Upcycled Wallpaper Covered Radio Revamp

Hi guys! I picked up this vintage radio from the flea market months ago. It was pretty hideous and definitely needed a little tlc and recovering! I recently found this large scrap on wallpaper on Etsy and immediately knew it was perfect for my radio. With the help of a little paint and Martha Stewart’s new decoupage medium. My ugly old radio has been reborn into a funky one of a kind entertainment piece for my living room. I was afraid it was going to be a hard project to tackle, but to my surprise it was really pretty easy and quick. I had a blast every step of the way to!

Here’s What You Need:

*Beat Up Radio

*Screwdrivers to take it apart

*Martha Stewart Paint

*Paint Brushes

*Martha Stewart Decoupage All Surface Medium in Matte

*Vintage Wallpaper

*Burlap

*Spray on Adhesive

*Glue

Instructions:

Take your radio apart starting from the back. Remove the box from the front plate. Remove the speaker. Remove the feet, and also remove the speaker cover plate. Paint the areas of your radio that are not going to be covered by the wallpaper. Paint the face of the radio,and also paint the feet. Remove the old fabric from the speaker cover plate and paint that as well if you like. Now you are ready to decoupage your radio box. Measure out the dimensions of the sides and the top and bottom. Mark out the dimensions with a pencil and ruler adding a 1/4 of an inch to the width on each piece for wrapping to the back. Also add a 1/2″ to each side of the top and bottom pieces for overlapping the edges. So if my top was 6×12 then I would cut my paper to be 6.25×13″. Brush a generous amount of decoupage medium onto the back side of the paper and the side of the radio that corresponds with the paper. Now lay the paper onto the box of the radio and smooth out. Do the top and bottom pieces first so that you end up with the edges coming over onto the sides and covering the edges. Then lay out the sides which should fit exactly top to bottom with a little extra in the back for wrapping. To wrap the little extra in the back brush a layer of medium onto the wood and the back of the paper starting with the top piece. Smooth the excess edge of paper down onto the wood. Now repeat with the other sides. When you get to a corner fold the end down at an angle into the other side to create a smooth corner. Next, brush a layer of decoupage medium on the top as a sealer all over the radio where the paper and paint is. Now you need to recover the speaker plate. Cut a piece of burlap about an inch or so larger than the size of your plate. Spray the front of the plate and the back of the burlap with spray adhesive. Lay the burlap onto the plate and smooth out on the front. Let dry. Trim the excess burlap to a 1/4 to 1/2″ around the edges and trim out the piece that the console piece goes through. Wrap and glue the edges down in the back. Let dry. When everything is dry you will need to reassemble your radio. Start by attaching the face to the box of the radio. Then, attach the speaker and close up the back. Screw the feet back on and you are finished!

 I love everything about this radio! The wallpaper is fabulous! The colors are amazing and the creamy burlap matched perfectly. I adore the little bird on the side, and the pink detail painted into the front. This project took me an afternoon, but it was totally worth it! The Martha Stewart Decoupage medium is really easy to work with. It goes on easily and it has a beautifully smooth finish without brush marks. I LOVE it! I hope you all will give this one a try sometime with an old piece of yours. You’ll have a blast! I just love decoupaging with wallpaper! It’s sooo much fun! I’ll  be back tomorrow with my official Martha Stewart Decoupage Campaign Post. Until then…

Happy Crafting!