Decoupage - Laying Out The Design

DECOUPAGE TIPS ..... LAYING OUT YOUR DESIGN
When laying out your design it is helpful to draw the shape of your object
on a piece of paper so that you can arrange your prints before actually
gluing them to the object.
I use a spray-on adhesive to hold them in place temporarily. I spray it on
to the paper (the scrap paper I am using to plan the design on) and I
allow the adhesive to dry to the point that it is only slightly tacky. Just
tacky enough to hold my prints in place with a temporary bond. Your
spray on adhesive should have instructions on the label on how to create
a temporary bond. You do not need to be too precise with the layout,
but you should try to work to a theme of either colour or type
(for instance either Victorian, or hand painted flower prints, faces, Reds
with Grey, or Totally Pink etc,)
The prints can be overlapped if you wish. When planning a design for a
box, it sometimes looks nice to have the prints reach over the edges.
When placing a print that overlaps both the lid and the box, glue the whole
print across both pieces first with the lid shut and when the glued print is
completely dry, slit the print where the cover meets the box. That way you
will have a perfect match where the two pieces meet.
Another way to plan the design is to hold the pieces in place directly on t
he object with blue tac, then you can mark the outline of each cut piece
with dots made with a soft pencil or with chalk.
You can also mark the position by placing small pieces of blue tac at
particular points just outside the edge of the cut print to remind you where
it is going to go." ...