Did you find your old suitcase in the pantry or on the mezzanine? Do not rush to throw it away, even if it has a lot of damage. Decoupage will help to breathe new life into this once very useful and necessary thing. A vintage-style suitcase decorated in this rather simple technique will decorate any interior, becoming its main highlight.
What is required
To work on remaking an unnecessary old suitcase you will need:
- Three-layer paper napkins 33 x 33 cm in size. Any image can be applied to them: roses, butterflies, notes, etc.
- Special decoupage glue. If you don’t have one at hand, then ordinary PVA will do. In this case, before starting work, it will need to be diluted with warm water in a ratio of 1: 1.
- Acrylic primer or white paint.
- Brown eyeshadows and pastel crayons in beige, pink and olive shades.
- Roller.
- Acrylic paint color "Vintage rose" (you can make yourself by mixing pink pigment with white).
- Fan brush with synthetic bristles for gluing tissue pieces.
- Acrylic colorless varnish.
- Sponge for coloring.
- Sharp scissors.
- Pieces of rough skin for patches.
- Awl.
- New handle for the suitcase.
- Acetone, alcohol or dishwashing detergent for degreasing before decoupage.
- Fine sandpaper.
Recovery work
Before you start decoupage a suitcase, it is necessary to carry out its restoration. It is produced in the following order:
- remove the paper with which the suitcase was glued inside;
- first wipe all surfaces with a cloth moistened with a weak solution of dishwashing detergent, and then with a clean, damp cloth;
- left to dry;
- if there are damaged fragments on the suitcase, then with the help of an awl (punch) and a piece of leather of the desired shape, patches are placed, which are fixed with screws.
Do-it-yourself decoupage of an old suitcase: step-by-step instructions for preparing surfaces
Decoration work is carried out in several stages:
- using a brush, roller or sponge, the surface of the suitcase is primed with acrylic;
- do the same with its inner surface;
- dried;
- they clean with fine-grained emery paper surfaces that have been primed;
- paint everything in pink;
- wait again until completely dry;
- take napkins and cut out the desired image along the contour;
- 2 upper layers are separated - with a picture and the one below it, on which the picture is less clearly visible.
Dressing
Start decoupage:
- the suitcase is turned upside down;
- take a piece of cloth and apply in the right place;
- the fan brush is moistened with decoupage glue and, starting from the middle of the napkin fragment, the composition is applied, moving to the edges in all directions;
- squeeze out air bubbles and smooth out “wrinkles”;
- do this with all prepared pieces of wipes;
- using pastel crayons, make a clearer picture on fragments of the second layer of napkins and blend with your fingers;
- eyeshadow rub on the ribs, rivets, corners and locks of the suitcase, achieving the effect of "aging";
- coat surfaces with several layers of acrylic varnish with intermediate drying.
If the handle of the suitcase is not in order, it can be replaced with a piece of durable wire, on which beads are strung. However, it should be borne in mind that such a solution is only suitable if the finished product is going to be used only as decoration for the interior.
Finishing an old suitcase inside: what you need
It will be strange if a product beautifully decorated on the outside, when opened, will demonstrate a tattered “interior”.
In order to put the suitcase in order and from the inside, you will need:
- a piece of wallpaper of suitable color about 1 m long and 50 cm wide;
- brush;
- wallpaper and PVA glue;
- scissors with curly blades;
- paint the color of a rose, the same as that used to decorate the surface of the suitcase;
- breadboard knife.
The procedure for interior decoration of the suitcase
First of all, they take measurements. Based on them, they decide how best to use wallpaper for pasting in order to cover them all the bottom. In addition, clearance will be required on the inside of the “cover”.
Further:
- cut the upper edge of the wallpaper with scissors with a zigzag blade;
- unwind the roll and measure the length equal to the length of the suitcase;
- cut so that a rectangle is obtained;
- divide it in half;
- two more of the same rectangles are cut out;
- wallpaper glue is mixed with a small amount of PVA;
- cut out rectangles with dimensions, as at the side walls of a suitcase;
- smear with the resulting composition all the rectangles on the wrong side;
- stick first to the walls, and then to the bottom and lid of the suitcase;
- leave to dry;
- strips of 3 cm wide and 7 cm long are cut from wallpaper;
- stick them on the inside of the corners of the suitcase to hide the “seams”;
- with a brush, paint over all the flaws and edges of the sides in pink.
Decoupage of a suitcase in vintage style with notes: materials and tools
To create such an original decor you will need:
- an old suitcase of any shape;
- decoupage varnish;
- old notes or their printout on the printer;
- fine sandpaper;
- postcard with views of Paris, preferably the Eiffel Tower;
- brushes of different sizes;
- scissors;
- alcohol;
- paint roller.
Preparatory work
Algorithm of actions:
- unscrew all accessories that can be dismantled;
- wash and clean the suitcase from the outside and from the inside;
- dried;
- if the suitcase has an external cover, then it is removed in any convenient way;
- degrease all surfaces with alcohol;
- make the primer paint a suitable color.
The procedure for decorating
Do-it-yourself decoupage of a suitcase is as follows:
- Coat the outer surfaces with special glue;
- apply notes;
- ironed with a roller, removing bubbles with air;
- a layer of decoupage glue is applied over the notes with a thick brush;
- wait until it dries;
- paste the edges of the suitcase with scraps of music paper;
- in the center of the lid of the suitcase choose a place for a postcard;
- smeared with glue;
- apply a postcard and iron it with a roller;
- wait until the glue has completely dried or blow with a not strong stream of cold air from the hair dryer.
A few more touches, and we have a new, not old, suitcase! Decoupage is completed by coating the surface of the item to be made with varnish in 3-4 layers. Moreover, each following is applied after the previous one has completely dried.
Then return all the dismantled accessories to the place. If it is faulty, then it is replaced with a new, but vintage type, so as not to violate the overall style of the product.
Retro version of restoration and decoration with napkins and prints on paper
Alternatively, you can try to make a combined decoupage. In this case, the suitcase is completely covered by the pattern.
For work you will need:
- old suitcase;
- PVA glue solution (1: 1);
- printouts, napkins and newspaper clippings;
- regular office file made of polypropylene film;
- beige acrylic paint;
- acrylic colorless matte varnish;
- candle;
- sponge;
- flat brush;
- bronze eyeshadow;
- rubber roller;
- paint roller and brush ;
- fine sandpaper.
Work order
The restoration work is carried out in several stages:
- clean the corners of a suitcase;
- if necessary, repair a pen, etc .;
- all surfaces are degreased with alcohol or acetone;
- allow to dry;
- places where the outer layer is torn, glue PVA;
- “patches” are put on seriously damaged fragments from the lower layers of the napkin (without a picture), moistened with PVA glue;
- the edges of the suitcase rubbed with a candle;
- paint the suitcase in beige using a roller and brush in several layers.
The next stage is decoupage and decoration of the suitcase. To get the product in retro style, perform the following steps:
- designs for decoration are selected and cut from newspapers and prints;
- the napkins separate the paint layer;
- first stick larger prints and clippings of newspapers and put on greased places;
- rolled with a roller;
- a napkin is placed on the file face down;
- pour a little water on top;
- using a brush, ensure that the entire napkin is wetted;
- if there is excess water, it is drained;
- apply the file with a napkin down to the place of gluing;
- thoroughly stroking with a brush over the film to remove air bubbles;
- carefully delete the file;
- holding fingers over the edges of the napkin, apply glue over its entire surface, smearing in the direction from the center to the edges;
- in the spaces of pasted pictures and on their edges, bronze eye shadow is shaded using a sponge;
- cover the suitcase with acrylic varnish in 3-4 layers.
Now you know how to make beautiful decoupage of suitcases. Photos of several interesting options are presented above. Although they look different, however, for the decor in each case, the same decoupage technique was used, which is described step by step in the given master classes.