How to Make 3-D Decoupage

A little history about Paper Tole was found here:

There has been much speculation of the origins of the craft of Paper Tole or 3-D Decoupage, as we know it today. The Japanese have for centuries shaped and folded paper into beautiful designs, transforming a 2 dimensional piece of paper into 3-D creations.

Indeed oriental lacquer work formed the basis of the development of the 17th Century art form decoupage. The craftspeople of the day embedded designs into furniture by applying successive coats of lacquer, sometimes using 15 or 20 coats.

The French and Venetian further refined these techniques in an art form called "Vue d'Optique" which is considered by many as equivalent to the modern method of using paper sculpture to create 3-dimensional pictures.

 beautiful example of 3-D paper tole by Susan Lee

A quick tutorial on how to make a tole card is available from eHow, and provides enough information to start you out on this craft.  Here are the supplies you will need:

3 to 6 copies of a detailed image; card stock (optional);  Spray adhesive (optional); Scissors; Silicone adhesive;  (hot glue gun or foam tape); Tweezers; Clear glaze or glitter glue (optional); Well-lit area to work in

This picture is a postcard that I will be using to do my first paper tole project:

Several postcards came in the pack.

Things to keep in mind while making a tole card can be accessed at this site:

There are 3 principle areas that when looking at a 2 dimensional image the crafter must visualize, those being, the background, the middle-ground, and the foreground with several intermediate layers between the background and foreground.

A natural perspective is gained by properly and skillfully shaping each cutout piece before gluing it. In our view, one of the most important techniques that will really elevate your finished tole from being really good to magnificent lies in the skill in which you shape or sculpture the individual elements of the picture.

After reading the information about 3-D Decoupage, I decided to take the princess by the crown and start cutting up those postcards and make that princess come alive.

Her bald head, of course, needed to stand out in all its beauty, so the head and crown were emphasized by building up layers. And of course, she needed pink beads on her tiara, so the bead stash was raided.  Here is the finished product.  I was disappointed because the head-on view did not even show that cutting and gluing job!

This side view displays more of the dimensionality of the card.  (Is "dimensionality" a word?)

Jane Holmes at  Porcelain Painting in Australia  first introduced me to this craft.  Thanks, Jane.

This is part of How Sweet the Sound of Pink postings on Saturday.