I thought Father’s Day would be a good time for this DIY project I wanted to try for a while. Because a dad is the best gift you can have I went through some old photos to find a picture of my grandfather. Then a created this piece to give to my dad.
If you’re interested in doing your own photo transfer on wood here are the materials you’ll need and the steps to follow (thanks to Photojojo!):
Materials:
- Photo to transfer
- Piece of wood
- Laser print
- Scissors
- 2 brushes (bristles or foam)
- Scrap paper or something to protect your lovely table
- Matte gel
- Mod podge
- Towel
- Gift card
- Optional: A separate room to lock in your curious cat and keep it from walking on your precious art work
Steps:
1. Print It
Choose a nice photo and using a laser printer make a print of the desired size; preferably the size of your piece of wood. If you have access to a photo editing software it is a good idea to reverse the image. I have forgotten this part in my own project but it is especially important if there is writing in your photo and you want it to face the right way.
2. Cut It
Cut out the printout of your photo.
3. Gel It Up
Put on a thin layer of matte gel on top of your photo and take one of your brushes to spread it.
4. Lay It Out
Lay your photo face-down on top of your wood piece. Once in place, use the edge of a gift card to flatten the paper and remove any air bubbles.
5. Let It Dry
Take an 8-hour break or go to bed and let your photo transfer dry.
6. Water It Up
Protect your work surface and get your towel wet with water. Lay the towel on top of your photo and press it to make sure the transfer is completely soaked.
7. Rub It
Once the transfer is soaking wet, use your rag and/or your fingers to rub off the fuzzy white paper fibers and to reveal your photo underneath. Let the transfer dry a bit so you can see any paper fibers that still need to be rubbed off.
8. Mod Podge It Up
Once the transfer is to your liking, let it dry some more. Then cover your photo transfer with some Mod Podge to give a nice finish to your work.
9. You Are Done!
Enjoy your new decoration or give it away to make someone happy!
Does the picture have to be printed on laser printer I have an inkjet printer. Any suggestions? Thanks great job.
Yes you will need to print the image on a laser printer. I haven’t try the inkjet printer but let me know if that works!
these is a really nice and straight forward tutorial, thanks for sharing. i was wondering if you know why there is a wait for 8 hrs, does it really need that long?