What I Am Working On: Photo to Wood Transfer Update

I last wrote about my photo to wood transfer attempts in October. It wasn’t going particularly well so it was back to doing some more research. I started by googling something that included the idea that it “wasn’t working” and I got a surprising number of hits. As a result, I tried using a hard type of wood, which helped but wasn’t what I would consider a fix:

It’s a better result than the softer wood, but hardly a good result. Then I tried a different type of paper:

Much happier with this. I went ahead and tried both the hard wood which is above and the soft wood:

The hard wood had a better result and was easier to do, the transfer process was smoother. Most instructions say that you do not need to seal these, but I have, I think they will last longer that way. In this case, I used a gel matte medium, brushed on and left to dry. To get these photo transfer results I used these two sources, the first is complete written instructions. The second is a short video. I found them to be helpful when used in combination, which is why I have included both links.

I used the tattoo transfer paper brand that is mentioned in both links. The type of paper ended up making this project something enjoyable and relatively easy to do, A nice plus for me is the fact that the tattoo transfer paper is made for an inkjet printer, most other photo to wood transfer instructions require a laserjet printer, this means I can print it at home. I will say also that it did look like the company made a version for laser printer as well if that’s what you are working with. A downside to this is that the size of the final project is limited by the size of the printer paper.

Now that I have found a process that works, I am on to the next phase of the project. My idea is to create several of these that will hang on our living room wall. My working theme is photos from our years in England. I am in the process of selecting those photos.

As this project is a labor of love for me, I am adding it to the Tuesday Photo Challenge, All You Need Is Love.

Cheers!