Mod Podge — long used for decoupage crafts — has morphed. Now there’s a glue-and-sealer product for virtually every surface, from fabric and wood to glass and metals.
And decoupage crafts? Projects run the gamut, including , backpacks, scratched furniture, glass vases, dishware, canvases, planters — even bicycles.
Mod Podge has been made by Plaid Enterprises Inc., of Norcross, Ga., for more than 40 years. During the product’s infancy in the 1960s and ’70s, people decoupaged wood furniture, cigar boxes and serving trays with magazine clippings.
“They liked to do a lot of wood items,” says Amy Anderson, at Mod Podge Rocks (modpodgerocksblog.com). (“Now it’s a lot different because people will Mod Podge anything to anything.”
Anderson has received queries from people wanting to decoupage snakeskin, kitchen appliances and car dashboards. (Her answers: Test the snakeskin on a small project. Decoupage only the fridge or washer/dryer front door — not the entire appliance. And don’t decoupage your car interior. Appliances and car interiors can heat up, melting the Mod Podge to a sticky mess.)
Plaid Enterprises now makes nearly two dozen varieties of Mod Podge, according to design director Jackie Wynia, from the original matte and gloss to three-dimensional, dishwasher-safe, and glow-in-the-dark, plus
A perfectly useful decoupage medium also can be made at home, says Bethany Kohoutek, editor of Better Homes & Garden’s Do It Yourself magazine. But a homemade product may be less reliable and could yellow over time. Kohoutek suggests using it only for kids’ crafts that aren’t meant to be saved.
Surfaces that can be decoupaged include “It really depends on the plastic,” Anderson says. “An industrial plastic, you have to sand it and use a plastics primer to see if it’ll work.”
Black and White Mod Podge Shoes
Project adapted from Plaid Enterprises Inc.
SUPPLIES
Mod Podge Sparkle, 8 oz.
Pair of women’s shoes
½-inch flat brush
Black-and-white paper napkins
with three lacy layers
Scissors
INSTRUCTIONS
Peel each napkin into the three layers. Cut the middle layer into squares about an inch in size. You may need a few smaller and some rectangular pieces to fit your shoes. Working a small section at a time, apply Mod Podge Sparkle to the shoe, and then adhere square napkin pieces, one at a time to the wet Mod Podge. After each shoe is covered, allow them to dry.
Using the other napkins, cut around a printed design, (such as a grouping of flowers. Glue these designs to the shoes. Allow to dry completely. Apply Mod Podge Sparkle over each shoe to seal and protect. The more you add, the more sparkle you get.
Tip: When gluing napkin pieces to the shoes, try picking up each square with your wet brush. This will keep your hands from getting sticky.
