Image Transfer

Not too long ago I joined a Retro Christmas in July swap with some online friends.  We are to buy retro/vintage Christmas items from garage sales or thrift stores.  (As in, everything has to be from before the 80's.) I was so excited about this swap...until I went to the first garage sale.  Vintage Christmas items are hard to find around here!  I did manage to find a couple small things, then I decided maybe I could make something.

I'd thought about making a pillow, but couldn't find the right fabric.  I was looking around on the internets and found a pillow made with a vintage Christmas card.  Someone had printed out a copy of a card onto iron on transfer paper, ironed it to fabric and sewed that fabric to another and created a pillow.  Very cute, but a pillow is a pretty large thing to throw in the mail.

Then I thought, "Why couldn't I iron the image to wood?"

Turns out you can!  I printed my image, then cut my wood just a bit larger.  I painted it with leftover white chalk paint I'd made for my craft room hutch.  I set the iron to hot/dry.

It took a few minutes, then I let it cool completely.

I may have peeked a few times before it was cool.

It didn't stick completely (Maybe because I painted the wood?), but in the end, I think it turned out pretty good.  (even though I had to rewrite a couple of the words)  I sanded the edges a bit and put a bit of light stain on it before a final clear coat.

I hope my swap partner likes it!  (If not, my daughter said she'd take it!)

Linking up to:

Jenny Matlock's Alphabe-Thursday

Sunny Simple Life: From the Farm Blog Hop