Craft a Beautiful Reverse Decoupage Plate with Copper Highlights

With reverse decoupage, all of the normal steps you would do with decoupage are done in reverse. This unique approach creates beautiful effects and ensures a smooth finish. The steps will be explained in detail below.

Step-by-Step Guide to Reverse Decoupage with Copper

Step 1: Prepare Your Plate

• Clean the back of a glass plate with an alcohol wipe to remove dirt and fingerprints.
• Apply Polyvine Multi-surface Lacquer (dead flat finish) to the back of the plate as a primer. This creates a perfect surface for paint and glue. 

Step 2: Add Copper Paint

• Sponge copper paint around the circular portion that surrounds the center plate circle, on the underside. This creates a copper ring around the center. This hides the edges of the napkin after it is adhered and adds a beautiful decorative touch.

Step 3: Prepare the Napkin

• Choose a square napkin with a lovely design. Donna chose one with a bird,  coppery leaves and a black background. Remove the two bottom napkin layers, keeping only the top printed layer. A useful tip is that when decoupaging, you only use the top layer of a napkin. Always remove both white backing papers.
• Use a water brush to remove excess napkin, shaping it into a circle.

Step 4: Apply the Napkin

• Place the napkin on a piece of plastic (e.g., a cut-up Ziploc bag) and spray it with water to prevent wrinkles. Gently push outwards to expand the napkin.
• Brush Polyvine Multi-surface Lacquer in the center circle of the plate as an adhesive and lay the napkin down, and smooth over the plastic with a paper towel. This will remove the larger wrinkles in the napkin that were caused when you wetted it. After smoothing, and while it is still wet, gently peel the plastic off the napkin and let it dry.

Step 5: Seal and Protect

• Paint over the napkin with Polyvine Heavy-duty Wood Varnish. Apply 2-3 coats, letting each dry for an hour between coats. This seals the napkin and provides heat resistance.

Step 6: Create a Crackle Effect

• Because of the reverse decoupage, we apply the crackle medium before applying the paint. To do this, apply Folk Art One-Step Crackle Medium to the clear underside rim of the plate. This particular product was chosen by Donna because it gives the effect of long wide cracks. (Over her years of crafting, Donna has experimented with many types of crackle!) Once dry, paint over the crackle layer on the underside rim, with Dixie Belle Chalk Paint in the color caviar (black). This will cause the black paint to crack. 

Step 7: Highlight the Design

• Paint the back of the napkin with white Dixie Bell Chalk Paint to make the image stand out. Then let it dry. Next, apply a layer of copper paint to the back of the entire plate. After this layer dries, now paint the entire back of the plate with caviar (black). This will give the effect of copper showing through the black.

Step 8: Add Stenciled Designs

• Use copper paint and stencils to add decorative elements to the back of the plate. Use Pixie Spray adhesive for clean, sharp lines.

Step 9: Final Touches

• Edge the plate with copper paint using your finger or a brush for a high-end look.
• Clean any excess paint from the front of the plate with an alcohol wipe.

Step 10: Seal the Plate

• Apply Polyvine Heavy-duty Extreme Varnish to seal and protect your creation. Let it cure for 24-48 hours before use.

Thank you, Donna, for sharing your expertise with us! We hope you enjoy creating your own reverse decoupage plate. Don't forget to go the bottom of the DecoupageNapkins.com home page and subscribe to our newsletter to receive 10% off your next order and stay updated on all our latest products, flash sales and tutorials. Happy crafting!