Our Hopeful Home: DIY Chinoiserie Vase

Today I'm sharing how to make your own DIY chinoiserie vase.

chinoiserie vase with pink flowers on mantel collage

Yes, you can DIY your own chinoiserie vase -- and I can show you how. I've become a huge fan of chinoiserie -- that pretty blue and white pattern seen on ginger jars, as well as many other home decor items including artwork.

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The only problem is, it's usually pretty expensive. But not to worry. I've managed to DIY my way to more than a few marvelous chinoiserie home accents. And today I'm going to share my DIY chinoiserie journey with you. So buckle up and away we go!

So what, exactly, is chinoiserie?

Chinoiserie (English: /ʃɪnˈwɑːzəri/, French: [ʃinwazʁi]; loanword from French chinoiserie, from chinois, "Chinese";) is the European interpretation and imitation of Chinese and East Asian artistic traditions, especially in the decorative arts, garden design, architecture, literature, theatre, and music.

-Wikipedia.

blue white pumpkins gold stem

My first foray into DIY chinoiserie came in the form of DIY chinoiserie pumpkins. Drop by How To Make Chinoiserie Pumpkins DIY Decoupage to see how I did it and what I learned from that experience. THE PUMPKIN POST HAS STEP-BY-STEP INSTRUCTIONS THAT YOU CAN USE FOR MAKING THE CHINOISERIE VASE LIKE I DID HERE! I highly recommend you read that post before continuing if you're interested in learning the details.

For your convenience I'll set forth the supply list here again:

DIY CHINOISERIE VASE SUPPLY LIST

1. Chinoiserie paper cocktail napkins (I used Caspari chinoiserie paper cocktail napkins from Amazon. I ordered two packages.)

2. Mod Podge Gloss (or Mod Podge Matte of you prefer a less glossy look)

3. Flat-edged paint brush (or Mod Podge paint brush)

4. Rust-Oleum Chalked Ultra Matte paint in Linen White (or any white paint you might have on hand).

5. Glass vase (from thrift store or Dollar Tree)

6. Scissors

7. Wax paper (to place your project on while it dries)

Dollar tree glass bud vases Bride Squad decal

In my search for the perfect "test" vases, not surprisingly, I found them at Dollar Tree. I wanted to have a few different shaped vases to experiment on. I believe the middle one is actually a champagne glass!

I followed the step-by-step instructions from my DIY chinoiserie pumpkin tutorial and absolutely love how they turned out!

Having finished these three "test" vases, I was ready to move on to my bigger project.

Here it is -- my $4.00 belly vase. Yup, that's what it's called. I picked it up on clearance at Old World Pottery because I knew that this particular shape would look lovely covered in a chinoiserie print.

white painted glass vase milk glass candlesticks

I started out by painting the vase white with Rust-Oleum Ultra Matte Chalked Paint in Linen White. I don't recommend skipping this step as it gives you a good background to work on and the overall appearance of the finished product looks much better. I didn't paint the test vases first and wished that I had. Live and learn.

Once the vase was painted white I proceeded to cover it with the napkins and Mod Podge using a small, flat paint brush. You can see my step-by-step decoupage tutorial over at How To Make Chinoiserie Pumpkins DIY Decoupage.

Here's a shot of the vase in progress. I started at the top and worked my way down.

And here is the beautiful finished product.

I displayed it on the mantel between my thrifted hobnail milk glass candlesticks.

I think it looks right at home sitting among some of my chinoiserie collection.

I recently picked up a thrifted chinoiserie pitcher that I haven't yet shared with you. I got the ginger jar for my birthday.

I picked up this chinoiserie cachepot in an antique mall in Michigan.

faux pink ranunculus bouquet chinoiserie vase

Dollar Tree LED taper candles hobnail candlesticks pink flowers vase

Caspari chinoiserie paper cocktail napkins decoupage vase

I could not be more in love.

A FEW TIPS:

The size of the napkin pieces you cut out will depend on the size and shape of your vessel. For a smaller vase you'll want to cut smaller pieces, but for a larger vase like this one you'll want to cut larger pieces that cover more area. You can always go back and fill in any small, missed spots at the end.

You'll inevitably have some areas that are not totally smoothed out due to the nature of the thinness of the napkin, but the pattern is so forgiving that it will most likely go unnoticed. And white paint underneath helps camouflage any errors.

I purposefully did not try to decoupage the upper inside of the vase in the event that I use water in it at some point. Water is not a friend of decoupage since Mod Podge and tissue paper are water-soluble.

For now I've chosen to fill it with faux flowers. Easy peasy and no need to worry about changing the water! I'm now on the look out for another belly jar to transform with decoupage so that I can have a set to display together! Yes, I'm hooked.

Well, that's it until next time, friends!

I hope you enjoyed reading about my

DIY Chinoiserie Vase