DIY Photo Transfers to Wood

Last Monday, I did a demo on transferring photographs to wood for the photo club. I learned this process at a summer workshop while attending Penland School of Crafts. The instructor for the workshop, Chris Peregoy, was so informative. He taught us many different transfer methods so I'll have to share the rest of the transfers as well. The transfer to wood process is very easy. If you have the supplies ready and your materials prepped, it will only take about 5 minutes to complete.

These are the supplies that you will need:

DASS™ SuperSauce Concentrate

91% Isopropyl Alcohol (70% will not work) 

Wood

Sandpaper

Tack Cloth

DASS™ Transfer Film

Foam Brushes

Two Small Mason Jars

*Optional: Acrylic paint, Spray Sealer

Step 1: Mix a batch of SuperSauce. In a mason jar, mix 1 tablespoon DASS™ SuperSauce Concentrate with 4 ounces of 91% Isopropyl Alcohol (70% will not work). Close up the jar and shake it well. Shake it up every 30 - 45 minutes. It will take about four hours to completely dissolve.

Step 2: Print your photograph on DASS™ Transfer Film. Don't forget to reverse the image before printing it out.

Step 3: Sand the block of wood that you plan to transfer your photograph onto. You only need to sand the top of the wood. I like to sand the sides and I also like to round the edges. I used a sander because I was doing several transfers, but you can just use a piece of sandpaper. 

Step 4: Smooth out the surface of the wood with tack cloth.

Step 5: *Optional - Paint the edges of your wood block. I like to use black. You can use any color that you'd like or you can omit this step completely. Wait until the paint is completely dry before moving on to step 6.

Step 6: With a foam brush, coat the wood with the SuperSauce mixture. Let the mixture soak into the wood and reapply another coat (or two). Don't apply too much and don't let it dry out!

Step 7: Apply the transfer film directly onto the freshly coated wood. I use a brayer to make sure there are no air bubbles. Let it sit for about three minutes.

Step 8: Remove the transfer film.

Step 9: After it has completely dried, which may take a day or two (or in more humid climates, up to a week), use a spray sealer to protect and waterproof the wood block.

*VERY IMPORTANT* After you have finished, clean your tools with isopropyl alcohol, not water. Water will cause your brush to turn gummy. For more information and helpful tips click HERE.

Below are more photographs from the demo from last Monday:

A special thank you to Tiffiney & Virginia for taking photographs during the demo for me! :) Thanks, Ladies!

**UPDATE: I've added a video (below) of the demo that I did for the photo club. A SUPER SPECIAL thank you to Danielle Deutsch for recording and editing this video!