How To Decoupage On Glass With Rice Paper, Napkin, Glitter and Patina

Today we’re going to learn how to decoupage on glass with paper, in order to transform a simple glass into a beautiful candlestick.

With this decoupage technique you create an object so beautiful, that you can either decorate your house or even better, make a gift to your beloved ones.

You might share the same opinion about handmade gifts and that they are always more valuable than a purchased product, After all, you’re putting time, effort and most of all, love into creating it. We put all our positive energy and precious spare time –that many of us lack, so we can offer something so unique as this handmade candlestick.

Even though today’s decoupage technique requires, experience and practice, you don’t have to be discouraged. After all, no one become expert right from the beginning if you don’t get the perfect result. I am positive that the first few attempts won’t be so successful but it won’t take long until you master it.

This is why I would advise you to purchase cheap materials for the first few attempts, so let’s say get a simple glass instead of crystal one. Better again, get an old glass from your cupboard that you won’t miss if you break or lose it. This applies to all kind of techniques no matter if you decoupage on metal, glass, wood or other objects.

However, try not to settle with a poor brush. Your brush should certainly be good to make the application of glue onto the paper towel.

Having all these detailed notes and photos from today’s post, you have time to think about what you need and try repeatedly!

So let’s get started and transform the objects that we won’t use again in your home to pieces of art! Good luck!

What are you going to need for decoupage on glass?

Before we start creating anything, make sure you have all the materials and tools ready to use when needed.

Apart from the required tools, it’s good to have paper towels and pure alcohol so you can clean the surfaces of the objects -in case of any accidental smudges or fingerprints, handicrafts scissors and a jar filled with water to clean the brushes.

The basic materials we need are the following:

Glass

You will ideally need a narrow glass that widens at the top.

Rice paper beige or white color

Depending on the paper towel you choose and the motif, you will need to be careful and select your rice paper with same colors. For example, if my napkin has a white motif, then you will have to choose white rice paper. However, if the napkin’s motif is different than rice paper, I would recommend you to cut the pattern that you want with a pair of scissors.

You can also cut it just like the rice paper, meaning in small pieces by hand. This way the napkin sticks better and binds more readily to the rice paper. In the photo below you can see how the napkin and the rice paper are cut.

Napkin or tissue or rice paper with pattern

You can choose any napkin you like. Ideally you want a napkin with small pattern so that we have better results.

Large patterns on curved surfaces are susceptible to creases and this may result in an uneven effect.

Decoupage glue

There are many different types of adhesives at various quantities available in the market. Don’t worry too much about the volume that you need, since you’re going to use all of it anyway sooner or later. The quality of most adhesives for crafts are more or less the same.

What kind of materials for decoration are we going to need?

Patina

There are a lot of varieties of patina. For this project we’re going to use patina that can be spread by fingers. The texture is like wax paste.

Patina will be used for the nozzle of our candlestick as well as to give some extra glow in the drawing.

We scrape only as very small amount in our fingers and we spread it patted. Depending on our motif we choose the color of Patina accordingly. I personally prefer bronze color.

Glitter

We use glitter when we want to point out certain lines in our candlestick or drawings.

I love glitter.

It gives you impressive finishes and emphasizes the details.

Bear in mind that we don’t use all the materials together every time we craft. There are cases that glitter or other material isn’t necessary to make our object look beautiful.

It is in your discretion to use it or not based on the design you have in mind.

Ribbons or laces

Ribbons aren’t necessary. But you can place them at the bottom of the candlestick if the basic pattern is relatively simple.

Alternatively, we could use lace or fabric pieces. Usually, these tend to look better in mixed techniques.

Acrylic paints

You can use acrylic paints just like any color. They are water based and you can clean your brush with  just water. Once the dry, they can no longer removed so be extra careful when you use them on your objects.

If you want to have some extra time to work on your object with acrylic paint, you can get a acrylic paint dry retarder which is a fluid consistency which thins acrylic paint so that you have more time until the paint dries.

Necessary tools for decoupage on glass with rice paper

• 1 small pair of scissors
• 1 good brush to pass the glue on our object
• 2 to 3 brushes of medium quality and thickness to apply the colors, patina and glitter

Shall we begin?

How To Decoupage On Glass With Rice Paper – Step by step instructions

Step 1

I start cutting the rice paper small pieces by hand. I cut as many pieces as necessary to cover entirely the surface of the glass. I continue by cutting the napkins in small pieces by hand, just like I explained in the beginning of the post. Otherwise, we cut the pattern with a pair of scissors.

We remove from the napkin the sheets from the back side and we only keep the sheets that have the pattern.

Step 2

I continue with applying the glue on my glass, starting from the top.

The idea is that I first apply the glue on the glass, then I put a piece of rice paper where the glue is and then I apply glue again on top of the rice paper. I put glue on top of the rice paper so that it doesn’t dry. When you apply the glue on the rice paper, do it radially from the center towards the edges.

Repeat the glue-rice paper-glue process until the entire glass is filled with rice paper and glue.

Beard in mind that the glue shouldn’t be too little and at the same time it shouldn’t drip. Start by applying a little bit and apply more if necessary. With a few repetitions, you’ll soon find out how much glue is enough.

Step 3

Once you’re done with the rice paper, you need to dry your object. This can be done naturally or you can even blow dry it.

Don’t keep the blow drier to close to the object because you might warm up the glue.

Step 4

In this step I start applying the napkin patterns one by one. As I mentioned previously, it’s better if your patterns are small so that that the napkin sticks on the glass without any creases.

Just like you did with the rice paper, you want to apply the napkin patterns radially from the center towards the edges.

Resist the urge to put too much glue on your brush so that you don’t tear the napkin.

Step 5

When you’re done with the sticking of the napkin on the glass, it’s time to wait until everything dries so that you begin with the decoration.

You can decorate your glass with all kinds of materials.

On my object I apply only bronze patina on the nozzle of the glass and at some spots in the pattern of the napkin or on the rice paper.

You can even place handmade flowers or perles. It’s up to you!

Step 6

Completing the decoration of my object and after drying completely, I apply water varnish for durability. I only make one pass.

Leave your object one day to dry well, and the next day you can make one more pass. The more coats of varnish you apply, the more durable your object and decoration will become.

Signing off

In today’s post we saw a simple application of the technique of decoupage on glass and paper.

Even though it requires some practice and experimentation until you master the technique, it’s not going to take long to understand what kind of materials you need to use and how to use them. Within a short period I’m very confident that you’ll start creating your own unique and beautiful designs.

I hope that this post helped you understand how to decoupage on glass and provided you with all the necessary instructions and secrets to perfect the particular technique.

I’m looking forward to your creations!