Have you tried to transfer photos to wood? It’s fairly simple to do. The whole process takes time and patience, but can easily completed over a weekend. Drying time is very important and is a huge part of the process.
Keep reading for tutorial
You will need:
laser printed photos
wood blocks or wood and a saw
gel medium
paint brush
water
Mod Podge
First you will need to print your photos on to photo paper or cardstock using a laser printer. This is important. Jet printers will not work for this project. I called around and ended up having Staples print my photos. It was super cheap and they were able to print two 5×7 photos on one sheet of paper.
Trim photos as needed. I left a white border around my photos, but it’s not necessary.
With a saw, cut wood to the size of each photo or slightly larger then the photo for a framed look. The wood needs to be clean, dry and smooth. If the wood you are planning on using isn’t smooth the transfer may not turn out the best. Gently sand wood if needed.
Using a brush apply a nice coat of gel medium to one side of the wood block.
Place photo with image side down onto the block and smooth out all air bubbles.
Allow photos to dry over night. This is really important. You want the gel medium to dry completely for the transfer to work.
After the photos are dry, place block in water or apply water to paper using a wet towel. The amount of soak time will depend on the thickness of paper. The paper from staples was fairly thick and required a few minutes to absorb the water.
When the paper turns transparent it’s ready to start removing the paper fiber. Gently using a finger or thumb softly rub the paper in circles. The paper should start to roll easily. If it doesn’t keep soaking till it does. The thinner the paper the easier the paper will come off. Keep working the fibers till you can easily see the image. Be careful not to rub off the image. You want to remove the paper only.
After you have removed all the paper set photo block aside and let dry. As it dries you might notice white spots of fiber that was left behind. Slightly wet area and rub to remove fibers. You may have to dry and re-wet to remove all fibers. Take your time!
After removing all fibers allow block to dry.
To seal the image apply a thin layer of Mod Podge using a paint brush and let dry. Your photo block is ready to display.
Just remember to print your laser images on thin paper and allow for plenty of drying time.
I hope you enjoyed this tutorial and are ready to transfer your favorite photos to create the most amazing photo displays. I would love to see your transferred image. Drop me a link in the comment box below.
