Ever since I can remember we have always had a jar of Mod Podge around the house. It is such a versatile and fantastic craft product, and should be a staple in any craft room! I recently tried some of Mod Podge’s newer products including their image transfer medium and podgable shapes. Today I am going to share with you a couple of mini tutorials and some helpful tips and examples to help you when using the fabric transfer medium.
Let’s start with the transfer medium:
I love the concept of this transfer medium. Essentially you can take any image and photocopy it, then transfer it to just about any surface with this medium. I did a few tests before I used the product on my hanky project(which you can see Here.) The finished product is similar to an iron on transfer. It has a slightly rubbery feel on fabric but does not seem to crease and crack as easily as the iron on paper you can print on. Another pro when choosing to use this transfer medium is that the colors are bright and maintained on light and dark objects. The biggest advantage with this product is that you can use it on materials like wood, metal, glass, plastic, and of course fabric. So it is very versatile.
Here is what I learned doing tests of the Mod Podge Photo Transfer Medium:
This image of the little birds was my first. I made the mistake of smudging extra medium on the back of the paper, and I pushed down too much in certain areas causing extra medium to goop out beyond my picture which you can see by the white outline areas around the birds.
This image of the strong man I did to see how much the whites would show up on a white fabric. Where ever there is white space on your image, it will stay white on the transfer. If you do not want this white space you need to trim your images so they are cut out completely and there is not white spaces. Even if you are transferring to a white object you can still see the outline of the white image areas.
The image of my mom when she was little I did with a lot less medium. You can plainly see that if you do not put adequate medium on your image it will not transfer properly. You want to make sure that you coat the image in a layer thick enough that the image cannot be seen through the medium. You also want to make sure not to rub too hard when removing the paper.
The image of my aunt on the sofa was my fourth attempt. I did not rub enough in some areas, and in others I rubbed too much and ended up making it too distressed.
Here is an image from my first trial batch on a colored tea towel
I tried some transfers with the transfer medium on some leather folios I had bought a while back to hold pictures. I used photo copies of vintage children’s playing cards. It’s really pretty easy. You cut out your image. Then you brush a thick layer of medium onto the face up image, and then position it face down on your object. Let the medium dry 24 hours. Once dry, dab it with a damp sponge until fully moistened. Wait two minutes then rub the paper off gently in circular motions. Let dry. I added some of Mod Podge’s rub on words on the front. I love rub ons, don’t you! To finish I added my pictures to the inside. The b on one of my rub ons didn’t take well, but other than that I am really happy with these folios! Cute aren’t they!
So this Mod Podge photo transfer medium does take a little bit of practice. However, it is a great and pretty darn easy way to customize all kinds of things with your images. I think it is pretty fun!
Now on to the Podgable Shapes:
May I just say, these are so flippin’ fantastic I almost can’t stand it! I have used glass tiles and cabachons in the past to make jewelry with vintage images. The glass can have a funky sheen where the image is glued on, and they don’t come with a loop so you have to add a bail. These podgable shapes from Mod Podge are the perfect alternative! They are light weight and plastic. They seem pretty durable. I didn’t have any trouble with sheen when adding the image, and some of them come with holes to be able to add them to a necklace, key chain , etc. They come in a great array of sizes too!
What You Need:
*Vintage Images reduced down to fit shapes
*Scissors
*Mod Podge
*Podgable Papers
*Jump Rings and Chain
*Mod Podge Foam Brush
The first thing you want to do is print out your images. Trace the shapes onto your image and cut inside the lines a little to best fit the shapes. Brush a thin layer of mod podge onto the back of a clear shape. Now lightly press the image face up onto the clear shape and lightly tap out any air bubbles. Let it dry. Now cut out the podgable papers to fit the back side of the shapes. Brush a layer of mod podge onto the back of the image you glued to the shape. Now press the paper face up onto the shape. Finish off with a thin layer of mod podge. Now all you need to do is add a jump rings and string on your choice of chain or ribbon. Easy right!
I LOVE these! They are really simple and fun to wear on a daily basis. You could dress these up and make them really funky with some cool beads and charms. They would make great gifts too! I know I will definitely be grabbing some more of these! They have different shapes and sizes that would be perfect for jewelry and tags, and anything else you could imagine!
Be sure to check out the selection of Mod Podge products at your local Michael’s craft store. They have so many fun products!
Happy Crafting!
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This post was written as part of a campaign with The Blueprint Social. All opinions are my own.
