DIY Decoupage Trunk Recovery

Today,
I'm going to share with you the wonder of decoupage.
This is a super easy method for prettfying things, and it has soooo many applications {ha!}.

My victim candidate was a set of miniature, floral patterned trunks.

I think they are made out of thin, pressed cardboard??
Not really sure, but this process works on wood and metal as well.

After having them in my possession since I was a tween, I decided they needed an upgrade. 

Granted, I did this project about four years ago, so I don't really have process pictures.
That makes this the first post in my month long Throwback series!
 

 Although this is mid process, you can see what the trunks looked like before.

Not pretty.

Don't worry, 

dollar store wrapping paper to the rescue!!

What You Need:

glue {regular Elmer's school glue}

water

wrapping paper

small brush 

scissors

Step One: Clean

Start with a clean surface by wiping down the item you plan to recover with a damp rag

Step Two: Mix

In a cup or dish, mix together enough glue and water to make a spreadable mix...think paint consistency.

Step Three: Cut and Paste

Work in small sections at a time.

First 'paint' a section with your glue mixture,

tear up pieces of wrapping paper and stick to your pasted area.
Paste over with glue again, tear more pieces of paper and stick them on, overlapping each other.
The key here being sure to have a layer of glue underneath the overlapping paper
and on the surface you are sticking them to.

Keep repeating that process until you get all the way around,

being sure to seal your paper down with a good coat of glue paste.

For the Bottom

You can either do the bottom in pieces of paper like you did the rest of the trunk,

or you could cut one, solid piece and lay it over the bottom.

The option is up to you and what you want!
{In my opinion, the solid piece looks better, but is trickier to do.}

Hinges & Handles

If you can take your hardware off, great!
But if not, just trace and cut your paper piece to fit snugly around them as best you can.

And that is it!

Simple, simple!

Now they look bright and cheery...so much better than before!

What do you think?
Does this give you any ideas for decoupage projects of your own?