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Challenge Title: Text Transfer
Hostess: peeps321 (Polly)
Keyword: MIX213
Your mission for today is try a technique of transferring text from paper to your project using glue or another adhesive. Have any of you already tried this? It's really cool. I found some simple to follow directions on this blog. I did some experimenting and have some helpful information to pass along. First off...I had the best luck using Gel Medium as my glue part. If you're not familiar with this product you might want to give it a try. It can be used a lot in mixed media. I know for sure that if you have a heavy embellishment, Gel Medium is your glue. Mod Podge worked well for this technique, too and Elmer's Glue works but I found not quite as well as the other two. Experiment with your own glues. As for the "text" part of your project..an old book page or old sheet music is great. I have a couple of old books bought at Half Price Books that I use on my card and art projects. I also tried newsprint and old phone book pages and got good results. Glossy magazine pages do not work so don't even bother.
I hope you'll give this a try. Even a small amount of text transfer can add a lot of interest to your card.
Remember to use at least two or more different mediums on your project. See this post for some ideas. Also make sure to put MIX213 in the keyword section.
Fun! Thanks, Polly. Good to get another Christmas card tucked away. I struggled with this particular variation on the technique, not much of my music burnished onto the background but enough to be worth it.
I won't get a chance to be in my craft room til tomorrow (withdrawal!) but I'm excited to try this! I may get to Michaels later this week and finally get some gel medium. But in the mean time, another transfer technique to try if you don't have all the fancy stuff is simply using packing tape.
The easiest way is a bit of a cheat because it doesn't remove the printing to another medium like many do, but on the other hand, text doesn't come out backwards either! Simply take a strip of packing tape and put it over the text you want. I leave it curled back or barely touching where I don't want to pick up and smoosh it down good where I do. Then slowly and carefully pull off the tape, tearing off the top layer of the paper.
I've had good luck with this on all sorts of paper though with something like newspaper you end up tearing the whole bit out rather than just the top layer so it's even less of a transfer. But on thicker book paper or magazines you can get just the top layer with the print and it runs out translucent and kind of feathering away at the edges. I use the longer edges that I didn't stick down to adhere it where I'm using it, and often because I don't like the look of a big shiny piece of tape plopped down there, I hide the edges with collaged pieces or paint so just the text shows.
This is also the best way to transfer ink jet or other water soluble ink because it doesn't get wet. It just takes a little playing and experimentation to figure out how much you need to smush it down to get just the top layer...and every paper can be different. I recommend starting with text you don't want for your project to get a feel for that particular page. Or...photocopy it or scan/ print it with a laser printer and try the technique below!
You also get a true transfer without reversing if you wet down the back of the image after the tape is on the front. Let it soak in for a couple of minutes then roll the paper off the back. It's super easy! It usually takes all the sticky off the tape so you have to use something else to stick it down but it looks really cool and works great on magazine pages. Here's a Lindsey Frugal Crafter video where she demos it:
I hope it's okay to add this, it still involves using adhesive to transfer. I have had mixed luck with using glues (I haven't tried real gel medium yet tho) in the past but the packing tape method has always worked for me so it's a good alternative if you get frustrated with your glues...
Absolutely alright to post that info....thanks for the video link. Yes, tape transfer is probably easier than the glue one. I know the glue one does take some practice. So this is a great alternative. I appreciate the input :p
I'm excited to see the gallery filling up..hope more people get to try this. I'm off to volunteer now so will be back after lunch to see what you guys come up with. ;)
Still recovering from surgery -- but thought of this card and wanted to upload it. I also want to tell everyone I love your cards but do not have the energy yet to comment on them all. But I love everyone's creations.
__________________ Jan 'Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ'. Philippians 1:6
This was a fun challenge - when I started my thought was an oriental theme but the 14 year old japanese newsprint I had would not transfer no matter what . ..so switched to old music page that worked very well with the modge podge - I had to ponder on my basic background for a while before this card finally emerged form my foggy old brain . .
Location: Minnesota in the summer and Arizona in the winter
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Just found this Mixed Media Challenge while having another night of insomnia and deciding to just get up and look at my e-mail. I haven't been active with this group for a long time but now that my husband retired and we have homes in Minnesota and Arizona (where we are now) I've been able to spend more time learning new techniques that aren't related to my career as an Art Quilter. I love challenges because they always keep me from getting stuck in a creative rut. I've done text transfers before but it's something I haven't kept on doing and it will be a wonderful technique to use on a current project. So this will be my mission for this week. I won't be able to do anything until Thursday but I'll be in my craft room doing text transfers. Will be uploading my creation once it's done. I do most of my crafting in the evening here because we live in a Retirement Community and my days are filled with activities like line dancing lessons, water aerobics, and other activities with friends. These challenges are just what I need to stop playing and start creating unusual cards and other mixed media. I've been longing to start making cards again but I needed a push!
This is also the best way to transfer ink jet or other water soluble ink because it doesn't get wet.
You also get a true transfer without reversing if you wet down the back of the image after the tape is on the front. Let it soak in for a couple of minutes then roll the paper off the back. It's super easy! It usually takes all the sticky off the tape so you have to use something else to stick it down but it looks really cool and works great on magazine pages. Here's a Lindsey Frugal Crafter video where she demos it: https://youtu.be/bI0fLInXYaA
Thanks for sharing! I'm a fan of the frugal crafter, but I missed this. I will be playing with technique to add as layer on my gelli prints.
MIX213: Text Transfer (2/24/17)
