tutorial : quilted decoupage drawer handles

Hello. I thought I would show you a quick and easy craft project on my daughter’s new (old) desk. It is a tutorial for Quilted Decoupage drawer handles. Easy, Pretty and costs next to nothing. But first let me show you her complete desk that was featured on Ohdeedoh’s Smaller Cooler 2011 contest – and won in the International category! ;)

This desk was completely made over from an old beat up wooden finish on it’s way to the curb. It was a hand-me-down that I rescued with open arms (with help), as I saw the potential of turning it into a sweet desk for my growing daughter. One of these days I will come across the official before shot of the desk, I know I have it somewhere. First, the desk got sanded down, then primed and roughly painted in white – I liked the rustic charm of it not being neatly painted and it also made for a quicker paint job.

Then came the real fun part – the knobs! Of course, first I went searching high and low for new drawer handles – only to be disappointed by finding that some don’t fit the holes (too much work to repaint and re-drill), or to find some that were getting too expensive – and I wasn’t going to spend $100 on just knobs! Naturally, a work-with-what-you-have idea came to mind. So here is the process of how to turn old battered drawer handles into a easy and fun project that will jazz up mostly any piece of furniture that will work with this style.

Here is what you’ll need for the decoupage handles:

• old drawer handles – wood, plastic or metal will work the same
• old scraps of tissue paper or a thin japanese paper, napkins would also work well
• decoupage medium/ Mod Podge, matte finish, or simple white glue that’s watered down will also work
• paintbrush to apply the glue
• scissors to cut your tissue

• not shown, but clean your old knobs well and dry completely
• and prep your tissue paper into squares and rectangles

How to apply a Quilted Decoupage to your drawer handles:

1. apply a layer of Mod Podge to  one area you want to cover
2. place a piece of tissue paper over the glue
3. apply a coat of more Mod Podge to the top of the paper, making sure to smooth out air bubbles and wrinkles. Repeat all over, placing the squares/ rectangles in a ‘quilt’ pattern.
4. once you’ve fully covered the handle, apply 2-3 more coats of Mod Podge to seal.

And that’s it. You’re done! Total work time – 2-4 hours depending on how many additional layers of tissue paper you apply. A slightly thicker paper would work great too. If your knobs have a lot of curves, like these did, a thin paper is better, just takes a bit longer to cover.

Here is the close up of the drawer handles on the desk.

Here is the cost breakdown of the whole desk makeover:

• desk – free
• drawer handles – free, as they came with the desk
• reused tissue paper – free
• A bottle of Mod Podge – $8, but used only about 1/6 of bottle
• supplies: scissors and paintbrush – I already had

Total:  $ 1.60 – for the whole desk makeover

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial. And thanks Juli for asking about it ;)