Decorating a table with your own hands is enoughan exciting activity that is accessible to everyone. Using the technique of dot painting, dry herbs, putty and craquelure, you can transform an old, boring thing beyond recognition.
Using paints, painting, putty and craquelure, you can turn an old table into a beautiful and stylish piece of furniture.
Spot painting by own hands
You will need:
Dot painting is done with multi-colored contours for glass and ceramics.
- multi-colored contours for glass and ceramics;
- stencil;
- alcohol solution;
- Painting tape;
- silver marker.
With the help of the dot technique you candecorate both a new and an old table. The first thing you need to do is choose an ornament. It can be an African motif running along the edge of the table, or an openwork lace napkin located in the center. Everything depends only on your imagination and idea. The colors of the outline are selected in accordance with the chosen pattern. For decorating a table in an African style, colors such as red, yellow, brown and black are suitable. Lace motifs need a lighter color scheme, it is advisable to use white, silver, gray and blue shades. To imitate bead embroidery, in addition to regular outlines, you can use a special one - with a pearl effect. The easiest way to transfer the pattern to the surface is to use a stencil. It is easy to make yourself, you will need a printout of the ornament, as well as a stationery folder made of thick film. Place the sheet with the pattern in the folder, cut out the ornament along the outline with a thin sharp knife, the stencil is ready! Using an alcohol solution, degrease the surface, attach the stencil with masking tape, and make dot markings with a silver marker (put dots at a distance of 8-10 mm from each other). If you don’t want to mess around with the stencil, you can choose a simpler method. Transfer the pattern using carbon paper first to tracing paper, then to the surface of the table. You can do without tracing paper, but in this case you won’t be able to see the surface of the table, which will make the work much more difficult.
The ornament for dot painting is applied usingusing a stencil After the pattern is applied, you can start dot painting, but before that it is advisable to practice a little on a sheet of paper - then your dots will be the same size. Important: when you put a dot, keep the outline strictly vertical, then move your hand slightly to the side. Such manipulation will help to avoid a sharp tip. Put the dots as close to each other as possible, but at the same time make sure that they do not merge, otherwise you will get an untidy blot. The pattern can consist not only of dots of the same size, you can freely alternate rows of thin and thicker droplets, make pearl inclusions using a mother-of-pearl outline. In order to make a large drop, you must either change the nozzle on the outline, or make a small dot, let it dry, and then re-apply the outline to the same place. Decorating a table yourself using this technique is not so difficult if you have patience and a little imagination. Return to Contents</a>
Decoration in technique is wrong
You will need:
The oshibana technique is used to create a design using dried flowers, grass and leaves.
- dried flowers and herbs;
- PVA glue;
- mock-up knife;
- sharp knife;
- figured patterns;
- acrylic lacquer;
- Press for drying plants.
Oshibana is a technique that resemblesapplication, inlay and mosaic at the same time, but only dried flower petals, leaves and herbs are used as material. The main thing is to dry the plants correctly so that they do not lose their color. For this purpose, use a special press, which is easy to make yourself. Take a board or plywood, put sheets of packaging corrugated cardboard on top, place porous paper between them, complete the structure with a board on which to install some kind of weight. You can improve the press in this way: fasten two boards with adjustable screws, place sheets of corrugated cardboard between them, interleaved with porous paper. With this design, it is much easier to create the necessary pressure. Drying plants in an old book is impractical, as they will lose their color. Any flowers are suitable for drying, it is best to disassemble them into petals. The plants should never be wet, fresh petals are distributed between porous paper and corrugated cardboard, and pressed. The flowers are left for 24 hours, after which they must be taken out and the paper replaced with new paper, then sent back to the press for 1-3 days. If this is not done, the plants will lose color during drying. Drying time directly depends on the juiciness of the petals. Well-dried plants are placed in office files for storage. After you have stocked up on everything you need, you can get to work. Lay out the proposed composition on a sheet of paper. The ornament can consist of whole petals, leaves and herbs, as well as their fragments. Dry plants are cut with a thin sharp knife (scalpel), then a mosaic is assembled from the resulting pieces. Elements cut out using various figured patterns look very original. In one composition, you can use both whole plants and their fragments.
The drawing of plants is transferred fragment byfragment, carefully and painstakingly. The table is degreased with an alcohol solution, then lubricated with PVA glue (it is better to use construction glue), all the fragments of the composition are transferred to the decorated surface one by one. The voids are filled with the so-called plant dust (fragments of herbs, ground using a coffee grinder). The result is fixed with high-quality acrylic or car varnish in an aerosol. Transferring fragment after fragment is quite painstaking work that requires perseverance and accuracy. There is a way that will allow you to simplify this process as much as possible: lay out the composition on a sheet of paper, then take thin double-sided tape, stick it over the herbs so that a solid canvas is formed, carefully cut along the contour, and stick it to the table surface with the back of the tape. If you have voids, fill them with plant dust. Instead of varnish, you can use transparent self-adhesive film, cover the table with tempered glass or plexiglass. In this case, you can easily get rid of the decoration if for some reason you are not satisfied with the result or want to change the decor. Return to the table of contents</a>
Decorating a wooden table with putty
You will need:
Using acrylic wood putty, you can create an interesting table decor.
- acrylic putty on wood;
- building adhesive PVA;
- tube for hair dye or ketchup;
- fine sandpaper;
- acrylic paints;
- tracing paper and a carbon paper.
Decorating a wooden table can be done withwith the help of ordinary wood putty. First of all, it is necessary to prepare the surface: remove the old varnish with a special agent, sand, putty the chips (if any), and then apply the primer. Such decor perfectly imitates furniture fittings in the form of monograms in the Art Nouveau or Baroque style. Elements are most often located at the end, less often - in the corners and center of the tabletop. Draw the monograms by hand or print the image on a printer, transfer the drawing to tracing paper, then use carbon paper to the surface of the table. The putty is diluted with PVA glue in a ratio of 2 to 1, but this is approximate data, since the ideal consistency is achieved by trial and error. You should get a solution resembling thick cream or homemade sour cream. The mass should be easily squeezed out, but not spread, but hold its shape. Transfer the solution into a hair dye tube with a long spout (easily replaced with a ketchup bottle or a silicone pastry bag with a round nozzle). First, practice squeezing the mass on a piece of cardboard. Then you will be able to feel the material and determine for yourself the degree of pressure. Then start drawing the monograms. Elements located next to each other are done separately, that is, first draw a fragment, let it dry, then add the adjacent element.
The putty is applied with a small spatulastencil. Leave the work until the putty dries completely, then sand the decor a little with fine sandpaper, and then start painting. Then everything will depend only on your imagination. You can paint the decor in a dark color, rub it with a paraffin candle, then cover the entire surface of the table (including the monograms) with light paint, let it dry. Next, take sandpaper, go over the surface of the decor so that the dark paint appears and scuffs are obtained. After that, emphasize all the convex places with a gold patina (using a finger or a piece of foam rubber). You can paint the putty decoration with metallic paint, age it with bitumen, etc. Return to the table of contents</a>
Table decoration with craquelure
After decorating the table with craquelure, it looksas a rare thing. Decorating the surface of the table with craquelure will add a certain zest, will turn a new thing into an antique rarity that has lived for many centuries. Craquelure comes in two types: one-step and two-step. For the classic style, two-component compositions are used, which give a small or large mesh of the finest veins. One-step craquelure looks rougher, it is perfect for things in the Provencal, country or Mediterranean style. To get a two-step craquelure, you need to buy a special set consisting of two varnishes, one of which is made on resins, the second - on a water basis. The first step (resin varnish) is applied to the painted table, let it dry a little. You need to wait until the surface sets, but remains sticky, immediately after that the second step (water-based varnish) is applied. In this case, you need to make sure that there are no unpainted areas left, otherwise dirty spots will form when grouting the cracks. After applying the second component, you need to wait at least 12 hours (the exact time is indicated in the attached instructions), after which you will see a beautiful web of cracks that will need to be grouted. In some cases, the second step is washed off with water, so read the instructions on the package before use. For grouting, use oil paint, dry pigments, gold powder, pastel, carefully wipe off all excess with a rag, fix the result with varnish. If you grouted cracks with dry components, for example, pigment, then the craquelure is fixed with an aerosol varnish, otherwise everything will smear. One-step craquelure is much easier to obtain. To do this, you need to buy a special varnish for one-step crackle. Next, you need to decide on the color of the cracks. If you want to get dark cracking, paint the table dark brown or black, let it dry, then apply the craquelure varnish. Immediately apply a contrasting paint, make strokes only in one direction, do not return to the painted area, otherwise you will paint over the craquelure. The shape of the cracks depends on the direction of the brush and the shape of the stroke. With one-step craquelure, cracking occurs instantly. Anyone can make such a decoration with their own hands!</ ul>
