Customized Nameplate with Little Birdie Instant Image Transfer Gel

Hello my dear creative friends, Zarna here!

Today on the blog as a guest DT, I am going to share my creation with the newly launched Little Birdie Instant Image Transfer Gel.

I had plans of making a nameplate for my house since very long now. Recently we just got the perfect family click from one of our trips. Won’t a customized name plate be amazing to welcome our guest? That’s the time when Itsy Bitsy’d home brand Little Birdie launched the Instant Image Transfer Gel. It truly is Instant and works wonders. One does not have to wait for long hours or overnight to have the image transferred. Isn’t that awesome?

So whenever the creative bug bites you and you like some particular image or want to make something customized, don’t wait for too long & start crafting!

For today’s project, I have selected a pinewood nameplate because whenever an image is transferred, the base is visible through the image. Pinewood planks have got beautiful patterns which further beautify the image transferred. One can transfer image onto just any surface like MDF, metal, glass etc. using Instant Image Transfer Gel.

For the image, I have selected a family picture of mine. I got it printed on a normal printer paper using a laser jet printer (laser jet printer is always preferable over an ink jet printer). Any normal printer shop will do it. A tip over here, don’t use a very thick paper as it will then increase the time needed to remove the layers. Also flip the image in Microsoft Office Picture Manager before getting it printed.

Next I applied the Image Transfer gel on the pinewood plank where I wished to transfer the image. Use a soft synthetic brush to evenly apply the gel. The key here is neither use too less gel nor overload the surface with it. As more gel won’t let the image adhere and less gel won’t do the proper image transfer. Hence be careful! After applying the gel, place the image upside down over the gel, gently pressing it and making sure there are no air bubbles left. Specially, press properly along the edges to completely seal the image with the transfer gel. The heat that will be generated while pressing with the fingers on the image will start the magical action of the transfer gel, just wait for 10-15 minutes more! And yes, there is no need to apply gel over adhered paper now.

After 10-15 mins, take a wet sponge (with water squeezed out) and dampen the entire image. Let the paper soak in the water, hence wait for ½ minute or so. Now start rubbing the image in circular motion with your fingers, gently removing the layers. Patience is the key here! Never rub at the same place for long at this stage. Remove one layer at a time. If you feel the image is getting dry, wet it again with sponge, wait for ½ minute and start peeling again. After a while, one will start seeing the image through the removed layers of paper.

In the above image, you can see I rubbed some particular areas of the project for too long, hence the ink came out. I will share the secret of how to correct it later. Mistakes are good to happen, they help us grow more and explore other possibilities.

Once you start seeing the image, be extra gently with the rubbing. At this point, start peeling the layers of paper from one end and gradually go to other parts of the image. This way one can know when the image is visible clearly and we do not rub over it again.

When you feel that all the layers have been removed, let the image be as it is for another 30-45 minutes. After the image dries, if there is still some white residue of the paper layers still present then gently rub over it with a damp finger to remove them. Be very careful not to peel off the ink of the image.

You can see that the ink from the image has come out from a couple of places. This can be corrected by painting that portion with the corresponding colors. I have used Little Birdie chalk paints – chocolate Truffle and Rainy Day for some corrections.

After all the layers of the image have been removed and corrections are done, you can seal the image with Little Birdie’s Deco magic glue (matte/glossy) if you like.  After the glue dries, apply another coat of Varnish to completely cover the project. This will brighten the image as well as seal it. And yay, the image is transferred!

To create some more interest on the nameplate, I used chalk paint shades Frozen Ice, Lemon chiffon and White to do some some dry brushing. I have also done some stencil work and stamping to give that beautiful look. On one side of the nameplate, I have decoupaged a beautiful tissue with a bird theme, since I felt that something was missing on that corner.

Since I wished to use this nameplate outside my home, it had to be protected from dust, heat and the rain. Hence I used resin and hardener from Itsy Bitsy to cover it. One has to mix the resin and hardener. The ratio is mentioned on the bottle. Stir it well with a wooden spatula, and pour it over the nameplate. Some very important things to remember with resin and hardener is that the proportion has to be just perfect; hence one should use a weighing scale for the same. Also once the resin hardener mixture is poured on the nameplate; let it cure for 1 day, so that it sets properly.

I added Little Birdie’s Fairy Dust to the resin hardener mixture to give that sparkling effect. Place the nameplate on a flat surface or else the resin will not have a uniform level and will not set uniformly. At this stage itself, I placed the name cutouts over the resin hardener mixture directly, as it will stick on it directly!

And our customized nameplate is ready to adorn our home!!!

 

Hope you liked it. Do pour in your comments!

Happy crafting

Zarna J

 

 

 

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