Paper capers: The French art of decoupage turns tired into tres jolie

摘要

Newcomers to decoupage suddenly view every piece of paper as a potential artistic medium and every household object as a blank canvas - even those who say they have no creative bones in their bodies. Traditionally decoupage - "to cut out" -is a time-consuming craftin which pieces of patterned paper are applied to wooden household objects. The applications are slowly built up in layers of varnish that must dry between coats untilthe paper pattern melds with the host object beneath in an utterly smooth, immaculate surface. Complementary paint colours including silver or gold may be added to trim edges or fillin the background.