If the pieces are flatly glued all the way to the edges they will varnish ok. You can build up layers of rice paper to recover white areas or to create texture. Blitsy is where I purchase most of my crafting supplies as they carry all brands in one location. After the gesso, I also used some spray on sealant, probably obtainable at any hobby or art store, gesso might be found at either of those retailers as well...anywhere that sells canvas (gesso is primarily used for priming canvas). Thanks:) What i use is sometimes not replaceble so i can not risk ruining a piece of paper by wetting it. Learn how to use spray fixative, matte gel medium and matte varnish to seal your watercolor painting. ... seal your work with a couple coats of your adhesive. 1 decade ago. Apply the next piece, usually somewhat overlapping the first or in another area, in the same way. With the right technique, however, you can turn a plain canvas into a unique collage or as a base for a picture or photo. Then i use one most of the time, like for greeting cards or whatever. I do not like Mod Podge, can not remember why but Liquitex gave a better result. Make a random swathe of decorative papers, cover with gel medium and paint. Good luck! The thicker canvases are a sheet of canvas stretched over a wooden frame. I was gluing paper to a hard clay board panel. Smooth the paper down with your hands to get rid of any creases or air bubbles. Also, if it's water proof, that's a big plus. Apply sealant of choice: you can use a spray sealant or a brush-on sealant like ModPodge as we did. I know people who swear by gel medium too. Include your email address to get a message when this question is answered. Actually i dread gluing a large piece, will try to find another way. But isn't paper fun??? Flickr logo. ages ago Collage Painting: Article #4. I like to use gel medium or matte medium because it's designed to combine with acrylic paint. I have a few moleskin style notebooks with smooth covers and some notebooks with fabric covers. I finally learned how to decoupage paper using Mod Podge WITHOUT the paper bubbling and wrinkling. Cover the canvas with scrapbooking paper, then layer other images on top. (permalink), Since i often use thin papers, it is VERY DIFFICULT to get them even wet before one glues them- often they fall apart, or tear and i found that it was not worth the trouble.I guess i did not practice enough(30 years) Careful glueing was easier, saved work and paper. You can't just use any ordinary type of glue, however, otherwise the paper may not adhere properly. If you prefer, you can spread the medium onto the back of the picture. how many of you have made photo collages? I used a glue stick to create the piece and then tried to seal it with Golden (brand) Polymer Varnish with UVLS (Gloss). Trace the canvas onto the back of your image, then use a sharp blade and a metal ruler to cut the paper. I use white glue or gel glue and spread it thin with an old credit card. Thanks to all authors for creating a page that has been read 86,960 times. You can apply more than one layer of top coat, but you will need to let the previous layer dry first. or a liquid glue stick, again using a burnisher to flatten. Most people will paint pictures and illustrations on canvas, but did you know that you can adhere paper to it as well? I still find that if one is going to varnish, a glue stick is not a great choice.And the heavier the paper, the easier it is to glue flat and bubble free. 1.) (permalink), Thank you everyone for your thoughtful answers. Does anyone have any suggestions? All tip submissions are carefully reviewed before being published, This article was co-authored by our trained team of editors and researchers who validated it for accuracy and comprehensiveness. The paper wrinkled because you applied a very wet medium/varnish, and the exposed surface of the paper absorbed the moisture and the fibers expanded but the underside that you glued with the gluestick, did not. Spray Varnish: A spray varnish might be the easiest... something like Krylon Triple Thick would be perfect because it will seal the mixed media piece and give it a finished look. I just finished a collage on a panel made out of newsprint and magazine pages. Thank you. : ) (permalink). Stir a few drops of paint into the medium to give your image a tinted look. I use satin finish polycrilic if I want to seal it completely. If the pieces are flatly glued all the way to the edges they will varnish ok. The great thing about this stuff is that it can be thinned with water as needed and does not compromise the quality. You could prepare the canvas first with gesso, and that might make it more smooth. https://piddix.blogspot.com/2011/02/how-to-prevent-smudges-and-bleeding.html Make sure to press firmly to remove any air bubbles underneath your image. I'm not saying completely soaking wet, but enough to let all the fibers expand rather than just some. The matte is better because it goes on super flat. If you're using lightweight enough paper that it ripples from the water content of the glue you might try using 3M's gluesticks - they are lower in water content so your paper will stay flatter. Non water based varnish, by the way, is yellowing but for certain very hard glossy finishes it is really the best, just MUCH harder to use. Leave it alone to dry for 1 - 2 days. ages ago The best way to avoid wrinkling is to get your paper evenly wet. These forms and shapes eventually create a whole image. Plan for ample drying time to apply several layers of sealant to properly preserve your memorable print. Anything from four to 15 coats may be needed depending on how thick the decoupage paper is and how smooth and durable a finish is required. The glue you choose to use for your collage project will depend on what type of items you are using. (permalink), You could try using gesso. This is sometimes harder to do with thin papers like magazine and newsprint but can be done with practice. The bubbles came from the large images I used as the background. 97 months ago (permalink), I agree that Liquitex matte is the best varnish. What can I use to seal a paper collage & give it a nice glossy finish? Collage itself belongs to the realm of Kali: dismembering of paper , appropriation of image, rebirth of pieces into a new whole. For more tips, including how to create a collage on a canvas, read on! ages ago Unfortunately, all of the paper buckled up and many edges peeled away from the panel. I was generous with the glue here and decided to gloss over the entire collage surface to coat and seal the paper. Once the glued materials feel firmly in place, remove the backing to the contact paper’s sticky side. Brush thin layer of glue over entire collage to seal. After that time, don't touch the canvas right away; use another object to lightly touch it to see whether it's dry. {"smallUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/images\/thumb\/c\/c3\/Adhere-Paper-to-Canvas-Step-1.jpg\/v4-460px-Adhere-Paper-to-Canvas-Step-1.jpg","bigUrl":"\/images\/thumb\/c\/c3\/Adhere-Paper-to-Canvas-Step-1.jpg\/aid9075396-v4-728px-Adhere-Paper-to-Canvas-Step-1.jpg","smallWidth":460,"smallHeight":345,"bigWidth":728,"bigHeight":546,"licensing":"