Brown paper bags may not look like much on their own, but they provide interesting visual texture to a wall, floor or tabletop when employed to make a faux finish. Based on how you tear and treat the bits, the totes become artificial stones or faux leather when secured to a surface, decoupage-style. Choose bags or parts of bags without writing them on for optimal results; otherwise, the ink may show through, even when placed face-down. Grocery bags offer a thicker, more durable working fabric than brown lunch bags.

Wipe down the job surface with a household cleaner and a damp sponge or rag. If you are creating the faux finish on a wall, then dust the wall with a feather duster instead.

Run your fingers on the project area to ensure it is totally smooth; if not, small bumps may puncture the newspaper over time. Sand away the flaws using a fine-grit sandpaper; then wipe away the dust with a tackcloth or rag.

Cover any areas you wish to protect with painter’s tape, like the edges beneath a tabletop.

Tear the brown bags to arbitrary, somewhat rounded bits reminiscent of flagstone. Keep the majority of the bits a comparable dimensions, like a minimum of 4 inches in any dimension for a large surface like a floor or wall. Maintaining the pieces fairly large results in less pasting work. Set the bits with straight bag edges aside for the straight areas of your project. Continue tearing bags till you have sufficient torn paper to cover the job surface.

Crumple every bit of newspaper into a ball; then smooth it flat again. This measure is optional, but it gives the pieces a wrinkled texture reminiscent of leather.

Cover the floor of the work area with newspaper should youn’t want to have the ground itself to obtain the brown-bag therapy. Place the job piece atop the newspaper. If you are coating a wall, then push the paper up to the border of the wall instead.

Mix equal parts Faculty glue and water in a paint tray, stirring it with a craft stick or paint stirrer. Decoupage medium may be used rather than the homemade mix, but it may not be as cost-effective for a large surface.

Replacing the back of a single piece of torn paper with the glue mixture, applying it with a foam brush or paintbrush when wearing rubber gloves. Smooth the piece on the center of the project area, smoothing it down with the paintbrush. Glue the solution on the cap of the newspaper to help seal it.

Apply the glue solution to the back of another bit of torn paper; then put the second piece near the first, overlapping the pieces slightly. Smooth it down with the brush, especially along the overlapping border.

Keep on gluing pieces of torn paper bag over the job surface, overlapping each, until the entire job surface is insured. Glue the straight-edged pieces along straight project edges to decrease the requirement to cut the bags straight since possible work. Use smaller bits of torn bag to cover any gaps between bits already glued down. Trim any spare bag ends sticking out from the edges of the job working with a craft knife or utility knife. Allow the entire project to dry for at least several hours, or overnight, prior to using the surface.

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