Vintage Spinet Desk Makeover
Part 3
Today I’m sharing the last part of my $20.00 Vintage Spinet Desk Makeover. First was repairing and painting the desk, then came tea staining vintage book pages to line the drawer, and today I will share how I used starch to adhere the book pages.
How To Line A Drawer With Book Pages Using Starch
No matter how you choose to adhere your book pages, you have to start with a design. I just laid out the pages in a way that I found pleasing.
Take a picture!
I had to refer back to my picture several times to make sure I applied the pages in the correct order.
There are many ways to attach paper to wood, but my favorite is to use starch.
Starch can be used to turn fabric into removable wall covering
The first time I discovered you could use starch as an adhesive, it was used to apply fabric to a wall. I saw it on HGTV many years ago.
Do any of you remember when all the shows on HGTV were instructional, kind of like when MTV showed music videos all day? I know, I’m showing my age, but before reality tv took over, they actually taught the audience how to do the projects to decorate a room, not just the befores and afters.
It was because of these shows that I started my journey into decorating and DIY, and where I learned about starching fabric to a wall.
If you are interested in see the process of applying fabric to a wall with starch, you need to check out Miss Mustard Seed Blog. She covered a wall in her bedroom with fabric using starch and it looks amazing.
Anyway, back to the book pages. If starch works for fabric, why not paper?
Three Great Reasons To Use Starch
1.Things applied with starch are removable without damaging the surface underneath.
2. Removable also means repositional. There is a generous drying time and the paper can be repositioned while wet. This is huge for people like me that never get it right the first time!
3. The result after drying is a matte, antique look finish. This one seals the deal for me. I love it.
I would recommend applying decoupage medium as a top coat if you were doing a table top or some other area that would get a lot of use.
How To Use Starch To Adhere Paper
Pour starch in a paper size pan.
Dip the paper in the starch, making sure all areas are covered.
I try to wipe off the excess starch with my hands. Be prepared to get a little messy.
Take the starch covered paper and place on the surface.
Use a squeegee to smooth the paper and get out bubbles and excess starch. You can also use an old credit card if you don’t have a squeegee. All of my previous projects were done with a credit card.
If you want to, you can use a paper towel to wipe up the extra starch, or you can just spread it around on the wood and wipe of the excess at the end.
Let it dry. That’s it!
So if you are looking for an easy, although a little gooey way to adhere paper to a wood surface, I would highly recommend using starch.
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