How to Decoupage Leaves on Your Wall

Decoupage has been a popular decorative method since Victorian times, when women would cover jewelry boxes and furniture with images and glue to simulate lacquered Asian art -- a craze at the time. Since then, decoupage, gluing paper images to objects and covering them with a layer of protective varnish, has remained a simple way to create a big impact on home decor. It requires few special tools or skills beyond the gloss medium, which is readily available.

Paper images of leaves
X-acto knife with blade
Cutting mat
Sponge
Bucket of water
Trisodium phosphate cleanser
Gallon of gloss medium or white glue, thinned with water
Large foam brush

Instructions

- 1
  Place paper images of leaves onto a cutting mat.
- 2
  Cut out each leaf using the X-acto knife and set aside.
- 3
  Mix water and trisodium phosphate cleanser, following the manufacturer's directions.
- 4
  Scrub the wall to be decoupaged with a sponge, water and cleanser and allow it to dry completely.
- 5
  Apply a thin layer of the gloss medium to the back of each leave to glue them on the wall.
- 6
  Rearrange the leaves on the wall until you find the positions you like. Press the leaves to the wall firmly, creating a firm seal between each leaf and the wall.
- 7
  Brush a layer of gloss medium over the leaves and surrounding wall using the foam brush and allow it to dry.
- 8
  Repeat Steps 9 and 10 until you have created a smooth, glassy layer over the leaves and the wall.

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