On My Bookshelf

This week's book is Mod Podge Rocks! Decoupage Your World by Amy Anderson. As part of the back story, I have to admit that decoupage was one of my first paper crafts. My dad still has some of the decoupage furniture that I covered in high school. It has lasted over 35 year and is still in good shape. The decoupage style I did back then was based more on the Victorian style rather than the more modern style presented in the book.

I have always been a fan of ModPodge and have used it, and still do, on several projects. What amazed me about this book is the discussion of the various types of ModPodge that are available today. The historical types have always been the Matte, Gloss, and Satin finishes. Now, there are versions specific to types of crafts: fabric, paper, outdoor, hard coat, sparkle and dimensional. I used to tint my ModPodge with watercolor concentrate when I needed something special. I wonder if you could add ultrafine glitter to mimic the sparkle ModPodge Sparkle?

The book is chock full of 40+ projects that are divided into three basic categories: Wearables, Home Decor and Holiday. Many of the projects are traditional style projects using paper and ephemera that are decoupaged onto wood, furniture, glass and other surfaces. The two projects really stood out for me. First was the dog coat that uses the ModPodge as a resit for screen printing. The project asks you to take a sheer fabric and an embroidery hoop to make a screen for screen printing. You draw your design onto the fabric, use the fabric ModPodge on all areas that you don't want ink to travel through, and then pull ink through the embroidery  hoop fabric and onto the surface to be used. Sheer genius.

My favorite project is the Glowing Mummy Hand Candy Bowl that uses a glove stuffed with batting/cotton that is then covered in fabric strips and painted with glow-in-the-dark paint.  I might have to put my own spin on this idea and use clear latex gloves and battery operated LED lights.

Glowing Mummy Hand Candy Bowl, p. 103
ModgePodge Rocks! Decoupage Your World by Amy Anderson

This is a must have for all general crafters who use ModPodge, for paper artists and scrapbookers, and for hosts/hostesses who want to add a fun component to their next party. The projects are very accessible and require few added tools other than those already found in most craft homes. An excellent book that will provide many hours of joyful projects or hours of paper and ModPodge dreaming.

Full Disclosure: Neither Amazon.com, ModPodge, nor the author have provided any compensation for this review. This book was purchased online without a personal perusal before purchase.