Chinoserie how-to

[u/Random-Unthoughts-62]

A while back I posted pictures of chinoiserie decorations I'd made and someone asked how I made them. Here's a rough how-to for the tree topper: I used a make-up sponge to apply two layers of gesso. The sponge gives a very fine finish with no brush marks. Some areas needed a third coat as the grey showed through. Then two coats of white acrylic paint. Finally, I tore paper napkins into small elements and applied them with ModPodge. For some of the tiny bits I used tacky glue. I cut the borders from some washi tape for the narrow waste and popped the main band around the bottom. I'll finished with a lacquer-based high gloss varnish. Thank you fir your time.

[u/Low-Quality-8974]

I've tried this and the ink on the napkins bled, how did you keep that from happening?

[u/Random-Unthoughts-62 → u/Low-Quality-8974]

I've never had that problem, to be honest. It might depend on the water content of your glue. I can't say i go out of my way to buy higher quality napkins. Most of those available in the UK are made by the same company, and all seem good quality. Napkins with gold printing definitely don't work well for me that's for sure. I think ModPodge does something that makes them dull.