Many MSWG club members over the past months have asked about the photo on my wig stand bases. It is not a photo; it is one manufactured sheet of material designed for decoupage. The trade name is Prima Re-Design Decoupage Decor Tissue Paper purchased from Amazon https://a.co/d/5pnHA2S. It comes in 100s of designs.
I use this paper because it works great for this application. I am sure there are other papers and material that might also work.
Do a web search and you will find there are many other suppliers of Prima Re-Design Decoupage Decor Tissue Paper. I was told that a vendor is selling this paper locally near Wolfchase at Painted Tree Boutiques at 8045 Giacosa Pl, Memphis, TN 38133 (I have not confirmed this).
You may want to watch this video Redesign with Prima
The Wiki definition of decoupage is the art of decorating an object by gluing colored paper cutouts onto it in combination with special paint effects, gold leaf, and other decorative elements. Commonly, an object like a small box or an item of furniture is covered by cutouts from magazines or from purpose-manufactured papers. Each layer is sealed with varnishes (often multiple coats) until the "stuck on" appearance disappears and the result looks like painting or inlay work. The traditional technique used 30 to 40 layers of varnish which were then sanded to a polished finish.
Following is my general process:
Turn the base.
Sand the base to 320.
Put one or more coats of paint or clear finish to seal the wood. I use General Finishes High Performance Water Based Topcoat, Flat. I will sand if needed between coats.
Cut a circle of Prima Re-Design Decoupage Decor Tissue Paper (paper) just a little larger than the base.
Put one coat of High Performance on top surface patterned paper to act as the adhesive (must be wet)
Put one coat of High Performance on bottom surface of patterned paper to act as the adhesive (must be wet).
Attached the prepared paper to the base and smooth. Wipe off excess adhesive. What is nice about this paper is that you can reposition it and because it is porous you do not get bubbles. (You will find that there is a lot of hype about Mod Podge Gloss Waterbase Sealer, Glue. Bottom line is that you can use your favorite clear top coat finish.
Let dry overnight.
Finish the edge by mounting on the base on the lathe and very lightly turning away the excess paper. I typically lightly sand the raw edge.
Remove from the lathe and add two or three topcoats of finish (with very light sanding between coats).
If you want to see the complete process as a club demonstration, please contact Rick Gillespie (901) 619-6308 - he is in charge of MSWG meeting demonstration scheduling.