2016 #4 Spring Transfer {by Lauren Hatwell}

 2016 Topic 4: Image Transfers

Hi everyone Lauren Hatwell here to share with you a little home decor project I made using Fresco Paint as a transfer medium for a lovely magazine image I wanted to use in a spring inspired home decor item.

In the past I've struggled a bit to master image transfer with gels mediums; I never seem to be able to get it right. It's such an effective technique that I really wanted to master it and this fortnight's topic at PaperArtsy seemed like just the right opportunity to find a method that works for me. After the usual disaster with gel medium from my stash, I decided to give Fresco Finish paint a go and to my astonishment  got a really great image first time...

Step One: I wanted to use a piece of wood I'd been saving so I followed the instructions in this YouTube video. When I thought through the process a bit more I wondered if I actually needed the gel medium at all. Why not just apply the image straight onto wet Fresco Paint?

I applied a medium coat of Buff Fresco paint, but any light neutral shade would work. The image was taken from a magazine and laid face down directly onto the wet paint. Success at last! I was really pleased to get this beautiful impression first time.


Step Two:  I applied a coat of DecoArt Crackle Glaze around the edges of the panel to frame the image and then I sealed the whole lot with acrylic wax. Acrylic wax, if you've not used it before, gives the feeling of a wax finish and you can buff it to a shine or sand it for a matt finish. It's a lovely product. It's not wax so it doesn't resist any further products you want to add.

Step Three: The stamping needed to be understated so I picked a couple of my "go to" sets of stamps by Emma Godfrey (EEG13 and EEG14). I love the new larger sentiments Emma picked for her latest releases and her sets always have really useful little elements alongside the main images. I wanted to create the impression of dappled light so I used the gorgeous random dots from EEG13 and stamped them with grey, brown, yellow and white fresco paints before stamping the word Bloom from EEG14 twice, once in black and once, slightly offset, in white. Lastly I picked out a few random dots in glitter glue to add a little sparkle when the light hits it.

EEG13

 EEG14

Step Four: I edged the wood panel in Marlin Fresco Paint (a gorgeous blue/grey colour)  Baltic Blue would work perfectly here too.I then stamped another of the sentiments from EEG15 in white around the edges so that I can see the sentiment no matter which direction I'm looking from (even when I'm sitting down at my desk). I finished the edges with some acrylic wax to seal and protect it.

Step Five: On just one edge I stamped a few more dots in white and then applied some glitter glue over them to add some dimension and a feeling that the little "happiness sparkles" carry on up the side of the frame.

I'm going to hang this by my desk in my craft room, which overlooks the garden. It would make a great Birthday or Mother's Day gift for someone. You could use their favourite flowers, a favourite animal, a picture of a loved one, anything you like really.  I want to have a go at applying photographs to the insides of Emma's shapes too. The paint has the added bonus that I can see where I've put it and make sure I target the images exactly where I want them

I think having mastered image transfer will add a really useful dimension to my own work, and I hope those of you who maybe haven't been successful with other methods of image transfer will find this a useful technique. It's a great way of quickly adding photographic or laser images to home decor items, canvases and journal pages.. 

See you again soon

Lauren Hatwell
Marvelous Mechanical Mouse Organ 

Thanks for joining us tonight Lauren. I am so impressed with your paint transfer, yet another medium to add tot he list of ones that work well. i adore your glittery bits, they are exactly like dappled light, so clever. Great attention to the sides too, so often forgotten about, but you have made sure the art can be seen for every direction. ~Darcy 

We would love to see how you interpret this Image Transfers  topic by linking what you make to our 2016 Challenge #4: Image Transfers, on this page HERE.

All of our bloggers love to see your twist on their ideas,  particularly if you were inspired directly by their post. 

All links go in the draw to win a £50 voucher to spend on products of your choice from the PaperArtsy online store. The Image Transfers link will close 17:00 (London Time) Sunday, March 6th. The winner will be announced 2 hours later at 19:00.