A New Best Friend, Besides Hot Chocolate - Decoupage with Helmar

This week for Helmar, I have been playing around with Decoupage and Craft Paste, and created a pencil/brush holder from an empty Hot Chocolate container.  I look at items around the house with a new light of re-purposing the empty containers, or packages.

Firstly, I painted my container, as I knew I was going to use tissue paper, which is quite transparent.  I applied the Decoupage and Craft Paste with a paintbrush to the actual container, having previously cut the tissue paper to size.  The process of adding the paper was simple, and a wipe with a damp cloth afterwards, eliminated any wrinkles or creases... you cannot even tell where the join is!

The printed image, I sprayed with Crystal Kote Fixative, just to seal the image - especially as I had printed it myself, and was not sure of the inks stability.  Spraying with the fixative, seals the paper and is a fast process with quick drying time.  I applied the Decoupage and Craft Paste to the area where I wanted the image and added the image, wiping any excess adhesive away with a damp cloth.  No wrinkles, no creases, and no lengthy time to dry.  I did have the help with a heat gun though!

The embellishing of my container was completed using the 450 Quick Dry adhesive.  I also added lace to the inside of the container, so the items sitting inside would not be damaged by the metal rim. 

Also, his month you have a chance to win a great prize with the Helmar Challenge, just upload your challenge entry into the Helmar Flickr Group before the end of the month.  So get creative and come and join in with the fun!

Happy Creating!

Products List:
Helmar: Decoupage and Craft Paste, Crystal Kote Fixative, and 450 Quick Dry
Hot Chocolate Tin
Hand-Made Hat Pins
Tim Holtz Tissue Paper
Braid, Hand-Dyed Laces, Flowers, Ribbon
Computer Generated Image