"Hope" Decoupage Mirror

Since I had so many people comment about how much they LOVED the chair that I decoupaged for the Authentique Paper booth at the Winter 2013 CHA Show, I thought that for my first blog post on the Authentique Blog I would walk everyone through the general process of how to decoupage using Authentique's awesome papers to transform and individualize items and objects to fit your home or even as gifts!  If you haven't tried using Authentique Paper for decoupaging you're certainly missing the boat- because all of Authentique's paper is so dense, it holds the decoupage medium beautifully and doesn't become saturated- which can lead to tears and rips while working on your project.

I began with using a mirror from Ikea and misted the backside of the mirror using IMAGINE Crafts' Walnut Ink in Java and Cornflower to give it a finished look.  I sponged the excess Walnut Ink off with a paper towel and let dry.

Using IMAGINE Crafts' Inkblushers (a wonderful tool for inks and any medium BTW!) to apply an even coat of Creative Medium across the front of the mirror.  You can easily cut the mirror out of the frame, then use a hot glue gun to replace the mirror when you're finished if you'd like.

Place the mirror FRONT SIDE DOWN (the side covered with Creative Medium) onto the BACKSIDE of the paper you've selected.  For this mirror I used "Adorn" for the base paper on my mirror.  

Flip the mirror over and then flatten the paper completely down onto the mirror.  You may find it helpful to use a brayer or the side of a bone folder to smooth out the paper to ensure that there are no air bubbles under the paper.  Fold over all four edges of the paper and score along the edge of the mirror- this will give you guide lines for trimming the excess paper while at the same time making sure that the paper will wrap around the edges of the mirror and avoid any air pockets.

Working opposite sides of the mirror at the same time, apply Creative Medium to both the paper and the edge of the mirror, fold into place and hold down for a few seconds to make sure that the paper is adhering to the mirror snuggly.  

Use the edge of the mirror to trim the excess paper with a SHARP blade in your X-Acto knife- believe me when I say that I'm saving you grief by telling you to always have a sharp blade for doing this!  Repeat for the remaining two sides of the mirror.

Flip the mirror over to the front side and lightly press down towards the center of the mirror to find the inside edges.  Using your knife, cut the paper out to reveal the mirror underneath.

I used "Promise" as the two side layering pieces and layered "Adorn II" pieces on top that I trimmed down to add pattern to the front of the mirror.  I edged all of the paper pieces with Memento Potter's Clay ink which was applied using an Inkblusher.

Once all of my layering pieces were adhered with Creative Medium, I began adding coats of Creative Medium onto the mirror allowing each coat to dry completely before adding the next coat.  I prefer using Creative Medium instead of Modge Podge simply because it dries quicker and isn't tacky to the touch when dry.

To hang the mirror and to add some embellishment, I used Memento Potter's Clay and Summer Sky inks to antique some teal colored seam binding tape.  If you'd like to add even more embellishments to your mirror (I was going for more of a plain and simple look) their are some awesome stickers and other embellishments that can be found with "Details" sheets that coordinate with the "Hope" collection.

The infamous "Hope Chair" from CHA.

Products Used:

Authentique Paper- "Hope" collection: Adorn, Adorn II, Promise 12x12 papers

IMAGINE Crafts / Tsukineko:  Creative Medium Shimmer, Inkblushers, Walnut Inks in Java and Cornflower, Memento Potter's Clay and Summer Sky.

Other supplies:  Mirror from Ikea, seam binding tape, X-acto knife