I’ve been slightly obsessed with image transfers lately. I’ve done transfers on wood, canvas, and glass, but there’s another medium I thought I try – clay. I just finished painting a basket to hold hand towels in my bathroom, and thought a clay tag would dress it up a bit.
I didn’t want the expense of buying rubber stamps to make tags, so I thought I’d try doing an image transfer on clay instead.
Supplies needed
rolling pin
optional – drill, sealer, plastic wrap
Instructions
1) Print a vintage graphic (must be laser jet (toner) ink. Trim as closely around the image as possible.
2) Put the Sculpey clay in a plastic bag and knead it around. The warmth of your hands will soften it, making it easy to roll out.
3) Place a ball of softened clay between 2 layers of plastic wrap, and roll it out with a rolling pin. The plastic wrap keeps the clay from sticking to the rolling pin and the rolling surface. The thickness should be about 1/8″.
4) Fold back the top layer of plastic wrap, and cut the shape you want your tag to be. I used a cookie cutter that was about the same size as my image, but you could also use a drinking glass.
For my rectangle shape, I placed the cut out image on the clay, and used a sharp knife to cut around it.
5) Bake your tags at 375 degrees for about 15 minutes (follow package directions).
6) Once the tags have cooled, apply transfer gel over the FRONT of the printed image. Be careful not to get it on the blank side of the paper.
7) Position the paper with the image side down on the clay.
8) Use a credit card or plastic putty spatula to smooth the paper onto the tags, making sure to work out any air bubbles. Wipe off any excess gel that comes out the edges.
9) You can either let it air dry, or use a blow dryer to speed it up (I always blow dry).
10) Hold the clay tag under water until the paper is completely wet. Use your fingertips to begin gently rubbing the paper off, revealing the image.
11) Use sandpaper to smooth any rough edges. The tags are still slightly flexible, so you can also use scissors to carefully trim away crooked edges.
12) Drill small hole(s) and insert string. You an also use a straw to cut the holes, but I wanted smaller holes.
(optional) I applied clear sealer over my tags to protect the images, and give them a bit of sheen.
The nice thing about using image transfer on clay tags, is you aren’t limited by what stamps and ink you own, and you can put very detailed images on them.
These would make really sweet gift tags as well. I plan to make more of them with this bee graphic and these numbered images.
You are so crafty!!! What a great idea this is! Thanks for the fantastic add!!!
This is such a great project and really brings the basket to life. Thank you for the step by step instructions. I was wondering if you could make the holes prior to baking?
Yes, you can make the holes prior to baking, Tracy – and most people do. Because I planned to use a drill to make small holes, I opted to do it after baking.
This is the cutest project ever!!! Who knew the transfer would work on clay too!!! Genius and beautiful project Angie 🙂
Will you have these for sale in your Etsy shop? There are so many wonderful DIY ideas, and so little time to do them all! 😉 I’d love to be able to purchase some….
Love this! Thank you for the tutorial.
Love the color of your basket Angie, and your tag looks really pretty on it. Would like to try this, poylmer clay and I don’t get along to well. But maybe I could manage this. Thank for sharing the step by step process.
I found a laser jet printer at work so now I can print out one of your graphics to transfer on my organizer. Just have to figure out what size I need to shrink it to. (-;
This is a really sweet idea and I love the look of the tag on your newly painted basket! I had no idea you could transfer images onto clay, so thank you for this!
thank you for all of your bible quotes xx
My pleasure, Chris. Thanks for letting me know you like reading them!
Thanks for the tutorial! You know how I love transfers and tags.
Ooooh, another type of project, love it!!! I am loving retirement because of your site!! Look forward to your blog everyday!!