How To Decoupage - Stag Head

I got very excited when I spotted this Papier Mache stag head in my local hobbycraft that I couldn't not bring it home with me. I've been wanting to do some decoupage for ages because I just love the effect it gives but I didn't have anything to do it on. I knew I wanted to do something with all the old copies of Company Magazine I'd saved up so this was the perfect opportunity to use them.

For the decoupage I used:

• Decopatch Paperpatch Glue Varnish - £7.99 AVAILABLE HERE
• Decopatch Medium Hog Bristle Brush No 10 - £1.00 AVAILABLE HERE
• Hobbycraft Papier Mache Reindeer Head Decoration -£15.00 AVAILABLE HERE
• Old magazines

So here's where it gets fun and just a little bit sticky:

• First I ripped up the paper into small (but not too small) squares and strips and mixed them all up.
• Then all you do is paint the glue straight on to the head in the patch you want to cover. Stick down the paper then paint with another coat of the glue as a varnish. The glue goes on white but dries clear and gives a shiny finish.
• Make sure you brush down the edges of the paper to get a smooth finish, you don't want any bits of paper sticking up.
• Don't forget to cover the sides of the base that are visible.
• Once you get to the antlers it gets slightly more difficult, I wrapped strips all the way around which seemed easier than trying to do it in square patches.  
• Leave to dry over night.

Once both the antlers and the head are completely dry you need to stick the antlers in the head:

• Paint glue all around the bottom of the antler.
• Push it firmly in to the whole and paint more glue around the base to seal it in.
• Again, leave to dry overnight.

I think overall it took me about four hours to complete so not very long and I'm really happy with how it turned out. In fact, I think it looks like something really expensive you'd buy in a cool, independent shop in London for lots of money! Seeing as it's Christmas you could easily decorate it with leftover wrapping paper which would make a great Christmas decoration. You could also paint it or cover it in glitter, there's so many ideas you could do with this which are really easy to do so I definitely recommend you pick one up from your local Hobbycraft!

Ellie x