Decoupage of a suitcase - step by step instruction

Did you find the old suitcase in the pantry or on the mezzanine? Do not rush to throw it away, even if it has a lot of damage. To breathe new life into this once very useful and necessary thing will help decoupage. A suitcase in vintage style, decorated in this simple enough technique, will decorate any interior, becoming its main highlight.

What will be required

To work on remaking an unnecessary old suitcase you will need:

• Three-layer paper napkins measuring 33 x 33 cm. They can be applied to any image: roses, butterflies, notes, etc.
• Special decoupage glue. If you do not have such at hand, then the usual 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 eyeshadow and pastel crayons of beige, pink and olive shades.
• Roller.
• Acrylic paint color "Vintage Rose" (you can make it yourself, mixing the pink pigment with white).
• Fan brush with synthetic bristles for gluing fragments of napkins.
• Acrylic colorless varnish.
• Sponge for coloring.
• Sharp scissors.
• Pieces of rough skin for patches.
• Awl.
• A new handle for a suitcase.
• Acetone, alcohol or detergent for degreasing before decoupling.
• Fine-grained sandpaper.

Restoration work

Before decoupling a suitcase, it is necessary to carry out its restoration. It is produced in the following order:

• Remove the paper to which the suitcase was pasted inside;
• Wipe all surfaces first with a cloth moistened with a mild dishwashing solution and then with a clean damp cloth;
• Leave 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 fixed, which are fixed with self-tapping screws.

Decoupage of an old suitcase with your own hands: a step-by-step instruction for preparing surfaces

Work on decoration is carried out in several stages:

• With the help of a brush, roller or sponge, ground the surface of the suitcase with acrylic;
• So do with its inner surface;
• Dried;
• Sanded fine-grained sandpaper surfaces that have been primed;
• Color everything in pink;
• Again wait until completely dry;
• Take napkins and cut out the necessary images on the contour;
• Separate the two upper layers - with the pattern and the one below it, on which the picture is seen less clearly.

Decoration

Begin to implement decoupage:

• The suitcase is turned upside down;
• Take a piece of napkin and put in the right place;
• The fan brush is moistened with glue for decoupage and, starting from the middle of the napkin fragment, apply the composition, moving to the edges in all directions;
• Squeezes out air bubbles and smoothes "wrinkles";
• Do so with all the prepared fragments of napkins;
• Using pastel crayons, make a clearer picture on the fragments of the second layer of napkins and shade with fingers;
• Eye shadow rubs on the ribs, rivets, corners and locks of the suitcase, achieving the effect of "aging";
• Cover the surface with several layers of acrylic lacquer with intermediate drying.

If the handle of the suitcase is not in order, it can be replaced with a piece of strong wire, on which beads are strung. However, it should be noted that this solution is suitable only if the finished product is going to be used only as an ornament for the interior.

Finishing the old suitcase from the inside: what you need

It will be strange if the product, beautifully decorated from the outside, when opened, will show a peeled "interior".

In order to bring the suitcase in order and from the inside, you will need:

• A piece of wallpaper of suitable coloring about 1 m long and 50 cm wide;
• Brush;
• Wallpaper paste and PVA glue;
• Scissors with shaped blades;
• The color of the rose, the same as that used to decorate the surface of the suitcase;
• Mock-up knife.

The order of work on the interior trim of the suitcase

First of all, make measurements. Proceeding from them decide how best to use wallpaper for pasting to cover them all bottom. In addition, the design will be required and the inside of the "cover".

Further:

• Cut the upper edge of the wallpaper with scissors with a zigzag blade;
• Unwind a roll and measure a piece equal to the length of the suitcase;
• Cut so as to make a rectangle;
• Divide it in half;
• Cut two more of the same rectangle;
• Wallpaper paste mixed with a small amount of PVA;
• Cut out rectangles with the sizes, as at lateral walls of a suitcase;
• Lubricate the resulting composition of all the rectangles on the wrong side;
• Glued first to the walls, and then to the bottom and the lid of the suitcase;
• Leave to dry up;
• Cut out of the wallpaper stripes 3 cm wide and 7 cm long;
• Stick them on the inside of the corners of the suitcase to hide the "seams";
• Brush all the flaws and edges of the sides in a pink color.

Decoupage suitcase in vintage style 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-grained sandpaper;
• A postcard with views of Paris, preferably the Eiffel Tower;
• Brushes of different sizes;
• scissors;
• alcohol;
• Paint roller.

Preparatory work

Algorithm of actions:

• Unscrew all the fittings that can be dismantled;
• Wash and clean the suitcase from the outside and from the inside;
• Dried;
• If the suitcase has an external coating, then it is removed in any convenient way;
• Degrease all surfaces with alcohol;
• Make the primer paint the right color.

The order of work on decoration

Decoupage of a suitcase with their own hands is carried out as follows:

• Spread outer surfaces with special glue;
• Apply notes;
• Smooth with a roller, removing bubbles with air;
• On top of the notes, apply a thick brush with a layer of decoupage glue;
• Waiting until it dries dry;
• Glue the edges of the suitcase with scraps of note paper;
• In the center of the lid of the suitcase choose a place for a postcard;
• Glue with glue;
• Apply a postcard and iron with a roller;
• Wait until the glue dries completely or blow by a strong jet of cold air from the hair dryer.

Another couple of strokes, and we have a brand-new, not old, suitcase! Decoupage is completed by covering the surface of the product with a varnish in 3-4 layers. In this case, each is applied after the previous one has dried completely.

Then return all the dismantled hardware in place. If it is faulty, then it is replaced with a new one, but of a vintage type, so as not to disrupt 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. The suitcase in this case is covered with a drawing completely.

For work you will need:

• Old suitcase;
• Solution of PVA glue (1: 1);
• Printouts, napkins and newspaper clippings;
• Ordinary office file made of polypropylene film;
• Acrylic paint in beige color;
• Acrylic colorless matt lacquer;
• candle;
• sponge;
• Flat brush;
• Bronze eye shadow;
• Rubber roller;
• Roller and brush for paint;
• Fine-grained sandpaper.

Order of work

The restoration works are carried out in several stages:

• Clean the corners of the suitcase;
• If necessary, repair the pen, etc .;
• All surfaces are degreased with alcohol or acetone;
• Allow to dry;
• Places on which the outer layer is torn, glued PVA;
• On severely damaged fragments put "patches" from the lower layers of the napkin (without a pattern), moistening them with PVA glue;
• The sides of the suitcase are rubbed with a candle;
• Paint the suitcase in beige color, using a roller and brush, in several layers.

The next stage is decoupage and dressing of a suitcase. To get a product in a retro style, perform the following steps:

• Select and cut out from newspapers and printouts drawings for decoration;
• The napkins are separated by a paint layer;
• First, stick larger printouts and clippings from newspapers and put them on greased places;
• Rolled with a roller;
• A napkin is placed on the file with a picture down;
• From above pour very little water;
• With the help of a brush they achieve that the whole napkin is wetted;
• If there is excess water, it is drained;
• Apply the file with a napkin down to the place of gluing;
• Carefully iron with a brush over the film to remove air bubbles;
• Carefully delete the file;
• Holding the fingers over the edges of the napkin, apply glue all over its surface, spreading in a direction from the center to the edges;
• In the intervals of pasted pictures and on their edges shade bronze eye shadow, using a sponge;
• Cover the suitcase with acrylic lacquer in 3-4 layers.

Now you know how you can make a beautiful decoupage of suitcases. Photos of several interesting options are presented above. Although they look different, but for the decor in each of the cases the same decoupage technique was used, which is described step by step in the resulted master classes.