Tyra L. Smith Cloud9@netnet.net
Re: ChartPak Colorless Blender Pen Transfers
Let me give you an idea that might save you a little money. If you have a laser printer (or access to a photocopier)....you can print ANYTHING from you computer and transfer it to paper, cardstock, textiles, etc... Making it into an actual "stamp" really isn't necessary.

Here's what you need:
1. A printed image for transfer
2. ChartPak Colorless Blender Pen (only costs about $3)
3. Cardstock or other surface to put the transfer on.
4. Whatever medium of color you will use to add color to the trasferred image.
5. Bone Folder

To make your image for transfer: It needs to be a "toner based" print and not from a regular computer printer. Two ways to do this:
--If you have a laster printer, create your image on the computer (in whatever way you like), print it on the laser printer....the laser print is your image transfer.
--If you only have a regular computer printer (not a laser printer), then create your image on the computer, print it off....then make a photocopy of it. The photocopy will be your image transfer.

Now take your image transfer, lay it face down on the surface you want to transfer it to. Use a little low tack tape to hold it in place. Go over the back of the area that is printed (you can usually see where it is from the back) with the Chartpak Colorless Blender Pen. If its a large area, do a little at a time. Use a bone folder to "rub" over the area you applied the Chartpak Colorless Blender, use gentle but firm pressure. Rub the entire area. Do this until you've covered the area to be transferred. Once you go over an area with the Chartpak Colorless blender, it is VERY easy to see where the print is and will let you more easily see where you need to apply that colorless blender pen. Now pull off the image transfer and you'll see that the image has been transferred to your surface. You can now color it in any way you want.

I even use this technique to transfer an image to a tshirt so I can paint it. The Chartpak Colorless Blender pen runs about $3 per pen, much cheaper than the stamp maker machine I'd bet. The only drawback is that the pen does have a slight solvent odor, but it doesn't hang around long. Use it in a well ventilated area and you'll be fine.

I really wouldn't want to make stamps because then I'm locked into a specific shape and size. By using my computer, printer and ChartPak Colorless Blender Pen technique, I can alter my image in any way I want for each and every transfer I make

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Jane   ahausfrau02@yahoo.com
Here's how I do gesso transfers.

Materials:
Substrate of choice
white gesso (or gesso that can show print)
old brush
toner based image (newsprint, magazine print, toner print)

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Jessica Wesolek - Cre8it   gallerydsf@cre8it.com    
Sheer Heaven Inkjet Transfers

Now, it’s time for what we think is the most exciting news about inkjet transfers - maybe ever. A subscriber (Anne Lloyd) emailed me a few months back to say she had been experimenting with Sheer Heaven and alcohol to make transfers of inkjet prints - with excellent results.

We have known from the beginning that there is a strange relationship between alcohol and the chemical used to etch the surface on Sheer Heaven. We first discovered it while trying to do a polished stone technique. The alcohol turned the Sheer Heaven opaque white. So when Ann wrote about the transfer procedure, we had some experimenting to do.

We first found that she was right - we made the first successful transfers we had ever made, and it was easy, non-sticky, quick drying, and foolproof.

We also discovered some very interesting characteristics of that opaque white stuff. So, if you’re ready for excitement, let’s start with the basics:

What You Need:
1. Sheer Heaven   (http://www.dotcalmvillage.net/cre8it/sheerheaven.html)
2. Inkjet Printer, Copier, or 3 in 1 (both the common dye-based and less common pigment based inkjets will work equally well)
3. 70% Isopropyl Rubbing Alcohol - This is the most common kind you will find in your medicine cabinet. Do not use the 90% or ethyl rubbing alcohol (not as common).
4. Spray Bottle that will give you a fine mist. These are available at art supply stores, but an empty hair spray bottle will do fine.
5. Porous Receiver Surface - This transfer technique will not work on non-porous surfaces because the ink cannot sink in and will spread sideways and blur instead. Here are some surfaces we’ve tried with great success: watercolor paper, print paper, absorbant card stock, muslin fabric, ultrasuede fabric, balsa wood, tissue wrapping paper, handmade papers, journal pages, and bisque fired unglazed tile.
6. Bone Folder
7. Images to Transfer

Step One
Make an inkjet print or copy on Sheer Heaven. Remember that the rough, suede-like side is the side to print on.

Gather your bone folder and an absorbant (porous) receiver sheet.

We are using Watercolor paper (hot press), a surface with very little texture, to get the most complete transfer. Papers with texture will give you transfers with texture - meaning that there will be white specks in the transfer.

Step Two
Hold the print parallel to the floor and spritz it with the rubbing alcohol.

Tipping it slightly under strong light will tell you if you have missed any areas.

You want the whole surface of the printed area to be glassy looking but don’t overdo it to the point that the alcohol might run. Just make sure there are no dry spots in the image area.

Step Three
Lay the print face down on the receiver paper.

The combination of the alcohol and the surface of the Sheer Heaven makes the print slightly tacky so it won’t slide around.

Using the side of your hand, burnish the print. Then burnish with the side of your bone folder - just once - prolonged burnishing is not needed.

Step Four
Lift the Sheer Heaven to expose your transfer.

On the smooth surface of hot press watercolor paper, it will take your breath away.

If you have missed any spots with the alcohol, you can respritz that area, set the print back in place and burnish to repair the transfer.

Tips
The print does not have to be freshly made - it can be made ahead of time without affecting the quality of the transfer. Print several images on a sheet to save cost. The Sheer Heaven cannot be reprinted for more transfers, but the “ghost” that is left can be used in other art or collage.

Transfers are quick drying, non-sticky, and you can transfer over transfers, because the surface of the receiver paper is not sealed.

There will be an opaque white residue around the transfer which will show up on dark papers. To minimize this effect, trim away excess Sheer Heaven around the print - leaving enough on one side to hold onto without getting your fingers in the ink.

After heat setting with a heat gun, you can paint over the transfer.

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Jane ahausfrau02@yahoo.com
Image Transfers onto fabric using water.

You'll need:
Inkjet printer with regular ink that is not waterproof
glossy photo paper
mister bottle filled with water
metal spoon (or pasta machine or roll-through diecut machine)

How to:
Print your image onto the glossy photo paper using the 'good' quality setting to insure an ample amount of ink. Be sure to print mirror image if there are words in the image so they will transfer properly.

Mist your fabric or other flat surface that you want to transfer onto. Mist the air with water and wave your printout into the mist so it gets nice and wet without being too runny and drippy (or spray mist onto the printout from about a foot away).

Place the wet print face down onto the cloth and burnish with the back of the metal spoon. Remove carefully and enjoy your transfer.

Alternatively, you can use your pasta machine and fun foam to cushion the fabric and print as your roll it through the tightest setting you can muster.

The sandwich for doing this in the Wizard is as follows:
1) Master Emboss Mat
2) Canvas or paper
3) Print out, face down
4) Tan polymer
5) Master Cut Mat

You can do this on walls, too. But of course you will want to seal the transfer to protect it. I was doing transfers onto twill tape and all sorts of stuff with this technique. It's cheap, fast, easy and the items are usually readily available.

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Susan Pickering Rothamel   AQSue@AOL.COM
In the last few months, I've discovered a few things about transfers onto mica that you might all find helpful, so I'll just pass them along. If you're interested stick with me. Otherwise, just scroll on down! :-)

To begin, select a high contrast photo. Bold darks. Good lights. If you are able to enhance the photo, using Photoshop or other programs, do so. If not, just select a good contrast photo. Black and white is best, but colored photos work too.

Print the photograph using your standard inkjet printer onto Studio Paper. (no laser printers) Print, using the 'photo' mode. Carefully remove it from the printer, taking care not to smudge the ink. Let it sit for about 1/2 hour.

If you want to transfer your image to paper, just turn it over onto a piece of paper. Then use a dry Appliqate to gently, but firmly rub the back of the Studio Paper, which will then transfer the image onto the paper.

If you wish to transfer the photo to mica, select 2 pieces of mica, (or split one.) In a random pattern, using an Appliqate (or other type of non-brush), wipe a thin thin coat of Duo Adhesive on the Tile. Let it dry thoroughly - upwards of 1/2hour or 45 min. (Even though it looks dry, it takes longer than when just using Duo on paper.)

-OR- If you are doing several pieces, and the printed photograph could possibly sit for more than 1/2 hour or up to 1.5 hours, then wipe a heavier coat of Duo onto the Mica Tile. The dryer the ink becomes, the heavier coat of Duo will be needed to lift the image.

When the Studio Paper image has been sitting for about 1/2 hour and the Duo'ed Tile is very dry, turn the paper onto the Tile. Rub it gently but firmly, using an Appliqate. Lift carefully and set aside. This is a successful transfer.

For a more distinct image, take the second Duo'ed Tile and rub the same image (or a second printing) onto the Tile. Align and overlay one on top of the other, creating a more distinct image. (It looks very cool when the Tiles are two different shapes, but the image is aligned and overlaid.)

Splitting a Tile to cover the back is recommended...or, you may simply adhere the entire mica sandwich to a piece of paper or cardstock.

The results are smashing! I didn't have one bad image today, because I followed the steps exactly, but know there are tricks and the image transfers are not photographic in themselves. The beauty of this technique is that it is totally non-toxic and most of the materials, you already have or are really inexpensive.

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Suze Weingberg   suzenj@aol.com
ART Transferz w/Clear UTEE
1. Use a mag page or a newspaper
2. Place a greased cookie cutter over selected image
3. Pour melted Clear UTEE 1/2 way into cutter and let it set.
4. Cut around the cutter with scissors to remove image & cutter together
5. place together into water or under running water, pop the UTEE out of the cutter and start peeling away the paper backing.
6. Once the paper has been removed and the UTEE has been dried, Rub Rangers Perfect Medium over the back of the image (wrong side) and dust with metallic perfect pearls.
7. Super Glue on a Pin Bale so you can either wear it as a necklace or as a pin.

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Stamping stamping@intelos.net
Cold Laminate or Clear Packing Tape Image Transfer

I did something the other week that was tons of fun with many possibilities. I would like to share with you. You will need a "copy" of a photo or something you printed out on your computer. What I did was write over and over in different fonts "Hello from Doris" on an 8 ½ x 11 sheet of paper. Now the printout from your printer will not work, so be sure to get a copy made. You will also need a piece of clear laminate that is sticky on one side and shiney on the other and a container of warm water that your paper will fit into for soaking. You might find it easier to cut your sheet into four parts and do one at a time. Take your copy ( and it is neat to take color photos of family members and have them copied in black and white), stick the laminate to the photo with the photo showing through the shiney side of the laminate. Soak this in warm water and rub off the paper that the photo was copied to. Just rub gently with your fingers. This takes several minutes to get all the paper off. Only the actual photo remains on the laminate and all the paper will rub off. The back is slightly sticky and this is where you can get real creative. It really looks cool to use Pearl-Ex, gold leafing, or glitter on the back. Use this as a layer on your art. I am told that this technique also works for color copies, but I have not tried it yet.

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Tyra Smith Cloud9@netnet.net
Image Tranfers using Iron-On Tshirt Transfers

I've been making some custom T-shirts with iron on transfers printed off on my computer. You just use your digital camera (if you are taking photos) or your scanner (if you are scanning artwork or scanning pictures) and download to your computer. Then you can use your graphics software to "tweak" the photo or scan as you desire. Print off on "Iron-on Transfer" sheets made specifically for inkjet printers. I get mine at Office Max, they have iron-on transfer sheets for light fabrics and iron-on transfer sheets for dark fabrics. My printer (Canon S820 Photo Printer) has an option where you choose the "paper type" and I can indicate T-shirt Transfer Sheets and it automatically mirrors the image for me prior to printing...so if I include text of any type I don't have to worry about the text being backwards after I transfer it to fabric. These sheets make the most beautiful iron-on transfers I've ever seen and I've made some awesome custom t-shirts this week.

I helped my sister-in-law make a "memory quilt" for her daughter by scanning various photos of her daughter into the computer and printing them off on iron-on transfer sheets. She then created the quilt squares, ironed on the transfers and assembled the quilt. If I remember right, there were almost 80 photos for this project alone. But that quilt was AWESOME when she finished it. I did all the digital manipulations and printing off on the iron-on transfer sheets for her which was a long and tedious job, but well worth the effort.

If you use stamped artwork to scan into your computer for use with Iron-on transfer sheets, keep in mind the various copyright issues that may come into play if you plan on selling the items you make. I think we are all aware of those issues, so I won't go into them.

Anyway, to use my printer and computer for a fabric transfer of any type, right now I prefer to use the iron-on transfer sheets made for inkjet printers. They aren't expensive. I buy the Office Depot brand, which runs about $15 for a 15 sheet package (each sheet is 8.5x11 inches). So, about $1 per transfer plus ink and time.

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Tyra Smith Cloud9@netnet.net
Image Transfers using Translucent Liquid Sculpy/TLS
This is a very cool technique to use with TLS. Use a piece of glass for your work surface (like a piece of glass that comes out of a picture frame). Magazine pictures and photocopies work the best for this technique. I have also found that you can stamp on text weight paper with either Ranger Archival inkpads or Memories inkpads, and then use that for your image transfer piece. Standard dye inks do not work. Brush on a thin coat of untinted TLS on the glass. Take your picture you are using as a transfer and gently roll it (top to bottom or vice versa) onto the wet untinted TLS. This helps to push out any little air bubbles that may be in the TLS. Lift up the glass and look from underneath at the TLS. If you see air bubbles, pick up the paper and roll it back down onto the TLS again, working the bubbles to the outside area where you can pop them with a needle or other sharp tool. Before you bake it, make very sure there are no air bubbles trapped between the paper picture and the glass. Slip the entire piece of glass, with the TLS and paper picture on it, into the oven and bake for 15 minutes at 275 degrees (F). Remove from oven and let cool. Now you can peel the TLS and picture off the glass, and then gently remove the paper. Because the TLS is thin, it is easy to rip it by accident when removing it from the glass or pulling the paper off. Be careful. Once the paper comes off, you now have an image transferwhich can be used with either side up.

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Tyra Smith Cloud9@netnet.net
Image Transfers using Gel Mediums
This last week I've been playing around with the soft gel medium image transfer technique, which I quite like. Make a photocopy of the image you wish to transfer. (I scanned very old family photos into the computer, resized it to fit my needs, printed it off and then made photocopies) Then you need "soft gel medium" which is available at any store that carries standard art supplies (I got mine at Michael's). Brush several thin coats (6-8 coats) of the soft gel medium over the photocopy, letting each coat dry before applying another (you can use the heat gun to speed dry if you like, but be very careful to not over heat/burn the gel medium). Once is is fully dry, trim as desired and soak it a bowl of water until the paper begins to look pebbly (maybe 5 minutes tops). Remove it from the water and gently rub the paper off. Rub gently as the gel medium can stretch under too much pressure. When I got all the paper off, I then laid the image down and used a soft toothbrush to give it a good, gentle scrub to remove any remaining paper. Rinse it off and let it dry. The carbon based toner of the photocopy transfers to the gel medium and you have a very pretty image transfer that is waterproof and great for use in many things. If you want to adhere the image transfer to something, just brush a little soft gel medium to the back of it and press it to the surface, or you can probably use any surface appropriate dries clear adhesive. Once my image transfers were completely dry, I stored them between the pages of an old book to keep them flat and protected until I want to use them.

If you brush 2 thin coats if untinted soft gel medium over the photocopy (let each layer dry before applying the next....a heat gun is GREAT for speed drying)....then take a bit of the soft gel medium and LIGHTLY tint it with Walnut ink....then brush a few coats of that on. Brush about 3 coats of untinted gel medium on. Then....add a bit more walnut ink to the gel medium to make it a darker shade than the first one. Now.....brush that on, you can make a solid layer or do random hits with the brush. Finish up with at least one layer of the clear gel medium. This looks aged. Particularly nice if you dont' have any aged newspapers. This also makes me think you can probably tint the gel medium with any dye reinker you have.