Easy Umbrella Makeover

Decoupage (6) Mod Podge (5) Accessory (4) Decorative (2) Umbrella (1)

An easy way to jazz up a very plain looking umbrella is to decorate the handle - especially easy if it is a smooth wooden handle like the one I have had sitting at home.

Pretty up your brolly by decorating the handle with a decorative paper.

This is a good, sturdy umbrella I've had for some years but the wooden handle was looking very shabby and was in need of a little makeover.

The original colour and varnish had started to come off the wooden handle and was in great need of a tidy up.

In order to decorate your umbrella handle, you'll need the following:
- paint in the colour of your choice
- decorative paper
- decoupage medium
- measuring tape
- craft knife and cutting mat with metal ruler
- small piece of sandpaper - I used 240 grit as the handle only needed a very light sand

1. Give your umbrella handle a light sand with the sandpaper so that it is ready for painting. You'll want to try and get off all of the varnish.

Sand off the wooden handle so that most of the varnish is gone.

2. Paint your umbrella handle in the colour of your choice.

As some of the wood was going to show, I used black paint as it matched the umbrella colour.

3. Using your measuring tape, measure around the circumference of your umbrella handle plus the length and cut your paper to size. It doesn't matter if it slightly overlaps. As the umbrella handle had decorative ridges, I decided to cut three separate pieces and leave the black painted area to show in-between.

It is a good idea to cover your paper with the decoupage medium at this stage and leave to dry as it makes it easier to handle when sticking down on to another surface.

Measure and cut your paper to size. Once cut, make sure it fits correctly around the handle before sticking down.

4. Using your decoupage medium, firstly cover the painted wooden area (I recommend to do this in three separate stages) and then stick your paper down and cover again in the medium. Gently smooth out any bubbles or creases with the back of your fingernail as you go. Leave to dry.

As my umbrella handle got gradually thinner as I went down, the paper slightly overlapped but I put a small slit in the paper with my craft knife so that it stayed even around the edges against the black paint.

Decoupage the paper on to the umbrella handle, smoothing out any creases or bubbles as you go.

5. Once dry, give the handle at least another two coats of decoupage medium, leaving it to dry in-between coats.

Now you've got a much smarter and tidier looking umbrella. What a difference from start to finish!