Embossing Enamel Transfers (UTEE or Opals etc) / Tipnique Tuesday

Hi all
this is actually an old technique of my own. One week-end 6 yrs ago I was reading about heat transfers on a plane and then suddenly had a thought that you should be able to use the heat from melted embossing enamels to transfer Laser printed images the same way. So when I could I spent a week-end and worked out exactly how to do this. That technique is below from a past post that I have bumped up to now. There will be a video at the end too :o). OF COURSE you can use Ultra Thick Embossing Enamels from other companies but I have never tried this with any other brands

I'm a great fan of Opals embossing Enamels and one of things I love doing with them is heat transfers. Once the Opals are melted and poured onto toner or Laser copied images or over images printed with Dura Bright inks they will transfer the image to the back of Opals. I quite often use the Franklin Opals to do clear transfers this way but they also look good when you use some of the paler Opals colours. You can use colour images or black and white ones. Wrapping papers and glossy magazine images work too. When I print I use plain copy paper not photo paper. Coat images to be transferred with a good amount of Versamark Watermark ink...directly from the ink pad onto the image. Today I mixed a small amount of Franklin clear with Sandstone Opals in the Melt pot. While it melted I put an oval cookie cutter near my image which is one from an old magazine.

I coated the image in the Versamark Watermark ink pad ink. Then I used the re-inker of the same pad to apply a thin line around the cookie cutter.

Next I poured on the melted Franklin and Sandstone mix over the image

Press the cookie cutter in while it is still molten, Versamark ink side down into the Opals and leave it till very cool. The metal cutter will stay warm longer then you think so be careful and patient or you may burn yourself. At this stage you can use the heat gun to move the Opals if needed while it is still in the cutter over the image. Don't be tempted to hold the metal cutter though

Once COMPLETELY cool gently peel off the backing paper and pop the transfer out of the cutter. The Versamark Watermark ink helps the transfer release easily from the cutter but if it is a little stuck you can carefully run a sharp craft knife close to the edge if need be

Now place the transfer paper side up in slightly warm water and use your finger to rub the paper away. Its the same process you use when doing package tape or cold laminate transfers. Continue rubbing till all the backing paper is removed.

TADA I now have a lovely colour image transferred to my Opals ready to use in my art work. If you do clear transfers and want to colour the transfer use alcohol inks, acrylics and permanent markers. The other at left on my desk are all transfers...the blue one is colour and some of the others are down straight in metal frames.

Here are two step videos for those who like to watch the technique instead. Here is video one



and video 2 is here



I've finally worked out how to enhance my old videos in Youtube to make these two videos not so dark looking LOL. Youtube says it may take a bit for the changes to be processed but you can still watch the old one till then. Hope this is of use to SOMEONE!!!
hugs
Annette In Oz 

Types of Transfers

Types of transfers

Transfers make your art seamless. There will be no ridges as you would get using the actual image. They look as if they were printed on the surface itself. Most transfers are transparent in lighter areas so when done over patterns or lettering these will show thru the transfers lighter areas for interesting effects. Images with increased contrast transfer best.

Heat Transfers

Use heat to transfer images. You can use Creative hot Marks or Creative Versa Tool by Walnut Hollow or other brand of heat tool. Opals Embossing Enamel and Utee also do heat transfers. Remember to reverse text when you print your images for use with a heat tool. An ordinary craft dedicated iron or oven can be used for some transfers as well.

Opals and Utee transfers:  You can transfer toner printed images, magazine images, some wrapping papers and some serviettes. You don’t need to reverse images/text when printing them. Use silicone muffin tray and separate each muffin part. Nick a small “V” in top edge to act as a pourer. Place this on the stove in a craft dedicated fry pan on low heat and pour in Utee or Opals (Franklin clear and Sandstone work well) into the muffin holder. Let this melt.

While melting apply a very wet coat of Versamark watermark ink all over the image so its shinny looking. Place image side up on Galdbake. Pour the melted Opals or Utee over the image. If not completely covered or lumpy reheat the Opals or Utee with a heat gun and move it around as desired once molten. Allow it to cool thoroughly. Peel off as much paper as you can. Place in warm water and rub off any remaining paper. Colour with alcohol inks, paints and permanent markers.

Try pouring the molten Opals or Utee thru decorative metal frames. Use cookie cutters to make shaped images by applying Versamark to the cookie cutter edges and pressing it into the poured molten Opals or Utee, leave till set and then remove it. You can of course melt Opals and Utee on Gladbake building up the amount you have with each melt and pour or use a Meltpot.

Heat tools: will transfer toner printed images to wood, glass, ceramics, gourds, card stock, mat board, vellum, fabric etc. With the heat tools lay your toner based printed image face down on the receiving surface and rub over the back with the heated heat tool till image is transferred. Keep moving the tool to avoid scorch marks on the receiving surface. Take care that receiving surface wont melt. If transferring and image to glass allow the tool to heat up on the glass to stop glass cracking. To transfer to metal it has to be sand papered with fine grit sand paper first. Spritz the metal with acetone, place image side down on metal and then apply the heated heat tool.

Iron or oven: Can transfer toner printed images and magazine images. You don’t need to reverse images/text when printing them. Have iron heated up on a hot dry setting with the steam turned off. Then place Translucent liquid Sculpey over a toner printed image laying on Gladbake. Use your finger to spread out a nice even layer. Leave it to rest for 5 mins so it flattens. Fold Gladbake back over the top laying it down gently and evenly on top of the TLS from left to right to decrease bubbles. Apply gentle pressure and iron all over where the image is. Flip it all over and iron at the back. Turn back to the front and increase pressure and iron some more. Keep moving the iron. The TLS will go from milky to clear. Allow it all to cool and peel up the now set and transferred TLS.

You can colour TLS before hand with powdered pigments, Pearl-ex etc. You can lay lace, skeleton leaves and sheer materials onto the spread out TLS before you iron it and the image will then be on the item on top of it. These transfers are flexible and can be sewn thru, cut with scissors and so on. Transfer can also be done by applying the TLS to a sheet of glass, lay image on top gently to reduce bubbles. Leave it to rest for 5 mins. Bake in a craft dedicated oven as per manufactures instructions (usually 130-140C degrees). Once cooked peel up transfer while glass is still hot. Place it on Gladbake till cool.

Translucent polymer clay will transfer toner images as well. Lay image side down on kneaded and rolled clay and bake as per manufacturer’s instructions in a craft dedicated oven. Peel off paper and the transfer will now be on the clay surface. Colour as desired.

Another thing to try: I’ve laid down gold foil on black and white toner printed images and then ironed that between Gladbake. The gold sticks to the toner areas. This looks great coloured with water colour washes in the plain areas.

Inkjet Printer Transfers

Images printed with an inkjet printer can be transferred with water, Gin and Stewart Superior Transfer Ink. Stewart Superior Transfer Ink will also transfer images stamped with Stewart Superior India Ink. These all make great transfer to fabric.

Sponge on Gin or water to receiving surface. Place image face down. Burnish well with a bone folder or the back of a spoon. Peek under to see if transfer complete. If not burnish more. When using fabric you can turn it over and check if water or gin have evenly coated the material. Sponge on more from the back as needed. Burnish till the transfer is completed. Some solutions require a careful balance between not enough or too much solution and its best to practice on scarp receiving surface first for a few images. Try also adjusting your contrast on the printed images. Blacks and dark blues bleed easily. Gin produces a crisper transfer then water.

Inkjet Printer images printed on Inkjet dedicated overhead transparencies can be transferred with gel medium-I prefer Golden regular matte gel medium for these. Images are printed on the rough side of the OHT. They work well on fabric and smooth water colour paper. Apply gel medium to the receiving surface. Place image face side down and burnish the back with a bone folder or spoon. Peek under and continue burnishing till image transfers. Allow it to dry. Makes crisp image transfers. Needs some practice to get the right amount of gel medium to use.

Wash Of Paper Method

General method: Apply a coat of medium to the receiving surface and let this set completely. Apply another coat of medium generously to receiving surface. Lay image face down and burnish well. Allow it to dry thoroughly. Use an old cloth or sponge. Wet it with water and squeeze out excess. Wipe over the back of the image and then rub to remove the paper baking from the image. Keep wetting and rubbing till all paper and fibres are removed.

Medium Transfers: These use some sort of medium such a gel medium-Golden regular Matte works well, Caulk, Mod Podge, Omni Gel photo transfer liquid, water based Polyurethane Matte etc as the transfer carrier and then water is used to soak the paper baking off. You need to reverse the text/image for this type of transfer when printing the image. Use toner images or magazine images.

Polyurethane gives a clear accurate smooth finish. Gel medium transfers give accurate smooth matte finished transfers. If using gel medium, Mod Podge or Caulk transfers in altered books etc some brands stay sticky even when cured so use Gladbake between the surfaces of your book so pages won’t stick. The stickiness wears off in time.

Alternatively you can paint on a layer of gel medium directly to the image being transferred, let it dry, add another layer in the opposite direction and let that dry. Build up 3-6 layers drying well between each and the final layer. Wet the back of the image and rub off the backing paper till you have a thin transfer. Now apply a layer of gel medium to the receiving surface, lay transfer on top and let it all dry.

Clear Adhesive Transfers: These use clear packaging tape, cold laminate or Clear Book Covering adhesive like Coverseal. Black and white toner copied images work best. Apply it over image and burnish very well. Soak and gently rub backing paper off with a damp cloth. Adhere in place. Be care to not rub too hard. Use packaging tape for small images and the cold laminate or Coverseal for larger images.

Decals: Like Lazertran. Use type specific for your printer. You can get Inkjet or Laser printer ones. Print images onto the paper as per instructions that come with it. Allow it to dry. Applying a thin layer of gel medium to the receiving surface helps it to stick better. It has its own sticky backing when wet but it’s not always adhesive enough. Lay the printed image in some warm water. The backing paper will soften after a few seconds. Pick up image and slide it into place on the receiving surface while removing the backing paper at the same time. Smooth out any bubbles and leave it to dry.

Solvent Transfers

These have odours and can cause asthma or other respiratory problems with people sensitive to fumes. Always work in well ventilated areas and read labels carefully. Types of solvents are pure acetone, lacquer thinners, citrus cleaners, citrus paint removers, Oil of Wintergreen, Xylene etc.

Generally you use a toner copied image and lay it face down onto a receiving surface. Saturate the back using cotton wool. Burnish well with a bone folder or the back of a spoon. Peek under to see if transfer complete. If not add more solution and burnish more till the transfer is completed.

Some solutions require a careful balance between not enough or too much solution. Some produce grainy partial transfers only. Care has to be taken that the image doesn’t slide while being burnished as the transfer will be blurry. Citrus cleaners leave a discolouration on the receiving surface.

Transfer Paper

Such as The Studio Paper by US Art Quest-use with inkjet printer and reverse text. Print onto the transfer paper. Take care not to touch it as it will remain wet. Lay image side down onto the receiving surface. Lightly burnish with your finger. Once transfer completed lift paper vertically off. Gives a crisp transfer with a grainy finish.

Another type of transfer paper is called TAP or Transfer Artist Pape by Lesley Riley. Print on white side of the TAP with your inkjet printer or draw images onto TAP directly with crayons, markers & coloured pencils. Set printer to plain paper and a mid range quality setting.  Remember to reverse text or mirror image photos pre printing. Print and trim off any excess paper. All white areas transfer as a clear polymer. Pre heat iron to highest setting for best results. If using a fabric that cannot with stand heat set to a lower setting but iron longer. Place printed TAP image side down on fabric or chosen surface. Place a piece of parchment paper or copy paper over transfer to protect your iron. Work on a smooth hard surface. Iron entire surface of TAP and keeping iron moving. A small transfer will transfer in 6-10 secs and a larger one in 30-40...just lift a corner and check if transfer completed and if not iron some more. Once done peel up TAP.

Sheer Heaven Paper: Print image using an inkjet printer to the rough side of sheer heaven. Receiving surface needs to be porous such as hot press water colour paper, card stock, muslin, tissue wrapping paper, handmade paper, bisque fired unglazed tiles etc etc. Use 70 percent isopropyl rubbing alcohol like Isocol in a fine mist spray bottle. Spritz the image with the rubbing alcohol. Hold it under the light to see if you have missed any areas. Aim for a glass like look to the surface. Lay image face down onto the receiving surface. Burnish with the side of your hand and then with a bone folder. Lift edge to check if the image has transferred. If not spritz the untransferred area again with the rubbing alcohol, lay it back down and burnish again.

T-Shirt Transfer Paper: Buy specific to your type of printer. Good for crisp true transfers to materials, cardstock and water colour paper. Need to reverse text. Print as per instructions with your paper. Trim corners so they are slightly rounded. Place image side down on receiving surface on a firm background. Have iron on suggested setting as per instructions with your paper. Iron firmly all over and constantly move iron as you go. Iron as per time suggested with your papers instructions. Check under an edge. If transfer not complete iron some more. Peel off backing and let it cool. This transfer can be washed and sewn thru.

Beeswax Transfers

 Print black and white images and photos with a toner based printer. Build up a beeswax collage using torn old papers, old dress patterns and tissue printed paper that you apply beeswax over the top of. I like to use beeswax sheets and melt it onto and over the paper using a Clover mini iron. You can melt the beeswax with a melt pot etc. Place printed image face down on top of the beeswax in the location you want. Rub the back with the handle of your paintbrush or a bone folder until its all transferred to the wax.

Oriental/Asian Themed Shrine

We had a month of family visiting and then 2 weeks break and I finally got a few days to myself to complete the last three shrines we will make in New Zealand. The Engineer necklace shrine will be the first and this will be the second one. I went for some recycled elements and used an empty but clean sardine tin as the shrine base. It's an oriental or Asian themed shrine.
The door is etched metal.

 Frame holds an Pipedreamink Opals embossing enamel frame.

 Under the door is an inkjet water transfer to calico.

 Contents in the rear of the shrine.

 Just had to add a scroll LOL.

Will show you the last two shrines soon. My lovely nephew Craig and his lovely girlfriend Lisa have just arrived for a few weeks now....maybe its the Universes way of keeping me from freaking out about going to NZ to teach for the first time *grin*
hugs
Annette In Oz

Arty Ironing Ideas

Hi all
I was meant to be ironing and got side tracked thinking of all the arty things you can do with an iron so started a list in Facebook. Here is the list so far. Anyone got some more?
(NOTE: Gladbake is baking parchment and Gladwrap is plastic food wrap...the cheaper brands work best!!)
(1) Heat transferring images to card, metal etc. To do it onto metal sand with fine sand paper, spritz with acetone , place toner printed image side down and iron on hot setting no steam to transfer the image to the metal
(2) Ironing patterns in Angelina fibres with stamps-place fibres on top of stamp, cover with Gladbake and iron on hot setting no steam. Image will imprint into the fused fibres
(3) Same with velvet by spritzing fury side of velvet first with water, lay wet side down on top of stamp, add sheet Gladbake and then iron firmly no steam....image will imprint in the velvet
(4) Ironing Opals embossing enamels to make Opals paper and then - sprinkle opals onto Vilene with or without tissue material on top or on material itself and iron between Gladbake...opals melt and embed in the base...opals paper
(5) Can use Lumiere paints or alcohol inks to colour Opals paper, Cuttlebug emboss it, sew thru it, place over a stamp add Gladbake and iron on top, leave till cool and peel up stamp to imprint image into the opals paper
(6) Heat transferring foil onto toner images-place foil over toner printed image, Gladbake on top and iron. The foil will stay on the image
(7) Ironing crayon shavings onto water colour paper
(8) Making T-shirt transfers-use the T-shirt paper, print image on top and iron image to other surfaces...not necessarily onto a T-shirt LOL
(9) Making Opals embossing enamel transfers from toner images-apply a very wet layer of Versamark watermark ink to a toner printed image, glossy mag image or wrapping paper etc. Sprinkle on clear Franklin opals and iron or pour pre melted Franklin on top. Leave till cool. Opals will sink into the paper a bit. Place opals/image in warm water and rub off the back. Image will be transfered to the opals. Can colour it with Lumiere paint, alcohol inks etc
(10) Ironing tissue paper, material etc to vilene with vliesofix ready for colour wash spraying, Can sew it, stamp it, Cuttlebug emboss it etc
(11) Drying wet card stock
(12) Ironing pleats etc into wet cardstock or paper
(13) 'altering' shopping bags between 2 sheets baking parchment
(14) Iron 4 or 5 layers of bubble wrap together (one layer at a time between baking parchment !) creates interesting plastic that can be punched
(15) Making toasted sandwiches in a hotel room ! (Iron between baking parchment !)
(16) Ironing Lumiered and stamped Gladwrap to card etc between Gladbake
(17) Faux batik-stamp with clear ink or pale ink of choice onto water colour paper. Sprinkle on clear embossing powder and heat set/melt it with heat gun. Sponge on colour with inks, spray washes etc. Place paper towel on top and then Gladbake on top of that and iron-raised embossing powder disappears=faux batik
(18) Encaustic wax painting
(19) Apply water colour crayon to stamp, put cardstock on top and iron
(20) Encasing glitter, shiny shiva mirrors, tiny shiny plastic shapes and Angelina fibres etc between organza or other sheer material. Use Vliesofix on base material, sprinkle on the shiny things, organza on top, Gladbake on top of that and iron on a lower heat....crazy stitch away or not *grin*
(21) Squeeze lemon juice and use as an ink on cardstock or paper..it’s invisible till heat applied with heat gun or iron...use lemon juice sponged onto card with a sea sponge and then iron for interesting effect
(22) Varitone ink sponged thru stencils and ironed makes for cool aged looking backgrounds...the more heat you apply the darker it gets. I got some from
http://www.retrocafeart.com/ and the cutest tiny 1inch frozen charlotte plus other amazing altered retro art bits.
(23) Faux carnival glass as per Zeborah Loray(an amazingly arty friend in USA). Apply 3 layers of black Currawong Opals embossing enamel (or other dark colour)onto a base like card, glass, wood, metal etc using an iron or heat gun. On top molten layer apply Fantasy film or other. When cool apply 2-3 layers Franklin clear opals on top with iron or heat gun. Press a stamp on top while molten and leave to cool. Peel stamp up and tada faux carnival glass
(24) Found this one out when I was ironing Fantasy Film or Angelina film...if you have yr iron too hot it makes tiny honey comb effects with the shiny film. Makes a gorgeous bg
(25) Squeeze out some transluscent liquid sculpey onto some Gladbake, spread it out evenly with finger and ensure there are no air bubbles, lay toner image face down on top, add another sheet Gladbake and iron on hot with no steam till TLS sets. Peel off image and it will transfer to TLS. You can cut, Cuttlebug emboss it, sew it, colour it etc. Ohh...I've coloured the TLS with mica powders pre transfer and also applied TLS on a base first like skeleton leaves or sheer material for interesting effects. Can apply the TLS directly to the toner image first as well.
(26) Nappy linner rubbing. Use cheap nappy(diaper liners) liners and make a rubbing from a textured surface with Shiva paint sticks. Place rubbing over base card or material, Gladbake on top and iron-no steam. Nappy liner will melt in parts and stick to base
(27) Just remembered Press-n-peel used for transferring an image of a circuit board plan onto copper pre etching. Could use the same idea but use family photos made into digital "stamps" in photoshop...there is a how too at art-e-zine here Make digi stamp, print it on Press-n-peel, place image side down on prepared base metal and iron on hot setting no steam with firm pressure. Image is now on metal and has a built in resist so can be etched!!. Here is a longer how too and more info about it
(28) Tyvek-iron between 2 sheets Gladbake. One side becomes 'bobbly' and the other 'spider-webby' Oh and remember there are a couple of types of Tyvek. Smooth- thick and thin. Textured- Linen like and industrial. All VERY ineteresting !
(29) You can use Gladwrap as a glue to bind 2 things together. Just put a sheet between two peices of cardstock, cardstock and paper, 2 pieces material etc . Iron between Gladbake. The plastic melts and "glues" the items together
(30) Reynolds freezer paper- has a plastic coating that melts so can be used as a binder when ironed. I esp like to use this when I want to feed material thru the printer. Cut material and freezer paper to A4 size. Place material on top and iron between Gladbake. The material will now be stuck on the freezer paper and can be fed into the printer(ensure any loose threads are cut close to the freezer paper edge). It easily peels off again when you need to use the printed fabric!
(31) Making "stary night scene" on black painted cardstock or black materials etc using Super mend sprinkled on(its like fine sand and is a glue in powder form used on material..or otherLOL) and then iron gold, silver or hologram foil over top(with Gladbake between foil and iron). Foil sticks to Super mend sprinkles= stary night!!
(32) Faux stained glass. Use heat reistive film for laser printer-sticky backed clear if you can get it. Stamp an open pattern on smooth side with Stazon black ink. Press lead lighting strips onto the stamped image lines. Iron fantasy film, angelina film etc chunks to rear inside the lead strip guides. Sprinkle on Franklin clear Opals and iron between Gladbake

hugs
Annette In Oz
who just got some awesome stuff from the http://www.retrocafeart.com/ today...will share photos later...I really have to get the house work DONE!!!!

Angelina Film Play

There are some lovely iridescent films on the market and I love the Angelina and Fantasy Films.They change colour with heat and can be used with stamps,to trap layers using glitters,fibres,faux opal flakes,and so much more.As a Mum to three kids I am often ironing so I incorporate this with my crafting of course :o).Today after the ironing was done I made these two cards.The first one has a Vintage image that has been printed onto bleached calico with an inkjet printer.The calico was treated with Inkjetset first to stop the colours bleeding and make it waterproof.I get it from The Thread Studio.At the edges I ironed on some scraps of Angelina Film(also from the Thread Studio) and then ran just the edges thru my Cuttlebug to emboss them with the swirly part.The image has some mica on top held in place with a brad and a Romance metal word at the bottom tinted with Ranger alcohol inks

This second one has more Angelina film ironed onto black card stock using Opals Franklin embossing enamel as the glue(Opals paper).I then ran the whole thing thru the Cuttlebug using a swirl embossing folder.In the centre there is a Franklin Opals transfer of a vintage image.The wire words and the metal corner trims are tinted with Ranger Alcohol Inks.The holey part under the image was done when I had set the iron too high and ironed some Angelina Film between baking parchment and had not realized...it was too hot and made it melt into honeycomb style holes....I liked it LOL so used it here.

AAHHH no Eggplant colour here LOL
hugs
Annette In Oz

Angel,Hope and Grace

When I was small I believed in Fairies.They lived in my garden and were responsible for the holes in the spider webs as I imagined they took them to make shimmery throws over their gowns.The fallen feathers of birds adorned their head and Flowers made up their gowns.Mum was forever loosing her ear-rings and complaining she only had one left and I just knew the Fairies found them and used them for treasures to adorn their homes.When I was older I made up fantasy garden stories with the Fairies of my youth as the leading characters, for my children.
When I made the Vintage child Opals transfers using my alternative method a few months back they reminded of those Fairies.So here are the transfers made into a tea light candle votive.On the sides I have strung trinkets,old photos and Vintage bits and pieces.Amongst these lie some of my left over ear-rings where I too have lost one.So come meet Angel,Hope and Grace

In the next photos I have shone a light thru them so you can see how they glow with the candle lit inside.

These last photos are the views of the trinkets from the sides

So there is my last art for 2008 and as it is now 11.45pm and the New Year is less then 15mins away I am off to charge my glass with pink champagne

Alternative Way To Do Opals Embossing Enamel Transfers

As part of the Pipe Dreamink (makers of Opals embossing enamels) design team we are sometimes sent things to "play" with.One of the latest additions to their line is Abalone embossing enamel.It is finner then the other colours and has a milky beeswax look.On certain darker backgrounds there are iridescent highlights of colour.Unfortunately for me I knocked over the open and unused bottle and lost half of mine so I couldn't do too much with what was left.I did discover an Alternative way to make Opals embossing enamel transfers though and you don't need a skillet or melt pot for this.They are a much thinner transfer since you wont need to melt and pour a blob of the molten Opals.The Abalone was perfect for this as the colour is so soft and silky looking.

Here is some Abalone I ironed into a shimmery pale lavender material that was attached to thin Vilene(as per my Opals Paper technique). I then ran it thru the Cuttlebug several times in several different directions changing the embossing folders for the Cuttlebug each time



While this would make a great bg for a snow theme or Christmas,Wedding or Christenings etc I wondered if I could use the Abalone to do transfers directly into it and came up with the below way to do so...it is of course just a basic heat transfer but I had never thought this would work as I imagined the paper would absorb the Opals and not work.I was wrong.

1)Sprinkle the Abalone on to some material.I used white Satin.Place it on Gladbake (non stick baking parchment) and then put more Gladbake on top after you sprinkle the Abalone on.I had a chopping board underneath as I wanted my transfers really flat.




2)Iron this using a hot dry setting on the iron.The Abalone will melt into the material

3)Let it cool and then peel off the Gladbake.You will have a sold flat milky bg now that is what I call Opals paper.

4)Cover your toner/laser copied image with a very wet layer Versamark watermark ink.It is best to have a boarder left around the images as sometimes the edges get stuck in the transfer

5)Place transfer image side down on the Opals paper.Put Gladbake back on top and iron again on the hot dry setting.Here I go in circular motion over the parts I need.Don't press too heavy or too light...just nice even pressure.The heat from the iron transfers the image to the background.You can peel up the Gladbake and look.If the transfer is working you will see the image look milky but clear thru the paper.If not just place Galdbake back over and iron some more.

6)This is how it should look

7)Once it is cool peel off as much paper as you can and trim it as needed.Now fill the sink with warm water and place the transfer paper side up immersed in the water for a few minutes

8)Sart rubbing away at the paper using your thumb and the paper fails away to reveal the transferred image.Let it dry and if there are still fuzzy paper areas re-wet and rub away at those till all the paper is off

9)Here she is completed.Note the pinkish area at the top...that is where the transfer has not taken very well and part washed away when I was rubbing the paper off.I am not concerned about that as I am going to cover that area anyway.If you do a transfer that you don't like you can get them off by scrubbing at it with steel wool and re do it!!

10)Next I put the transfer thru the Cuttlebug several times and avoided the central image as I went.Then I coloured the flowers,eyes and lips with Tombow markers and the bg with iridescent Shiva paint sticks

This one was done the same but I used softer colours on the bg

and this one I used metallic colours

These look so pretty and when you hold them up to the light they seem to glow...hhhmmm another transformed candle in the making I think *grin*

Transformation of A Candle Holder

Now where have I been LOL...nope no more travelling around...I'm broke!!!.I'm in my busy week section for work which is pretty exhausting and time consuming with the shift work and all but I decided to do an on line drawing art lesson with Jessica Wesolek from Cre8it ...the artistic and creative lady who sells sheer heaven and other things.I used to draw ALLOT when I was younger till I was 28 and got married and had three kids and had no time.I'm wanting to get into some canvas stuff and add some drawn elements to them(God forbid LOL)but can't draw like I used too so hence the class.I'm really enjoying it so far as I have never had any formal art training so what Jessica has taught me in two lessons has opened my eyes immensely....6 lessons to go.No I am not brave enough to show you my attempts either
Anyway I was looking for some scans of my drawings from my twenties(might show you those) and found these images of a candle holder I altered that I do feel OK in sharing *grin*.I made this last year for the Pipe Dreamink ladies.It's a candle holder that has six rectangular openings.In three sections I did Opals embossing enamel transfers using vintage images and Franklin clear Opals embossing enamels.I coloured them with alcohol inks and pearlescent paints from behind and added some decorative trim at the bottom that I stamped some words on.Below is side one

and side two

and three

If you were wondering...I did put a tea light candle in there and light it and NO the Opals transfers did not melt!!!.When I saved these images they were in a small file format as I had no idea blogger was out there then so sorry the file sizes are not big...off to draw some more circles and lines!!!

Heat Transfer Images Using Opals Embossing Enamel VIDEO

Google have finally freed my little how to on making the Opals Embossing Enamel transfers after 8 days.I had to upload part one five times before it finally got there all in one piece.When you are using images take care you are not breaching anyone's copyright.Also take care with melted Opals as you can burn yourself with them or if you use metal objects to pour the melted Opals thru or into etc(the metal retains the heat longer then you think).Use tweezers if you need and be patient in letting them cool again.I always leave a cm or two of paper around the images as sometimes the Opals spill over the edge and can trap the paper so you can't remove it.IN the video I used the Franklin clear Opals Embossing Enamels but any of the lighter colours make transfers too though you wont be able to see thru them.I get my Opals here in Australia from Pipe Dreamink or overseas from After Midnight Art Stamps
I still can't watch them without hitting the mute LOL but if they help someone some place then that is good.You will note that the Franklin Opals is slightly orange in the videos when it is usually clear.That is because I ran out of the Franklin and used some that I had melted four or more times before and had over cooked it at some stage.As you can see by the others on my desk they are usually crisp and clear though.If you make a transfer that is not to your liking you can remove it off the Opals once it is all set and cooled by using a scourer on the transferred side and scrub away.If you want to make a large transfer or you are worried it may crack add some thinly chopped clear slow melt glue stick to the melting Opals.Just put it on top of the Opals as it melts and once the Opals melts rock the melt pot or skillet gently to mix it thru before pouring.Have fun and ask questions if you need or look at the other post below for still step by photos and more info.