Medallion 3D Decoupage tutorial

As promised, here's a step-by-step of how to do the 3D toppers I showed in a post recently.......

I use these stickers:
If you haven't seen these before, you need to look or ask for "Peel Offs" or "Peel Off Outline Stickers". This kind is generally called a "Medallion" pattern. They come mostly in gold or silver, but some places stock other colours (especially dark green and red, as part of their Christmas stock). If you're lucky you'll find pastel colours too. Average price seems to be about 70 - 90p a sheet but look for offers. Lots of online craft shops offer bulk buys. My local stationer gives one free for every 10 bought. (And always look for "Clearance" in the sidemenu on online craft shops!)They are made up of one large medallion shape, then smaller and smaller ones, each being part of the main pattern. You layer them up on top of each other, in order of size. Each sheet usually includes other decorative shapes, e.g., triangles for the corners of your card.

Choose a backing sheet to stick them onto. The kind of sheet you choose will make the overall effect of your card. Choose something bright and bold for a modern look, something softer for a more delicate look.

Here I have chosen the purple stickers. As they have a gold outline I have gone for a piece of vellum with a gold pattern.

Tip re choice of backing sheet: You can use vellum, paper or card. The only thing I would advise you don't use is handmade paper: sometimes the stickers won't adhere to this, and if the handmade paper is very heavy or textured it doesn't look good anyway. It's just a waste of interesting paper, really!

Carefully and slowly pull off the stickers that form part of the medallion pattern and stick them to your chosen background sheet:
....then cut them out:

Here's a tip for when you're cutting:
use the smallest scissors you have and use them right up at the top, not down by the tips of the blades -see picture- this will give you more control, and also mean you move your fingers less so it doesn't hurt arthriticky hands :)

Here you can see what I mean about each piece being a small part of the main pattern:
Next you need to chose your adhesive. You need something that will stay as a lump so that your layers end up 3D...

Note re Adhesives: Here you see Silicone Glue and foam pads- little round ones (you also get square ones) and then the latest, transparent ones. They are sticky on both sides so you can use them in decoupage BUT be aware of this- when sticking on layers you need to match them up with the pattern on the one underneath. If you use foam pads they are not very forgiving- you get one chance to stick them in place; you can't move them around once you've put them down, so if you get it slightly askew you can't correct it. This is why I prefer to use silicone glue.

I have recently read, however, that you can get round this by rubbing the foam pads with a glue stick (like the one in the picture) and this will give you a sticky, yet slippery pad that you can move a bit. I haven't tried this technique yet because well, I just like blobbing the glue, to be honest :)

Silicone Glue doesn't dry absolutely clear, it dries sort of 'milky'. I quite like this as it gives a sort of antiquey look but if you want a completely transparent look, go for a gel glue such as Pinflair. Click here to have a look at this brand.

So here's me blobbing some Silicone Glue onto the second layer. Space it out in pea size blobs and always put one in the middle:....place this second layer carefully onto the base (i.e. the second largest piece onto the largest):
Keep layering up:..till finally all the layers are on top of one another:Slide the finished medallion onto a piece of paper or card and, using this piece, move it round and check that all the sides are even, i.e., that one isn't lower than the others. If you do find this is the case, use the tip of a knife, nail file, blunt pencil etc., to gently lift the lower side. Hold it up for a few seconds. You may have to do this a couple of times but it will eventually stay put.
(One advantage of using foam pads, of course, would be that the pads would all be the same depth so you wouldn't have to worry with those.)

The topper should be set after an hour and a half but I leave them overnight before putting them onto cards. Again, if you're using foam pads you don't have this wait. I still think blobbing blobs of gooey stuff is fun though.

Lastly, here is an alternative to these sheets of stickers:-you can buy medallion patterned stamps.

Stamp it once as a main image then several times more for your different layers. How many layers can you see in this one? Colour them all (or stamp onto patterned paper!) and cut them out. Then layer them as before. Here is one I made from this stamp:-you get a completely different look! I think this would be good on the lid of a trinket box.


Well, I hope I explained it all ok, but if you have a queries please ask!!!! Have fun!