Framed Vintage Hanky Art Using Mod Podge Photo Transfer Medium

One of my most treasured possessions in the entire world is the collection of old family slides my grandfather gave me shortly before he passed away. I spent hours scanning them in a little at a time, and actually still haven’t scanned them all to my computer. There are a ton of pictures of my mom and Aunt Jamie growing up, as well as some pics of my grandparents when they were a young couple. I am captivated with each one, and have several of them displayed around my home. Not only do these images have a special meaning for me because they are of my family, but they are also cool, soft old images that are fantastic to decorate with too! One of my favorite slides that I scanned is of my aunt when she was a toddler. How flippin’ cute is that scarf, really! I recently had the opportunity to try out Mod Podge’s photo transfer medium and immediately knew I’d be using this image for sure. I decided to transfer this sweet little pic to one of my vintage handkerchiefs and frame it to go in my living room. I had a blast making it too!

Here’s What You Need:

*Mod Podge Photo Transfer Medium( It comes with a foam brush and you can find it at Michael’s stores)

*Vintage Hanky with white center area

*Image printed with dry toner ( I used a color copier)

*Scissors

*Tin foil, wax paper, or something similar

*Sponge

*Water

*Record Album Frame or other frame to fit hanky( I painted my frame blue to match my hanky)

*Matboard cut to size of frame

Instructions:

First you need to copy your image. I used a color copier at my local office supply store. I used a regular 4×6 print to copy and then cut the copy down to size to fit in the white space of the middle of my hanky. If you are using an image that has words or you want the image to remain in the exact orientation you will need to reverse copy the image.

Now prepare your hanky by ironing it really well. Lay your hanky face up on top of some wax paper. I was out of wax paper so I used tin foil at first.

Lay your image face up on a piece of tin foil or wax paper. Squirt a generous amount of the photo medium on top of your image.

Use the foam brush to spread and brush evenly on the image. You want a nice thick coat you do not want the image to be clearly seen through the medium.

Carefully raise the image off of the tin foil or wax paper and place face down( transfer medium side down) onto the middle of your hanky. Be careful not to smudge or touch the image when you pick it up and transfer it to your fabric. Lightly tap the image and smooth out any air bubbles. Wipe off any excess medium off of the edges with your finger or towelette. Now you need to let your transfer dry for 24 hours.

Once you have let your transfer dry for a day, you are ready to remove the paper. First wet a sponge and ring it out a little so it is moist but not soaking wet. Dab the wet sponge over your transfer making sure to dampen the whole image. You should be able to see the image lightly appear when moistened correctly. Let the dampened transfer sit for two minutes.

Now, rub the sponge in a circular motion on the wet transfer. You need to put a little pressure into it, but don’t rub too hard or you’ll rub off your image. As you rub the paper should start to come off in bits. Rub all of the paper off of the surface. Let dry. If there is some filmy areas you can gently rub those off with a damp sponge.

Once the paper is rubbed off you are done and ready to frame your mount your hanky. Take your mat board that is cut to the size of your frame. Place a length of double stick tape on the top edge. Line up your hanky and tape it down to the board at the top.

Now tape the sides and stretch your hanky smooth to tape down on both the left and right side of your board. Then tape the bottom and stretch your hanky smooth onto the bottom tape. Now your hanky is mounted to your board and you can assemble it into your frame. Hang and enjoy!

I love how my hanky art turned out! It is so sweet! This was a pretty easy project to make thanks to the Mod Podge photo transfer medium! You can use this stuff for all kinds of surfaces too like wood, metal, etc. You can easily personalize just about anything! I hope I have inspired some of you to give this project a try! It is a great way to add a little heartfelt and vintage sweetness to your favorite space! Until next time…

Happy Crafting!

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14 Responses

  1. Peg

    This is SO sweet! I added a link and photo (I had to share how darling this is) on my Vintage Handkerchief article at Squidoo. This is such a great way to use vintage hankies!

  2. Bobbie

    I have around 300 hankies in my collection and have been wanting to do something crafty with them. Family photos and hankies equal something fabulous and what an heirloom to give to the family. You rock, girl!

    • My So Called Crafty Life

      Thanks so much! I have a small obsession with vintage hankies and would just die to have that many! I hope you enjoy crafting with them 🙂

  3. Becky

    Does the medium leave the hanky stiff in the transfer area?

    • My So Called Crafty Life

      Hi Becky, sorry for the delayed response to your comment. To answer your question, yes it does leave it a little stiff. It is not hard, but you can feel it.