Decoupage Furniture

I have a slight obsession with all things antique paper. Old newspapers, magazines, books and posters of all kinds just make me incredibly happy!! But I have a tendency to buy these things on the cheap at flea markets, library book sales, and tag sales by the car load. Then I riffle through them once and they end up in a less than glorious pile in my office. 

So it is time to make something with all this awesomeness.  I happened to acquire a book on decoupage during one of my many book buying sprees and right at the time I was deciding what my first decoupage project would be, my Pops called me and asked me if wanted a couple of end tables he was planning to chuck. Aha! Perfect! 

I studied technique in the only acceptable way I know- YouTube. Thanks to the plethora of people out there that have made detailed videos of their decoupage adventures. Follow that up with a Home Depot and Hobby Lobby shopping spree and I was ready to rock!

A before shot of the tables- I used painters tape and newspaper to cover the areas I planned to decoupage so I could sand and paint the pieces first. You want to apply your paper onto an unpainted (or painted and sanded) surface. The more texture, the better it'll stick! 

Another before- Just a beat up table you'd likely see on the side of the road. 

After all, I myself rescued these old tables from the trash.

This is the top before I taped it for painting- It had this beat up leather topper that had certainly seen better days! I sanded it and decoupaged right over it.

So then I sanded lightly, cleaned those puppies up and gave them 2 coats of chalk black paint. Then 2 coats of an eggshell interior white I had laying around, and This is where we were...

Looking better already! 

I bought a huge pack of foam brushes at the craft store so I could use and abuse 'em and them throw them away. Especially important for decoupage, you don't wanna be trying to clean glue out of good brushes. 

The plan was to sand down some spots to expose the black underneath giving the tables an antiqued finish.

But, Lex decided these tables were for her, so we gave it yet another coat of chalk black to match her room. Flip mode style.

And Voila!

Top of one table- All images on both were clipped from a 1943 Life Magazine

The other top- My fav. Center image is from one of Marilyn Monroe's first professional auditions- She's 23 in the pic. 

I even did the bottom shelf and sides and back panels, almost exclusively in ads from the Life Mag. 

Back side

Don't forget the inside and sides of the drawers- Adds some unexpected color!

And the finish!! They say the decoupage glue (I used Mod Podge) is also a sealer and finishing coat. But when you have a teenager, you can expect that anything left in their possession is getting a beating, so I added 3 coats of Minwax polycrylic sealer (remember Polyurethane will yellow over time) to give it a super durable sheen that should stay crystal clear for ages. :)

I love the way they turned out! On to the next!