Recently a customer asked me if I sold wallpaper by the metre. How ridiculous I retorted (I really need to think before I speak). Does nobody appreciate how much it costs to import designer wallpapers? The customs fees? duty charges? International freight? I was on a tirade, until I stopped mid speech.
What do you want with just one metre of wallpaper? The answer may just have changed my life.
She replied decoupage. ‘I want to cut up one of your German goldfish wallpapers to do a headboard for my daughters room’.
A headboard! The idea intrigued me. I googled decoupage.
Decoupage – Art produced by decorating a surface with cutouts and then coating it with several layers of varnish or lacquer.
To cut a long story short, I now sell several wallpapers by the metre. I think I am the first one in New Zealand to do so. I dont charge the earth, just $10.00 per metre. Financially speaking it is hardly worth it – but ahhhh the results!
The question remained, what could one make with bits of wallpaper, and what costs would be involved? I went to the Nelson Recycling centre and bought a table for $5. There were quite a few made out of plywood. I think they must be a Nelson Boys College woodworking project. I then used 3 metres of wallpaper, some wallpaper paste and varnish. The total cost for the table came to about $50.00. Check out the picture – there will be more coming as decoupage is my new addiction.
The Inside's Blog 
nice work!