Homemade Mod Podge Recipe (2 Ingredients)

Once you see how easy it is to make this homemade mod podge recipe and gather your mod podge ingredients, you will never buy storebought again.

With just two simple ingredients, you can make your own mod podge for all of your craft projects. Read through these tips for craft inspiration and the different methods for making this versatile craft medium.

What is Mod Podge?

Mod Podge, sometimes referred to as modge podge is a craft glue, water-based sealer that offers an epoxy-like finish to paper crafts, and decoupage projects.

This versatile crafting tool is kid safe so there is no need to worry about the toxicity of mod podge. When making your own, be sure to check the ingredients of the glue before allowing young children to use it unattended.

While there are many different formulas for a variety of decoupage mediums, this homemade version is perfect for a variety of DIY projects.

This homemade mod podge recipe is great for a kids’ project, sticking fine glitter to art or anytime you want a water-resistant topcoat.

You may notice that there are different popular types of mod podge when surfing the web. There is outdoor mod podge, matte mod podge, and gloss mod podge, the only difference is the finished look.

Which should you use, gloss vs matte mod podge? The gloss version offers a glare effect to your art while the matte finish leaves an off-eggshell finish that is not reflective.

Does Homemade Mod Podge Really Work?

Absolutely! After trying this homemade mod podge recipe you will see for yourself how you can use this recipe for so many projects.

Not only will you save money by not having to buy the real thing but you won’t have to put those projects off any longer because you can make this recipe right now, with ingredients you already have around the house.

Does this Homemade Mod Podge Recipe Dry Clear?

Yes. This recipe will dry clear on your crafts despite its white hue when done being made. Just like the store-bought stuff, you may be hesitant to use it on projects that you don’t want to add a white layer to but with this recipe, you don’t have to worry, it will dry clear.

What Can You Use Mod Podge For?

There are many projects and various materials that could benefit from a thin layer of mod podge. This recipe is great for anything that needs a matte finish on the entire surface or a way to seal art projects.

You can use mod podge for Halloween crafts like making a screamy witch or decorated pegs like Christmas pegs or simple decoupage projects like sealing a snippet of beautiful material with navy polka dots to a terra cotta pot.

The possibilities seem endless when you learn how to make your own homemade mod podge. Any craft or project that calls for mod podge will be a great way to test out this recipe.

You can even use this recipe to transfer photos to art.

Select a photo and scan it with your printer/scanner. Tape just the edges of a piece of tissue paper to the edges of a piece of printer paper. This will make the tissue paper run through the printer smoothly without being ripped to shreds.

Print the photo onto the tissue paper and then remove the printer paper backing.

Immediately press the tissue paper onto the canvas.

Apply homemade Mod Podge and be sure to smooth out any lines or bumps but be sure not to rip the tissue paper.

This part takes a lot of patience and you may have a few errors but when you are all done, you will hardly notice them.

For a full tutorial with inspiration and tips be sure to visit this post on how to make a DIY photo canvas keepsake using mod podge.

Is Mod Podge Waterproof?

Not exactly! The grand claim that mod podge is waterproof is not exactly accurate, while this does help to make projects water resistant, it isn’t exactly water proof.

Your products may withstand a few table spoons of water but to make a long story short, no this is not the way to waterproof your art.

When covering acrylic paint projects, mod podge is perfect but it is not recommended for latex paint projects.

Homemade Mod Podge Recipe Ingredients

As I mentioned earlier, there are many mod podge formulas on the internet, using lots of types of glue.

I prefer to use Elmer’s glue or any white school glue that contains polyvinyl acetate, which most white glue contains.

Look for a glue bottle that says pva glue, most brands will have this listed somewhere on the package but if you can’t find it, sticking with Elmers glue is a great idea.

This is the best way to replicate the real thing made by the people of mod podge.

Even mod podge die hard users will agree that this recipe is as good as what you usually buy at the craft store.

The only mod podge ingredients you will need are half cup of water and a cup of glue. You can easily double this recipe if you want to use a lot of mod podge or want to keep it for a long time.

Just add one cup water to a clean jar and the contents of one 8 oz bottle of glue.

How Do You Make this Homemade Mod Podge Recipe?

While there are lots of ways to make a homemade bottle of mod podge, I will show you my favorite methods for making this all in-one glue.

The main difference between the methods is which way is most convenient for you, the different methods will not produce different types of mod podge.

I just like to offer different methods so you can find the best thing that doesn’t take a lot of time for your next project.

Make Your Own Decoupage Glue in a Jar

This is my preferred method for making homemade mod podge because you can use any amount of glue and warm or cold water that will fit into the jar.

You can pick up a jar with a vintage look but be sure that it seals tightly for perfect use next time you need it. If you need to cover a large area, you will want to increase the cold or warm water and glue.

I usually craft with little scraps of fabric so this method does a better job for small projects unless, of course, you use a really big jar.

Just add glue and water, stir with a popsicle stick for an easy cleanup and you are done. Seal the lid and use this homemade craft glue whenever inspiration hits.

Make Real Mod Podge Right In the Glue Bottle

Using a glue bottle that has a little bit of space, you can add water right to the container to save yourself an extra step. Just make sure you have 2 parts glue to one part water.

This method is an easy one to clean up and doesn’t require running to the closest store to pick up a container for storage. Whenever I have a half-empty bottle of glue, this is one of my favorite recipes to make.

Mix Homemade Mod Podge Recipe for Immediate Use

In a small bowl, use a foam brush or paint brush to mix 8 ounces of glue with 4 ounces of water. Or whatever amount works best for your project, just be sure to add double the amount of glue to the fluid ounce of water portion. I usually use a disposable bowl for this part.

You can use a washable bowl but you will have to give it a good soaking to clean it, and the worst case scenario would be having to toss it out.

Different finishes will have different results but I tried this with a bowl that had a highly textured finish and it had a hard coat at the bottom that I just couldn’t remove.

How to Thicken this Homemade Mod Podge Recipe

If you want a thicker mod podge, you can add a tsp cornstarch or flour but this isn’t necessary for most projects.

Adding cornstarch is a good way to make this simple mod podge recipe resemble a golden acrylic medium. This is good if you want to add texture to projects with a few brush strokes.

Fun Craft Inspiration

If you are looking for inspiration to create your next fun craft project, I have a few popular posts that I think you should check out.

Get inspired for the upcoming season and make these DIY Planters from upcycled tin cans to plant some seeds for the Spring.

If you are like me, you don’t like to see any potential craft materials go to waste. That means upcycling and reusing are key and you would be amazed at some of the fun projects you could come up with from items that would have otherwise been thrown in the trash.

Hit up a thrift store, garage sale, or even estate sale to find lots of items that can be repurposed or upcycled. Get inspired by the fun ways that I transformed some out of date pieces below. You can even use this DIY mod podge for many of these projects.

Use an old cardboard box to make a decorative tray or upcycle cardboard into a stylish door hanger in minutes. Or upcycle an old milk carton to make this DIY feeder, the birds will love it!

Brighten up your desk with this easy DIY Faux Cactus decor using a terra cotta pot and a rock.

Make a Tiffany-style lamp shade with this easy DIY tutorial or give a garage sale lantern a makeover with this post.

I hope you enjoyed learning how to make your own homemade mod podge recipe from this post sharing how to make mod podge.

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