I was browsing Creative Bug this week and came across the ‘Image Transfer’ class which to be honest I would have skipped, but my youngest wanted to have a look. So we watched the intro and the first lesson which was packing tape image transfer. We had tape and we had images in magazines and old books, so we thought we would give it a go and it looked pretty straightforward.
We found that book images worked best, black and white were especially effective. We didn’t use photocopies, but I would imagine that they would work well too.
The key is to find a picture or part of a picture which will fit within the parameters of the tape. No good picking a big image with you can only partly use, if you want the whole thing. Pick out the best part of the picture and place your tape over that.
Once the tape is firmly pressed down with no air bubbles (I used a ruler to rub the tape onto the paper), tear or cut around the taped image and soak it in warm water for a few minutes. We found that some paper comes off easily with a gentle rub to remove the paper pulp from the tape and some needs a few more minutes. Don’t rub too hard and try not to crease or fold the tape.
The next thing to decide is what to do with the lovely transfers you have just made. Some of them are still quite sticky on the back once they dry, so they can almost be used as stickers. I put this tiger into the diary as a record of our activity, he sticks by himself and I like that you can see through the clear part of the image to the diary page.
These black and white images came from a children’s book which I bought from the library’s sale rack for 25c. They were somewhat sticky, and I used some pretty washi tape to stick them onto the postcard. I also added some hand lettering and doodles.
The whole process is well worth it and you can do some lovely projects with the images once they are on the tape. You could –
1. Cut out the image and make a sticker.
2. Make cards with them.
3. Use them in an art journal or a regular journal.
4. Make them with kids and keep them entertained for an hour or two.
5. Stick them down and make them the base for a whole new drawing/painting.
6. Sew them onto a card.
7. Make a bookmark with them.
I followed the instructions at Creative Bug, but I also found a good tutorial at A Beautiful Mess. I am sure Pinterest is awash with tutorials and ideas for this method too.
We used pictures from old National Geographics from charity shops and used children’s books from the library sale shelf.
Have you done image transfer? What did you use your images for?
Clare Davis Etheridge 