How to Decoupage Children's Furniture

Clean off the wooden furniture with all-purpose cleaner and paper towels to remove dust and dirt. If there is a cushion on the furniture, vacuum the cushion and place the cushion in a safe place until the project is finished.

Paint the wood. Pick a background color that is not so dark that it will show up underneath the decoupaged pieces of paper. You may want to use white to help hide any mistake in cutting the paper. Wait for the furniture to dry.

Cut out the images you want to use on your furniture. You may want to use pictures from books, photocopies, wrapping paper, comic books or magazines. As you cut out the images, place them on the furniture to get an idea of how you want them arranged. Try to use images in various sizes.

Glue the images to the wood. Pick a glue that contains polyvinyl acetate. Use your finger to smooth the top of the image, so that there are no creases. Avoid using too much glue which can create tears in the paper. Allow the glue to dry for a few hours.

Paint over the images with lacquer to seal them. Apply a small amount of lacquer to a paint brush and paint over the images and surface areas of the furniture. Wait for the lacquer to dry and paint over the furniture again. Apply several coats of lacquer over the images, so that they recede into the background and take on the appearance that they were painted on the wood.