Transfer Photos on to Wood (or anything else probably)
After buying some creations from local craft fairs, I set out to make awesome photo tranfers! I did my research and settled on two different methods: Mod Podge method and Wood Burning method.Required Materials:
Wood to transfer to (can be a different medium)
Printed image(s) to transfer (use a laser jet printer)
Sandpaper
Patience
Mod Podge Method:
Wood Burner Method:
Infrared Thermometer (Suggested)
Shared Steps:
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| Sand the wood! The smoother the better because bumps WILL show through the transferred ink. |
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| Pick and print your design. PRINT EXTRAS! |
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| Cut your design out. Try to be as accurate as possible and pick a simpler shape than I did. :) |
Mod Podge Steps:
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| Cover the INK SIDE of the paper in Mod Podge Photo Transfer Medium. You can cover the wood instead but I've found covering the paper to be a little cleaner in the end. Both ways work. |
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| Use your bone folder to flatten out the paper then clean up any excess that leaks out. |
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| Let it dry for AT LEAST 8 hours. |
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| Wet the paper with a towel or paper towel. Get it pretty wet but not dripping. Then go to town with your towel or fingers to rub away the paper. Be careful not to remove the ink! I did that and you can see the results. |
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| Voila! Your fish turns into a tree! The full paper turned out better than the fish shape. You can see the spots where the uneven wood affected the outcome, as well as where I rubbed away the ink. Learning curve! |
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| Use a brush to apply the Mod Podge Sealer. I went with a matte finish to make it less shiny. Feel free to do multiple coats! |
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| Admire your work! :) |
Wood Burner Steps:
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| Heat up your wood burner with a flat tip attached. Turn the paper INK SIDE DOWN and run the flat tip across the paper. Be careful not to burn the wood! I never use my wood burner without an infrared thermometer! EVER! |
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| The bottom image is the result of the Wood Burner transfer. The above fish is me testing some pyrography with the different tips that came with the wood burner tool. |
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| The same tree picture as the Mod Podge method. Note the burned circle by the trunk. |
It's a learning process, what did I learn?
The Mod Podge process is MUCH slower than the wood burning process. Unless I did Mod Podge wrong, the wood burner seems to be better for outlines while the Mod Podge is better for full images. That being said, you can control how much ink is transferred when using the wood transfer method, but not with the Mod Podge. Both approaches make good cheap present ideas that can be thoughtful and personalized for the gift recipient.
Next step, CANVAS!
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