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I want to decorate some glass plates by decoupaging a pattern to the back of the plate. I have a choice of paper or fabric. Which would work best? Thanks in advance for your help.

I do decoupage. Which means really to apply CUT images to a surface. . . glass, wood, metal etc. Decoupage does not mean gluing a whole piece of anything fabric or paper etc to a surface (otherwise wallpapering would be decoupage!)

This is one of my pieces. Decoupage on glass. The cut images (each bird, flower etc is cut separately) are glued face down on the back of the glass. The glass is then painted, or it could be backed by fabric or paper or anything one chooses and then it is finished off like a regular picture. This is one way of working on glass.

This is a decoupaged plate. This was a little trickier because the gold had to be applied before the images were glued down. However the process is the same as with the previous work.

This back was painted and it can be hung or stood on a flat surface.

I can tell you exactly how to do a piece of decoupage if you wish.

this is another piece. also done in reverse on glass. Again each image is separately cut and then assembled in gluing (face down on the glass) to create a bouquet in a vase.

I used a piece of black mat board for the backing of this.

Thank you, Lady of Shallot, for your wonderful examples. I'm sorry that I didn't explain myself very well. I do plan to cut out images to use, but I didn't know if I had to use paper images or if I could also cut images from fabric and use them successfully. Of course, as a novice, I will be attempting much simpler designs than you have shown.

Gracie, I've done some before on furniture and used paper. I actually cut pictures from calendars. I've seen them do it with fabric too so either one will work.

Emily, those are my favorite decoupage items you have done, love the colors and I also love birds.

Gracie, I've used both paper and fabric for decoupage. However, fabric behaves very differently and needs careful handling as it stretches when wet with glue. Cutting paper is easier than cutting heavy fabric. I used good scissors and just took my time. Heavy fabric is easier than lighter weight to glue tho. I've never used any fabric lighter weight than heavy cotton drapery fabric.

I've never decoupaged on glass plates but the good thing about decoupage is that you can remove it and redo it if you don't like how it turns out. Please show us a pic when it's done.

I used a heavy cotton drapery/upholstery sample fabric for the back of this headboard bench. It's one of my unfinished projects which eventually will be done!

Lucky,
LOVE how that is coming along! That bench is wonderful.
I see you love of rugs with that beautiful one on the wall, really coordinates well with your bench idea!

LOS,
I love the parrot plate, your work is beautiful, that plate seems like something that could work in my house.

There is a book about dishes that is out and I am going to buy it. In it are beautiful photos of plates, and I thought I could copy (enlarge) a few and decoupage on the back of my dining room cabinets. Not sure yet if I will, just an idea at the moment. I found a photo of the book cover: (had to resize)


I would love to read how you did yours.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Mary Ruth,

Gracie I have never used fabric but as Joy LUck says it would be a horse of a far different color. (more difficult) I would suggest if you have a fabric pattern you want to use that you take it to a good print place and have a paper copy made (with color water proof).

Mary Ruth, did you mean the glass plates from Antropoligie on your pinterest site? I love the idea of doing it on the back of the china closet
I'm not too sure what you want to do though. Decoupage (or glue) pics of decoupaged plates on the back of the china closet? Why not? That would be an easy design statement. Or of course you could just glue pics of plates with the china designs on them.

Otherwise to decoupage a design of your own making would be just like doing decoupage on wood.

Here is a little tutorial I once did on decoupaging.

http://share.shutterfly.com/ac...e?sid=0IatHLhw1YsWft

I find cutting very relaxing and therapeutic so I usually have a back up of cut images. I first decide the general theme or colors I wish to use. Sometimes the idea comes from the images themselves sometimes from the desired effect or piece being decoupaged.

I gather together many more than I would actually use, sort of make a rough design then select from the images considered. Then either cut or start gluing if they already are cut.

I have worked on wood, glass, metal, and plastic.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: lady of shallot,

LOS,
Thank you for your reply. I was thinking to get clear plates and decoupaging on the backs of them, that way I could actually use one for scones or something easy to clean up afterwards.
They could also go on the back of the china cabinet and have more dimension than flat decoupaged right to the back of the cabinet.
Lots to think about before doing the actual project. First is to actually MAKE the cabinet! lol

I used to cut out multiple copies to make the layered stand up cut outs. That was a lot of work too and I also enjoyed the cutting time. But now with my neck unable to bend down too far or for any real length of time, I can't really do small work anymore.

I like the decoupage on the bookshelf with the green color.

In Nova Scotia there are ladies there who copy the art paintings (landscapes) on old jugs (fill with sand for door stop) and they decoupaged onto the jug with pictures. I always wanted to do one for my house to remind me of all those I saw growing up.

Is this similar to the Nova Scotia ladies work?

I just glued a pic of roses onto the glass jar that I painted the inside of (tricky. . . had to swish the paint around) and when DD was here recently and DH had bought roses for her room and put them next to the lamp, I was charmed by the juxtaposition.

O.K. now I get your idea. . .LOL about making the cabinet first or as my Pennsylvania Dutch relatives would say putting the cart before the horse!

I have a decoupaged lamp base made by someone else and looking at those images closely I see that they have been coated, probably with a clear finish like polyurethane (you can see the very narrow borders around the images) Doing this would prevent the paint used as a back ground from seeping under the image. That is a real pain in working under glass.

This is a piece by Scott Potter who lives in Portland. He has sold his work in Bergdorf's and this piece is from Shreve, Crump and Low.
It is $253 for a 10" plate.

His work is beautiful and he mostly works on glass

Another way one could embellish decoupaged plates would be to add words to them. This can easily be done with a ceramic pen, a cricut (if you have one), or by cutting letters from paper and gluing them on.

Here's an inspiration pic to show words on plates - of course these plates are not decoupaged but it might give the idea.

Here's another inspiration pic (not mine) using a pen...

Here's a pic of some plates I labeled with a ceramic pen and used as plant markers. This was a very easy craft and would work on decoupaged glass plates very well. I copied the idea from a blog years ago.

Joyluck and Victorian Girl, Thank you for your responses and ideas. That bench will look amazing when you are finished, Lucky.

Mary Ruth, I have that same book and love looking at the pictures. We've certainly been on the same wave length lately.

Lady of Shallot, Thank you for the link to your tutorial and the additional inspiration pictures. Beautiful!

LOS,
Beautiful, expensive but I can see why it is so much and the workmanship is amazing!

joyluck,
That is a neat inspirational photo! I like that. Lots to do with plates for sure!

What a great idea to label the plants right on the plate!

Gracie,
Looks like we have! My friend Judith loves this book and she is enjoying the photos too.

LOS, here is a photo of the type of jug, if it was the pottery one, the painting went along the bottom straighter sides. And the glass jug got painted all over with a background color and sometimes the scene when all the way up the neck.

Funny how such a 'common' thing when I was growing up and thought 'everyone' had one, now seems hard to locate? I think it might have been a local artist and my family just happened to own her work, my family didn't produce them. I can't find any information about this online. I will have to contact some relatives in NS to find out if I am the only one who remembers this jug art.

These jugs were saved to put moonshine in during the Prohibition years, and of course some artist took a 'throw away' item and turned it into something useful. Repurposed them.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Mary Ruth,

Mary Ruth when you are creative and resources may be limited (or not) you still are tempted to use things in an usual way!

About words particularly on glass plates. Don't forget you are writing backwards (from the wrong side and right to left) Can be tricky but I did it on one plate in my "Napoleon" series!

I can see about the writing!

Interesting to do that Napoleon series set. You can really create a set of something you enjoy!

Can experiment with colors too.