The Bride Gets an Inkjet Copy Transfer and Secret Santa Aceo

There's a lady underneath the old washcloth.  She's going to get a good scrubbing and then she will be fit for entertaining visitors- that would be you.  Why is she covered up?  This lady is an Inkjet Copy Transfer and this is her virgin excursion.  That would be my first attempt with the transfer process and I think the end result is fair considering that.




If you want to try this process too, this is what I did:

Little by little the lady is revealed.

First make your copy on the copier.  All of the info I read said that you could not use a regular inkjet copy, that you must use an inkjet toner based copy, and not a laser copy.  I used a regular inkjet copy.  My image is graciously and generously provided by the terrific Karen at Graphics Fairy.   The image is of a bride in a blue dress and can be found here.  Linking this to the Brag Monday post here and to IA theme  here.

The second step was to paint a 5x7 canvas panel with acrylic paint and let it dry thoroughly.  You don't have to paint your panel and you could use a different surface, wood for example.  Put something under the panel to protect  your counters or desk if you need to, I used waxed paper.

The third step was to cover the copy's good side, the side facing you, with medium gel; I used Liquitex Matte Gel.  Don't miss any spots.  Then take the copy and lay it on the canvas panel with the gel touching the panel.  I read that you could use Modge Podge in place of the gel, but I didn't try it.

The fourth step was to put more gel on top of the copy, cover it thoroughly and evenly, not too thickly and work out all the bubbles and creases with any tool or your fingers.  I used one of those plastic credit cards the banks keep sending to entice me to open an account and I also used my fingers.  Be extra careful not to move the copy.  It'll be wet and want to smoosh around.  Don't let it dance on your panel.


The fifth step is to forget about the panel until the next day, probably at least 8 hours or more.  When it's completely dry, you'll know.  The copy will seem to blend right into the panel, smooth, dry, and flat.

The paper even comes away in little peels.

The sixth step is to take an old dishcloth or washcloth, or something similar and thoroughly wet it and wring it out really well.  Then place it over the panel until the dampness has penetrated, not saturated the copy.  You don't want to soak the copy.  You may need to wet it a second time.  Then use your fingers or the cloth and start rubbing the copy and the paper will release while the image remains on the canvas.  This is better than magic.  Some people use a sprayer to mist the paper instead of using the cloth, but I think the cloth is a more even dampness than the sprayer.

You might say, she's not in the blue dress.  That's because the Chrome printing option kept changing the image to black and white, so I didn't stress over it this time.  I believe if I download the image and save it to my computer then the colors will be as they should.  Also, Chrome printing option didn't have the feature to reverse an image, so she is reversed in the panel, but as long as there isn't any writing it looks okay, otherwise the words would all be backwards.  I also could not resize the image using Chrome printing.

She needs a name, any suggestions?  I've made her look a bit wistful in a distressed setting with the look of old tiles as a mosaic border.  The word, "Love" is in a pretty blue.  She has not been varnished yet, I'm going to test the process again and try Modge Podge as a topcoat versus a Varnish and see which won't disturb the ink from the copy, which I read the decoupage glues would smear.  This new to me process has opened up lots of possibilities- transferring from old magazines, album covers, books, photos, etc.  Do you use this process?

It's been really dark here for the last week or so.  To get a better photo I'm going to have to make a lightbox.  I see a new project to add to the list.

The Aceo Challenge Blog wants your aceos!  A little fun linkup and you get to post a badge on your website or blog if your aceo is chosen as favorite.  Why not add your aceo to the group?  Once per month you can add up to three aceos, so no pressure and you have weeks to complete except this month's linkup closes in a few days.

I decided to be seasonally silly with my manipulated photo aceo.
That's my original photo of a squirrel in my backyard and I went to Picnik to edit and make it just as you see it.  He's perfectly positioned upright, kind of looked like Yoda before I gave him the red nose and hat.  Why not bookmark the aceo challenge blog and join in sometime?