Saturday 16 August 2008

Acrylic Paint Transfer

Supplies needed: Acrylic dabbers, photocopy of an image, water spritzer bottle, paintbrush, card stock, craft sheet and heat tool (optional)



Take the lid off the dabbers and brush the paint onto the card stock, ensure you get a good coverage


Take your photocopied image ( remember that you will get a reverse of the image, so don't use bold words), flip it over and place it in the acrylic. Lightly press it down making sure it's smooth and not wrinkled


Leave to air dry for at least 15 minutes and then if you wish give it a blast with the heat tool


Only move onto this step when you are sure your paint is completely dry

Take your water filled spritzer bottle, spray the back of the paper no more than two squirts, you don't want it too wet


Next start to rub the paper very gently with your finger


Keep rubbing and extra spritzing if you need too


Eventually you will get rid of all the paper, but it does take a bit of patience as you have to be careful not to wet it too much and rub the image away


You can do exactly the same on a canvas








Apparently the paint in the acrylic dabbers is slightly different to other acrylics as it is more chalky and that's why the transfers work best with these paints. But you can use other mediums. I tried it with Jo Sonia's background paints but didn't get such a good effect

69 comments:

Ann said...

Fabulous effect!! I need to invest in more paint dabbers, as it's mostly tubes of paint I have!! xx

The Dolphin Inn said...

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Shaz said...

brillaint sam..deoes it have to be a photocopy?

sam21ski said...

Doesn't have to be a photocopy Shaz but I have found that these make the best transfers

Unknown said...

This is a really lovely effect x thanks for sharing x

lilibulle said...

thank you so much!!

Stressed Stepmom said...

does it have to be the paint dabbers or will any acrylic paint work?

Sleepyhead Designs Studio said...

I done this with gel medium before over my paint color and it worked pretty good

Anonymous said...

lazer printer ink will transfer too, but not inkjet, its water based and will run...

dragonflydreamer said...

Thanks for the visual tutorial. I look forward to trying this technique in my art journal. Thanks for sharing.

xo Susi xo

Anonymous said...

Thank you for this great post!

Beth said...

I can't wait to try this! If it's ok with you, I'd like to link back here when I do. Thanks for the inspiration and tutorial!

Mia said...

I am doing this right now! Thank you for the great tutorial!

Mia said...

I am doing this right now. Thank you for the great tutorial!

Pat said...

BRILHANTE !!!! Thank you :)

Design Vertigo said...

Thanks for this cool tip! i cant wait to try it out!!

Unknown said...

that is one amazing trick!!!!thanks for sharing!

Elly said...

Laser prints are excellent to use as well. And I've used Gel medium and it works great. I've never used it with colours though. Just a clear medium. I'll have to give it a try! It looks great!

Anonymous said...

This is so creative! Would this work with a canvas fabric? Would the image transfer to something like a canvas tote bag?

Debbie said...

wow...I will be doing this. Thank you for sharing.
Debbie

Debbie said...

This is so cool..Thank you for sharing.
Debbie

ger76 said...

Wonderful technique thanx for the share x

Wsusan said...

LOVE to create new things, and Crafts. I must say this one is New to me, Very Nice to know.

Anonymous said...

So cool! Can you do this with ordinary acrylic paints, or is it only he acrylic dabbers?

Anonymous said...

You can also let any paint or medium dry and get a photocopy of a photo, put it face down and rub nail polish remover on the back! works great! need to rub over it for a while and takes a bit of practice but i love it (:

ElizabethMD Jewelry said...

Thats a really great idea :D

I love it!

Paper Moon said...

i love this.... thanks for sharing this :)

xx

Baaaaallllz said...

Where can I buy Acrylic Dappers? I have never seen them before... Is it a brand or a specific type of acrylic paint? Also would an image printed off a normal household printer work?

Cassandra said...

Like others here, I have used gel medium with great results. In addition to laser print outs, I have also done it with magazine pages!

Chelsea said...

Neat idea! Thanks for sharing!

Anonymous said...

you can also use acryllic medium, which i imagine would be cheaper. It also works with clear packing tape and chart-pack markers
make sure the image you have has toner in it; that's what transfers

Bakeca Incontri Milano said...

Awesome! Great job...love your post

Teena Stewart said...

I'm so glad I found this site. Love this technique. Can't wait to try it out.

Anonymous said...

Just an idea or 2...If, as you commented, "Apparently the paint in the acrylic dabbers is slightly different to other acrylics as it is more chalky and that's why the transfers work best with these paints."...then, maybe you could make your acrylic paint more chalky by adding hydrated lime, which is similar in texture to powdered chalk...& it is noted that hydrated lime, available at building centers, is preferred over quick lime, since quick lime will react with the water and heat up...whereas hydrated lime has been soaked in water then dried.
In addition, another item that might be added to acrylic paint, which is similar to powdered chalk texture, is non-sanded tile grout powder...(also available at building centers). According to recipes online for diy chalkboard paint, you just add non-sanded grout to the paint & it makes the paint smooth & thick, while giving the painted surface some tooth so that chalk will grab or hold onto the painted surface. A recipe for home-made or do-it-yourself (diy)chalk-board paint can be easily found by doing a search online.
I read that the paint in the dabbers is non-acidic, so possibly the hydrated lime or the non-sanded grout might work, if one is concerned about acid...,since as far as I was able to discern from a quick online search, they are not acidic....however, please, make sure & do your own test... I haven't tried this yet...just some ideas... :)

c.w.frosting said...

Great technique, thanks for sharing. Your site is a great resource!

-caroline @ c.w.frosting

flyingbeader said...

I'm new to your blog & love this technique. Hummm...wondering if it would also work on fabric ironed onto a stiff Pellon?

Anonymous said...

It seems simple enough to mirror the image when printing so that you get a true image after transfer (including printing).

Anonymous said...

I learned this by rubbing the back of the paper with a cotton ball with thinner, works instantly without drying or hard rubbing

Chelsey said...

Great idea!

Unknown said...

Adorable! Thanks for sharing!

Anonymous said...

Can I do this on a shirt??

Anonymous said...

Great tutorial-very easy to understand-thank you!

Anonymous said...

wow thanks Added to pinterest. thanks for all your wonderful information. Rose

Winnie said...

Love it...Have you had the opportunity to take a course with Claudine Hellmuth of Ranger? She does a lot of transfer techniques that are cool.....Love those dabbers!!1

Anonymous said...

This is super cool ! Thanks for making the instructions so simple. I can't wait to try it AND check out your other craft ideas.

Mimi said...

Wow! This is amazing. Can't wait to try it!

Lynn said...

I used a flat wall paint (sample can of Behr) and also one corner with a laser printer copy and one corner with my Epson Inkjet printer copy
and they both turned out great... very happy with the results... the inkjet did not run or smear... so I am thinking as long as you are not using a gloss paint it should work just fine...

Anonymous said...

Thank you, thank you, thank you, I'm doing a painting which is all words and was dreading the thought of free handing them, this will help me lots and don't worry I'll remember to mirror the image before I do it.
Thanks again.

Gin said...

this is awesome! my daughter is gonna love this. thanks for the post. :)

Ashley said...

Would this same thing work with mod podge a glossy 4x6??

Teresa aka Tess said...

I love your site. I found you on Pinterest and am glad I did. I am now a subscriber to your blog. I have everything to try this except I have an inkjet printer soooo. I guess I'll have to head to my local office supply store with some photos in hand for copies.

Angie - Bumble Bee's Craft Den said...

Excellent idea - thanks for sharing x

Hillary said...

Can't believe how easy that looks! Totally giving it a shot!

Camila Santiago said...

Could anyone tell me if this works on wood? I have a mobile and would like to reform it using this technique. Thank you very much!

Silver Memories said...

This is a lovely blog - so much creative info! Thanks!

Thomas A. Marino said...

wonderful tutorial keep them coming

paperbeau said...

I LOVE this idea - thank you so much!

Unknown said...

So creative

Unknown said...

So creative

Rita said...

Two questions: Does this work with acrylic ink, instead of acrylic dabbers and does the image have to be printed in a laser printer or can it be printed in a regular one?

Rita said...

Hi. Two question: does this work with regular acrylic ink? And can the image be printed in a regular printer?
Thank you

Anonymous said...

Great creation

Aivievy said...

Hello, It's really a fun thing to do! But what kind of paper do you use? A real photo or do you use copypaper...?
Thx

sam21ski said...

You need to use a copy of a photo from an ink jet printer or a photocopier as I doubt the ink will transfer from an original or laser print.

Sam xx

Angie - Bumble Bee's Craft Den said...

Very nice and easy to follow tutorial. Thanks!

Anonymous said...

Yes, I did it with modpodge, it came out great!

Barbiedi said...

thanks for sharing this fab idea x

Unknown said...

Do you use photo paper or plain, basic copy paper?

Thanks.

dchall8 said...

I did a transfer like this several years ago (about the time this was published). I used a high quality laser print on ordinary copy paper. The paint I used was a flat wall paint from Home Depot. I put the paint on a t-shirt, placed the image face down into the wet paint, rolled it down with a rolling pin to make good contact between the paint and the image, then let it dry. The paper came off the image just as pictured in the tutorial above with a little water and my finger.

My understanding is this technique works on any substrate that acrylic paint will stick to, so it should work with fabric, wood, glass, metal, ceramic, or just about anything that isn't waxy or oily.