success.
EQUIPMENT
The equipment needed to
do this handwork are a
wooden purse purchased
from any craft store, a
manicure scissors, a roller, a
decoupage tool, acrylic
paints, decoupage sealer,
varnish, base color, sand
paper, steel wool pads (0000
grade), a sponge brush, a
baby bottle, and liquid wax.
The designs and pictures
for on the pocketbook can be
gotten from almost any type
of paper product, and the
inside of the purse is finished
with velvet, burlap,
upholstery cloth, corduroy,
or a chamois.
PROCEDURE
Mrs. Warfel’s 15 easy steps
begin with “pick out your
favorite design from a
greeting card or wrapping
paper.” Then, spray both
front and back sides of the
design with decoupage
sealer, letting the paper dry
five minutes between each
spray. This is to seal in the
color so that it won’t run as
the process of making the
bag continues.
The third step is to sand
the wooden box and to mark
the lid and purse for front
and back differentiation.
This is to prevent finishing
the whole box only to have
the lid design on backwards.
Step four is to seal the
wood with three light coats of
decoupage sealer. The brand
of sealer does not matter.
However, brands should
sold and serviced by
PENN INCORPORATED
' R. D. 2 BANGOR, Pfl. 18013
never be mixed because this
can set up an unwanted
chemical reaction.
The next step is to paint
the box with a base color
coat of acrylic paints. This
takes a sponge brush, and
should be applied three or
four times.
After the base coat is
applied, the whole thing
should be sealed again. To
seal it properly, at least two
or three coats should be
applied.
When the base coat is
sealed and dry, a light
sanding of the purse with a
No. 400 sand paper is the
next step.
If an antique look is
preferred, spray on
decoupage antiquing and
wipe off with- cheesecloth,
then wait for 24 hours.
The ninth step os to again
seal the antiquing so that the
color doesn’t raise.
Now comes the time for
the design. To cut it out of the
paper, cut with the curved
end of the manicure scissors
pointing away from you.
This is opposite from the way
you would normally cut out a
design, but it is important,
since it makes the cut edges
of the design turn down
wards. Glue this design on
the box with diluted white
glue and flatten over it with
roller, so all air bubbles are
out.
To put on the raised por
tion of the design, place it in
water for a short time to help
to stretch it. Then, place the
wet paper on a spongy
material and gently stretch
The key to making a good raised design on the
purses is to work with the figure and dough to
make the animal's features stand out. Here, Mrs.
Warfel works with a decoupage tool to shape the
curve of the skunk's back so that it looks natural.
She i& working on wax paper and will try to make
the animal look as real as possible before she lets it
harden, and then paints the white dough with
acrylic paint to match the animal picture taken
from gift wrap.
it with a decoupage tool. This
is important since you will
need extra room which the
stuffing will take up.
The next step after
stretching the paper is to lay
a small amount of “dough”
or stuffing on the back and
place it on wax paper. Mrs.
Warfel always uses her own
recipe to make the dough or
stuffing, and not the com
mercial product for this
purpose. The commercial
stuffing springs back and is
much more expensive than
Mrs. Warfel’s homemade
dough.
Mrs. Warfel’s Dough
In pan, stir 1 cup com
starch, 2 cups baking soda (1
lb.). Mix in 114 cups cold
water.
Heat. Stir constantly until
mixture reaches a moist,
mashed potato consistency.
Turn out on plate and
cover with a damp cloth.
When cool enough to handle,
kneed like dough.
Store tightly in
refrigerator for future use.
The above dough lasts for
several months if stored
properly.
As was mentioned, place a
small amount of dough on
the back of the stretched
design, and place it, dough
down, on wax paper.
Shape the design from the
front of the paper. The object
of shaping the design or
scene is to give it character,
rather than to let it be a
“raised blob with a picture
stiick on top” as Mrs. Warfel
explains it. When shaping,
use the dough as filler to give
the animal features as you
observe them to be in nature.
To do this, most of the dough
around the edges of the
character is taken away, and
just the inside is stuffed.
A decoupage tool must be
used in this area of the
process. You should try to
shape character features,
such as a raised cheek, an
indented leg, etc. This all
takes practice, but with a
little work and tune, the
characters can look real.
After the raised object is
shaped, let it dry for 24 hours
or more and sand the rough
edges. Then, to make it all
blend in, paint around the
edges of the dough with
acrylic paints so the white
dough doesn’t show.
The next step is to glue the
figure onto the box with
white glue and let it dry for
24 hours.
Once the figure is glued
into place, it is time for the
decoupage finish. This
particular part in the
process takes 40 coats one
per hour or more depending
on the weather. There is a
trick to varnishing, which
Mrs. Warfel eagerly passes
on. She says to place the
brush in a baby bottle with
the handle sticking through
the cut off end of the nipple
and the brush sticking in the
varnish. This way, the brush
never needs to be cleaned.
Also, the varnish should be
“flowed on” and never
overlapped. To do this, the
brush is held nearly parallel
to the box to let the varnish
glide on. Then, for the next
coat, the box is given a
quarter turn and varnished
again.
When all 40 coats have
dried, sand with No. 400 grey
or white sand paper which
has been dipped in detergent
water. Then, use a dry No.
600 sandpaper and smooth
the surface until it is'milky
or dull. Rub it with steel wool
to finish it.
Step 14 is to wax with
liquid wax dipped in a fine
steel wool pad. Let it dry and
rub with flannel.
To finish the inside, using
white glue, secure the
burlap, upholstery cloth, or
corduroy. Finish with a
braid edging.
For feet, use upholstery
nails.
Although this process
sounds long and com
plicated, Mrs. Warfel insists
that anyone can do it. She
brings up the instance of her
80-year-old mother who did a
jewelry box for her using this
same technique.
And, she maintains anyone
can master this craft
because “a willing heart is
really the master.”
She uses this technique on
other objects besides purses,
also. For instance, she has
refinished plaques, plates,
and switchplates in this
manner.
In general, decoupaging
with repousse is a rewar
ding, fun craft for anyone to
do.