Creative Idea of Transferring Your Own Pictures or Designs on to Household Items

Applying your own pictures or designs to household items is a wonderful way to personalize or customize your home. It also makes a unique and memorable gift or present. Transferring your pictures onto a household item will require special materials, supplies and to follow certain steps.

First, decide what picture or design you want to use. Then decide what you want to put your picture on. Your pictures or designs could be put on to just about anything, such as t-shirts, material shopping bags, a purse, pillow cases, sheets, blankets, towels, a shower curtain, cups and plates, or even walls.

Make sure your picture or design is bright and clear. Scan your picture(s) in to your computer. You might want to fix it up a little by brightening it up a bit or taking out any red eyes. A photo or image editor will be needed to do this. Adobe Photoshop is the most popular but its expensive. There are some free photo or image editors you can find online. Invert, reverse or make a mirror image of your picture if you don’t want the final image on your item to be backwards.

You should use specially treated material(for transfers). Otherwise your transferred picture might not turn out as bright and clear or it might not hold the picture. Also, the picture or design could fade quickly or peel off. The material should be pre-washed and completely dry, according to the wash/dry instructions. You might want to iron or press it so it’s nice and smooth.

Decide and purchase the type of transfer paper you need. “Iron on” transfers is probably the best to use for most fabrics. Depending on what you are transferring your picture on to. If you are using plastic or glass then you will want to use “rub on” or “water slide” transfer paper.

It is best to use an Inkjet printer to print your transfers. You might have to get special ink but check with the manufacturer or instructions of your Inkjet printer to be sure what type of ink to use. Print your picture on plain paper first to make sure it prints the way you want. That way you don’t waste the transfer paper. When you have your picture the way you want, making sure its inverted, reversed or mirrored, then print it on to the transfer paper.

Your material should be smooth, no wrinkles. Make sure there’s only one layer of material or place a brown paper bag or a piece of card board in between the layers so the ink doesn’t go through the first layer. Set the iron to the appropriate temperature, usually “cotton” setting. Do Not Use Steam! Arrange the transfer paper, picture or ink side down, to the fabric. Iron over the transfer paper then let cool. If you are using “rub on” transfers, rub with a pop-sickle stick or similar object. Slowly peel back the transfer paper. Your picture or design should now be on your material or item.

Write by phanmemgoc