Learn How to Make Mod Podge for your craft projects. It is so easy and homemade mod podge will save a ton of money.
I love being crafty and most of the time those craft projects require the use of Mod Podge. It’s a great product that can be used on so many surfaces making it easy to work with, but it can be quite expensive.
If you do a lot of crafting like we do, you know just how quickly it can add up. It does not take long, and you have spent a small fortune at the store.
My bottle of Mod Podge was getting low, so I decided to try to whip up my own batch of Homemade Mod Podge. It turned out perfect.
Also, try this DIY Unicorn Pencil Holder.
Why We Love This
With the use of glue and water you’ll be on your way to a Homemade Mod Podge that costs a fraction of the price of store bought Mod Podge formulas.
You will not believe how simple this is! I don’t know why they charge so much for this at the craft store.
It literally takes just 2 ingredients to make this. This product gives fabric and other surfaces a smooth finish while keeping dirt and dust away. Mod Podge Crafts are very durable.
Supplies
- ½ Pint Mason Jar with lid
- 1 Bottle washable Elmer’s glue, 6 oz.
- ⅓ cup water
Step By Step Instructions
Step 1. Grab your ½ pint mason jar and remove the lid.
Step 2. Pour the white craft glue or school glue.
Step 3. Continue to pour until you have used the entire 6 oz. bottle of glue to fill up the mason jar.
Step 4. Now grab the cup of water and pour it on top of the glue. Apply your lid to the mason jar to combine the part water and glue.
Step 5. Shake it for about a minute. You can also stir it, but shaking really gets the diy mixture combined.
Step 6. Now, it’s ready to use. Remove the lid, dip in your paint brush and get crafty with each layer of mod podge.
More Fun Ideas for Kids
- Easy Homemade Playdough Recipes
- Tissue Paper Crafts for Kids
- 20 Toilet Paper Roll Crafts for Kids
- Seashell crafts for kids
- 25 Water Activities for Kids
- how to make floam
Get started today making homemade mod podge recipe. Please leave a comment once you try decoupage on home decor items and more.
How to Make Mod Podge
Equipment
- ½ Pint Mason Jar with lid
- 1 Bottle washable Elmer’s glue, 6 oz.
- ⅓ cup water
Instructions
- Step 1. Grab your ½ pint mason jar and remove the lid.
- Step 2. Pour the white craft glue or school glue.
- Step 3. Continue to pour until you have used the entire 6 oz. bottle of glue to fill up the mason jar.
- Step 4. Now grab the cup of water and pour it on top of the glue. Apply your lid to the mason jar to combine the part water and glue.
- Step 5. Shake it for about a minute. You can also stir it, but shaking really gets the diy mixture combined.
- Step 6. Now, it’s ready to use. Remove the lid, dip in your paint brush and get crafty with each layer of mod podge.
Woo-hoo!!
Add wee drop of oil based varnish, and you have washable mod podge too, great eh
But washable school glue while safe for the kiddos isn’t waterproof.
Is this recipe good for making fabric stiff permanently?
I haven’t used it for that before so I’m not sure.
Does this work well to decoupage furniture like old cedar chests that the veneer has come off? How durable would it be long term on furniture in a very humid environment such as swampy Louisiana? Could I decoupage old furniture with it using fabric instead of paper?
I’m not sure as I haven’t used this recipe on furniture yet. I recommend testing it on a smaller piece to make sure that you’ll get the results that you prefer before using on larger pieces of furniture. Let us know how it works out!
I would not want to use much water on veneer. Even on the wood itself. If the straight glue doesn’t work, try thinning with a very small amount of water.
How long does it last in the jar?
It will last as long as the expiration date on the glue that you use to create it which can be up to 2 years. Thanks!
Thanks for sharing. This is really very quick and cheap.
Do you use this to put pictures on wood ..
I have used this before over pictures and it worked great!
Made it and it worked great.
Will Elmer’s Glue-All work? Instead of school glue?
Cindy – Yes, it should work great!
Just wondering if Elmers clear glue would work? If I use the white Elmers glue does it dry glossy or matte?
Thank you
You will need a white glue for this recipe. I haven’t tried it with clear glue so I’m not sure if that would work correctly or not. Elmer’s glue will dry with a matte finish. If you try the clear glue, please let me know if it works!
Love Pinterest and all the wonderful things it can teach me.
I had heard of Modge Podge but as I live in Spain, couldn’t buy it. The I thought I would lookon Pinterest, and Wow I found You. Thank you so much Carrie. x x x
I will definitely be trying this! I go through so much Mod Podge!
Thanks so much for the great ideas.
Just wondering if anyone can answer this for me I feel silly tbh but I’m doing a sea glass decor style craft on a vase , with food Coloring mod pod and water and then into the overnight to slowly head and then cooling time and this is after mod pog dries – anyway wanted to use this to make my own- instead of buying -but feeling this might not work with my craft in particular being the glue and over situation ???? Anyone tried it with this sea glass look effect ?!
Thank you for the great advise.
One thing I would do is pour the water in the glue bottle before I add it to the jar and that way get even more glue out of the bottle. Or leave the bottle upside down draining before finishing it off. I am all about getting every last drop out of bottles that I can.
I emptied the glue first, then added the 1/3 cup to empty glue bottle and the gave it a few shakes. Thus it cleaned out the glue bottle.
Thanks a lot …I will definitely try this… Supper excited to do this project .. the idea of using mod podge for pictures transfer on woods it’s really awesome ..N innovative…I like it…
How about waterproof for pots doing a project with children
Super easy. Love it
Thank you so much!! That stuff iiis pricey💃
Love your low-budget, easy to do diy projects! Wow! The diversity of themes are awesome! Thank you for sharing! God bless ya!
WOO-HOO, I feel like I’ve paid for their company. Works great. Thank you so much, Jean
THANKS !!!!I do alot of crafts and this will SAVE alot of money- YAHOO Big Hugs
Thx sooo much!!
I do so much crafting w/ my grand dghtrs..so whenever I can save $$ I’m happy.
Thk u so very much!!
Well I have put off doing a lot of craft because Mod podge was so expensive, but not anymore . Thank you for the hint.
Hello from switzerland 🙂
i really like your idea to make homemade mod podge. i got a question about it 🙂
Did you ever tried to transfer a photo onto wood, done with homemade mod podge? does it work?
thanx for you answer!!!!
kindly regards, sandra
I did and it really works.
Awesome!
love this I use mod podge a lot! thank you.
I’m going to my local d I.y. store to buy this glue and make it in bulk i make lots of candles and painted wine bottles with napkins on them this great tip will save me a fortune thanks so much😊
Wow, this came along at just the right time! I was down to the last 1/4″ of my Mod Podge, 11 p.m., and needed to finish a project! Thanks for this! So simple and so economical. Now I can make my own Mod Podge any time.
Woo-hoo!! Thank you for this!
I can’t find it on line here in the UK and this will save me a small fortune!
I decoupage and get through a ton of glue…thanks!
Whoo hooo … Thank you!!!
Thank you. Could this be used instead of puzzlecoat or puzzle glue? Can it be applied in several coats like ModPodge?
I have been gluing puzzles together with glue alone for always! so modge podge would def work.
What can u add to make satin or gloos finish mod pog?
What is ratio of glue to h2o? Is that 4 oz glue bottle? Most are three or four oz.
3 parts blue to 1 part water is what I use.
Hi Carrie. I’m from SouthAfrica and I thank you for showing me how to make home made modge podge. It is very expensive here. Bless you.
Which glue did you use?
You saved my life. Thanks for this.
My I suggest the water first be put into the empty glue bottle to rince out the remaining glue, then added to the 1/2 pint jar with the glue.
What size bottle glue do you use?
Many woo-hoos!!!! I knew Modge Podge smelled just like white glue, but never thought to try recreating it. You’ve saved us all some big bucks. Kudos!
I have just started making paper beads. Everything has a coat of mod podge on it. Thanks for the receipe.
woo hooo¡¡¡ muchas gracias, en verdad sera de gran ahorro y ademas no es facil estar yendo a las tiendas a conseguirlo.
How did you put the check fabric on the picnic basket? Did you brush the Mod Podge on the lid of the basket and then place the fabric on the top? How did you line the basket , with Mod Podge?
WoooHoooo…. 👍🏼
That’s super quick & super easy…. Thanx a ton…!
Now i can make my own modpode. As i need it. It coast so much. To buy it. Its $ 10 :99 to buy at hobby Lobby. But they do the 40% percent off though
Put Vaseline around the outside of the jar where the lid goes on and the inside of the lid. It won’t get stuck.
Thx, good idea 🙂
Brillant idea.💜
This is fabulous. Thanks for sharing. Woot woot!!!
Thanks so much for that awesome tip!!!! Trying to make crafts to sell to pay some bills! I also enjoy this kind of stuff. Your tip will help me a lot! I appreciate that so much!!!
Can I ask if this can be used as a sealant too? I’m a decoupage novice
Louise – Yes, it’s great to use as a sealant for pictures and various craft project! 🙂
Will pva glue work please
Yes, I think it would work great.
Woooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo, thank you so much.Perfect!!!!
Just wondering if this works for mugs and is it dishwasher safe?
Raya – It’s not dishwasher safe since it’s water base so I would not use this on mugs. Thank you.
Mom did this with us as kids 40+ years ago. Still use it today. If you mix equal parts of white school glue and water, you have the equivalent of Stiffy brand fabric stiffener as well as a thinned Modge Podge as there are times when the Modge Podge is better thin than normal consistency.
For Vacation Bible School, we used to mix Elmers Glue-all and water to do this. We used it to mount posters to foam board or Styrofoam insulation panels for display.
I was wondering if you could make this with home made glue???
I haven’t tried that before but I don’t see why not!
Love using ModgePodge, now I can make my own! Thank you!
You’re welcome Teresa!
I just painted some old furniture with a latex based .. Can I now decoupage with this glue on top of that paint?
I wouldn’t use this on furniture. This works best for craft projects. Thank you.
How can I make glossy mod podge? I make the home made stuff but would like a glossy one too. Thanks.
I’m not sure, I haven’t made a glossy one before. Thank you.
Does this work on wood and does it dry clear?
Yes, this works on wood and it does dry clear. Thank you.
Can’t wait to try! Thank you!!
Thank you so much, just finished making photo ornaments with my grand girls. Works just as well as the original and a way lot cheaper.
Thank you for sharing.
I’m glad you loved it!
Can we use fevicol with water? Will this work out?
I am so excited to finding out that I can make my own mod podge. Thank you so much for the information.
Will the washable glue make my project less permanent?
I Love doing crafts when I change decor in different rooms of my home. I recently changed my bedroom and bathroom to Paris themed and have gone through so much modge podge My husband said ” wouldn’t it have been less expensive to just buy the decor than buying that glue stuff”? After adding up what I had already spent on modge podge I was shocked! Thank you for sharing this money saving hack!
Wa Hoo thank you for this wonderful money saving idea.
I was disappointed…I used it on brown salt dough gingerbread men and it turned them white. Will try acrylic paint to make them brown again.
Does it work on pictures as well. On quarantine so cant go buy any
Yes it does!
Morning, I use Mod Podge for fabric for chairs,side tables etc will this work just as well, thanks
It also doesn’t smell as horrid as ModPodge!
YEs, I agree!
Hi from Stockton, Calif. Sonja here, I do all kinds of crafts and I do use a lot of MOD PODGE put pictures on wood and I give them to the homeless just want them to know they are wanted and someone is thinking of them, thank you so much.
Can’t wait to make my batch of Homemade ModPodge. Love doing all kind of craft. I can see many possibilities for this recipe.
Thank you! I can’t wait to hear what you think.
I use a lot of the waterproof Modpodge for use outdoors. Is there any way to make this waterproof?
I think that you could make this recipe with waterproof glue and it would probably work but I haven’t tried it before. Thanks.
I need to use this for sealing diamond paintings. Does this work for that kind of craft work? I need to know if this dries clear enough to allow the diamonds to sparkle. I live in a real small town and the only way for me to get Mod Podge is buy it online and pay shipping!
I have tried it on diamond painting before. I would test it on a small piece to make sure that it works as you’re wanting and allows the diamonds to keep their sparkle. Thanks.
Does this turn yellow with age? I guess it depends on which glue you use- so I guess I’m wondering if certain brands yellow or stay clear over time?
I haven’t had any issues with it turning yellow and I usually use a name brand glue. I like to stock up on them when they go on sale. Thanks!
Do you have other really neat tips for artists and crafters?
We have tons of great ideas under the DIY IDEAS link on our homepage. I hope you check them out! Thanks!
I’m curious to know if this will work fir stiffened macrame?
I haven’t tried it but I think it would work.
when dry can i brush a clear sealer or varnish over to weather proof it??
Yes, that should work great.
Hey Carrie, this is Hariet from Cameroon. Is so difficult to find mod podge in this part of the African continent. Lol! Thank you so much for sharing this great idea. Thanks to God for letting me see this on Pinterest. God bless you mightily Carrie
You’re welcome! I hope you enjoy it!
The dollar store always has “waterproof” white glue. Price just dropped even more.
Thank you for this, rose tissue paper on the inside of wood crates. Looks fantastic!
I love the homemade mod podge but I’m wondering is there anything you can add to give it something other than a matte finish? Maybe a satin finish?
How long can you keep the mixture in the jar?
i do alot of plastic canvas would this work to seal the yarn when i get done with the proect, and will it dry clear.
Can you use homemade mod podge to glue a puzzle together and can you use clear glue to make the mod podge.
Can this be used fir outdoor projects
Yes, it can be used for outdoor projects. However, it is not completely waterproof.
I was wondering how to make this recipe for fabric mod podge