This antique advertisement for Hartford Tires has such pretty typography and would be perfect as a framed print for a “man cave”, but I’ve also come up with a fun and useful image transfer project that would be a perfect gift!
I’ve used the graphic to make a pencil holder, but it could also be used to hold drill bits or artist paint brushes.
Supplies needed:
laser copy of reversed image
block of wood
wood stain
image transfer medium (I used Fusion Transfer Gel
Directions:
1. Doing an image transfer requires a reversed image, so you’ll need a laser copy of this image.
2. Select a block of wood that you’ll transfer your image to. I used a piece of scrap wood that my husband cut off the bottom of a door. I sanded it a bit, and applied dark wood stain on it to darken it up a bit. Remember forget to stain (or paint) all sides of it.
3. Drill holes into the top to hold pencils.
4. Cut out your image, and apply the transfer medium to the FRONT of it. Use care not to get the transfer medium on the back side.
5. Position the image on your wood, and smooth in place. If any excess transfer medium comes out the sides. wipe it away carefully. Allow it to dry completely. You can use a blow dryer to speed up the process.
6. Dampen the image, and use a rag to gently rub away the paper. Once it dries, you’ll see the image still looks cloudy, like the photo below. Dampen it again, to remove any remaining paper, but don’t worry if you don’t get it all.
7. Once the image is dry, apply furniture wax or another sealer over the top. You’ll notice that some of the image rubbed off when I removed the back side of the paper. I like that it adds to the old look of the image, but if that kind of thing bothers you, you could also get a laser copy of the image (not reversed), and decoupage it onto the wood.
Many of my antique graphics would look good on a project like this. I think a sewing image would look great on a wooden holder for scissors for a quilter or seamstress. You can find all my graphics HERE.
A bit more about Fusion Transfer Gel. I am SO glad to have discovered it, because I’ve used several different types of transfer mediums, and all of them worked great, but they are all expensive compared to Fusion’s transfer gel. It costs less than $15 for 16 ounces, which is an incredible deal, compared to other transfer mediums I’ve used.
PIN IT now, and make it later!
More easy DIY projects can be found HERE.
You can find many more antique advertisements HERE.
Thank you, what a cute idea.
REALLY love this Angie!
Can you explain what you mean by laser copy? As in, print the image on paper from a laser printer? Would ink jet work too?
Donna, yes, a copy from a laser printer. Ink jet printer ink can smear, and the colors are’t usually as vivid.
This is great Angie! I want to make one…. !!!
I have blocks of wood at school to hold crayons but now with the cool images! Love it!
This is awesome. Last year I tried a transfer with a different medium and it didn’t work right. I have the Fusion transfer Gel so I’m gonna have to try with your directions.
How nice to see a project using a “man” graphic. I like your idea of using it on a drill bit holder, which I plan to make for a Christmas gift (us diyer’s gotta start early ;)). Thanks for sharing.