Let’s make some photo transfer art.

With scanners and digital cameras now commonplace, producing eye-catching personalized art with inkjet printers and specialty papers is just a click away. Making jewelry with photos from your personal library or ready-made vintage collage images is both beautiful and satisfying. The list is endless on what you can create with these powerful tools as your aid: scrapbook pages, memory art tiles (as shown above and below), jewelry, wall art, decorative ornaments, and so much more.

It used to be that to get a great photo transfer you had to go to your local copy center to get a toner color copy made of your photo, buy special chemicals, and use trial and error burnishing techniques. However, quality inkjet transfer papers of many variations are becoming prevalent and easy to find at craft retailers, producing quality results. Experimentation may still be necessary to get the preferred result, but with easy access to your home printer, it is convenient and forgiving.

Common types of specialty inkjet papers for crafting are iron-on transfers, decal paper, vellum sheets with adhesive, inkjet transparencies, photo transfer papers, plastic inkjet film, just to name a few. Each product has its own idiosyncrasies, qualities, and instructions, however, most function in the same way: prepare images for printing in image editing software, arrange in a print layout, print onto the specialty papers, and adhere to the intended surface. In general they produce the same end result: a semi-transparent image adhered to a specific media.

Below I’ll take you step-by-step in creating a photo transfer memory box with Adobe Photoshop Elements and Lazertran Decal Inkjet Paper, using photos and memorabilia of my grandparents. The art tile above follows similar steps.

michelle shefveland

Lazertran does not need to be sprayed with a cover coat like other inkjet waterslide decals; the ink become waterproof after 30 minutes allowing the decal to be put in water without the colors washing away. It is an eggshell white decal that can be made clear by the application of any oil-based varnish, such as polyurethane.

Supplies/Tools for Photo Memory Box:

• Sturdy gift box or paper mache box (size your preference)
• Vintage photos and memorabilia in digital format
• Lazertran Waterslide Decal Paper for Inkjet Printers – 8.5×11 sheet
• Antique White Acrylic Craft Paint, Plaid
• Antiquing Medium, Plaid
• Vintage Buttons
• Vintage Lace
• Perfect Paper Adhesive, USArt Quest
• Scissors or Paper Trimmer
• Hot Glue Gun

Instructions:

Open Adobe Photoshop Elements

Open the images by choosing File, Open and browse your system for the photos and/or memorabilia you want to open. Select each file and click Open. We opened six different images including a scanned war ration certificate.

Choose File, Print Multiple Photos and, from the Select Type of Print list, choose Picture Package.

Choose a layout like Letter (8) 2×2.5. Drag and drop the images into the boxes on the page. Duplicate some, if desired, to fill the page and reduce waste.

Set Print Settings using Plain Paper type and Draft quality, so as not to apply too much ink.

Print the image onto the creamy side of the decal paper. Leave to dry for the recommended time.

Prepare gift box or paper mache box by painting one or two coats of antique white craft paint.

Let dry. With a cotton rag, wipe antiquing medium across the box and quickly wipe off with a damp clean rag, giving an aged patina. Allow to dry.

Using scissors or paper trimmer, carefully cut around the edge of the images on the decal paper.

Prepare a shallow warm water bath. Immerse the decal in water for approximately 15 seconds until the backing paper lifts away from the decal.

Lift the decal and place it carefully on the box taking care to remove any air bubbles. Flatten the image so it adheres well to the box, wrapping around corners if desired.

Smooth the image gently with a damp rag or sponge. Repeat for all the decals and set aside to dry.

Where the decals overlap, you may need to adhere with a small amount of craft glue.

For a finishing gloss and more durability, you can apply a clear varnish (or Mod Podge, Perfect Paper Adhesive, Diamond Glaze).

Adhere lace and buttons with a hot glue gun.

For the art tile at top, we created a digital collage with Photoshop Elements (or any image editor that supports layers).

michelle shefveland. simply love papers, elements & sentiments

Print it on Lazertran as above, setting the print size equal to the size of your tile (we bought a box of 9 - 4″ unsealed natural stone tiles at Home Depot). Trim and adhere to tile as directed for memory box.

Voila! Instant photo transfer art tile.

Note…these are very delicate, so are for display purposes only.

FYI…Diamond glaze, Perfect Paper Adhesive, and Glue Dots (for dimensional embellishments) are durable adhesives to consider using in these projects. In my own experience, finding the right bonding agent for a particular medium is crucial to a successful finished piece. And, as always, taking time to play and experiment without expecting perfection will enhance the creative process.

Happy creating! Michelle

There are oodles of great gift ideas using photos and circular templates, my favorites being coasters and mouse pads.

This coaster set was featured in Simple Scrapbooks’ Digital Scrapbooking Magazine a while back and I wanted to share it here on the blog.

Using Quick Page ScrapOver templates in CD case size, add your photos and journaling. Save as high quality jpgs and you’re ready to order gifts.

Our Life Lessons Coaster / Circle Album Pak was used to create them…super simple and quick! Remember to keep important text 1/2″ from all edges, allowing for trimming by the vendor.

See our Quick Page ScrapOver tutorial for step by steps on how to use them with Adobe Photoshop Elements (Photoshop follows similar steps). See our Corel Paint Shop Pro tutorial here.

Here are some close-ups:

This particular print vendor even sent them in their own metal box, allowing you to design a cover.

No longer available by this print lab, you can create a set of 4 same-design rubber backed coasters at Artscow. Simply choose to create your own design and upload a finished round template in jpg format.

An idea to end up with sets of varying designs is to order 4 sets of 4 designs, splitting them up into 4 gift sets.

At least three members of our team have printed with Artscow and were very pleased with the end product. I have not yet tried them.

Artscow also offers round mouse pads,  5″ round magnets (great for the frig), key chains and various sized round buttons. Fun!

Watch for our next post on making your own decorative art coasters.

Happy printing! Michelle

We just released our largest Nature’s Sketchbook Collection: Love Grows.

Including Scrap.Words, Click.Masks, layered papers, Scrap.Frame clusters, vintage journals, and oodles of botanical collage papers, this series seems to have something for everyone. With its vintage damask patterns, soft plum and cyan hues, worn chicken wire, torn and tattered papers, we celebrate our love of nature, gardening, and vintage. Not all shown above.

The team spent some time playing with the collection and below are just a few of our creations. See our Love Grows gallery for all of them, plus layout details and creation tips from the team.

Note: in our gallery we always try to let you know in the description if we used a more advanced technique, such as blending of two papers together, etc.

For example, one of the tips Rachel gives in the gallery of her Easter egg page (above) is how she achieved the aged photo look on the lower photo.

michelle shefveland. Canon 7D and Canon 35mm/1.4 lens

She dragged the image onto the mat cluster, sized it to preferred size with the Move tool, and set the blend mode to multiply at 85% opacity, picking up the tone and texture of the inner mat beneath it. Using a soft edged round eraser brush, she removed the photo where it overlapped the top journaling mat. Voila!

FYI…using brown eggs and vinegar in the dye made them so warm and vibrant!

Below, creating a lifted drop shadow on its own layer, the photo appears to be hanging from the chicken wire. See our realistic drop shadow tutorial for details on how to create your own lifted drop shadows.

The branch frame cluster and all other frame/mat clusters in this collection come with their own lifted drop shadows, saving you time!

For another creative idea, Tonya added two hand-cut images side by side inside a frame dangly (from Get it Framed Danglies 4) for a unique twist.

tonya regular

Beth is a master at layering frames and other elements, further bringing focus to the photo. Layering papers in different shapes and cuts is also a fun technique to use.

beth ervin

Feel free to contact us, as many have always done, if you have any questions about any technique! Simply send us the link to the layout in question and ask what you’d like to know about.

Our What’s New newsletter with two-day sale details and subscriber coupon went out Sunday morning. Enjoy!

Happy creating! Michelle and team

My latest Digital Workshop Column just hit the newsstands in the Spring 2012 issue of the fabulous Somerset Memories Magazine, led by editor Jana Holstein. It’s a new twist on my tutorials, as I teach how to make a mixed media art quilt using digital art, muslin, and an inkjet printer! Oodles of step shots help walk you through this creative endeavor. The project is made less daunting with the FREE 8×8 Butterfly Wings quick page below. Just add your own photo, journaling, and print as instructed in the article. You can do it! The quick page makes beautiful wall art as is, too!

Download FREE 8×8 quick page here (image below is not linked)

FYI…the quick page was made with papers and elements from our Butterfly Wings 5 Pak Pak (on sale thru Sunday, April 8th). We sent out our What’s New Newsletter Saturday morning with sale and coupon code details. Free newsletter sign-up here.

Order the magazine here, or purchase at most newsstands.

Happy creating!

Michelle

The free app has simple to use effects and an amazing community of millions of users.

Grab it at Google Play for free here. Join the Instagram community and be prepared to be inspired.

See our ever evolving Phoneography Pinboard here. So love Pinterest, don’t you?!

phoneography pinboard

And below is a brand new kit to scrap your cell phone pics…Simply You, with a fun camera phone frame in five different colors/patterns. On sale thru Sunday, April 7th (as well as 100 other downloads and more new products!).

See layout details in our Simply You gallery.

Happy Easter! Michelle and team

A high demand item for showcasing photos is the accordion style book. Printed on both sides, it opens up to make most of one side visible and then folds up into a neat book!

We just released two versions of the 3×3 mini book made to fit print vendor WHCC’s specs. Other labs such as MpixPro and Miller’s Labs also have similar sizing. If using a print vendor other than WHCC, do check their sizing specs for compatibility. Introductory Sale through Monday, March 26th.

shop

The books were designed in our popular ScrapOver Quick Page style (one layer png format with transparent openings for photos to be dragged behind - black areas on previews signify transparency), making for a simply and speedy project.

Full instructions with visuals, including how to upload to WHCC, are in a four-page PDF that comes with the kit.

If you are a hybrid artist, you certainly can create the accordion book yourself at home. It would require a bit of creative printing/binding, but if you’re a hybrid artist that’s right up your alley!

Happy printing! Michelle

FYI…we offer professional use licenses for photographers/scrappers-for- hire on our products for a small add-on one-time fee (per product - select the Professional License option when ordering).

Hello! I’m fascinated with my cell phone camera and know many of you are, as well. It’s with me at all times and is fabulous for capturing the every day. Here’s a digital layout using a recent shot straight out of the MyTouch 4g of our Valentine’s bouquet. Love the softness.

michelle shefveland. plum haze pak, love fresco papers, painted daisies

FYI…we use Sugar Sync to transmit our cell phone images wirelessly to our computer network.

In the last post we shared info about an on-line Photoshop class offered by Susan Tuttle. She’s also an avid iPhoneographer, having won awards for her evocative self-portraiture. In her recent first place win I was introduced to a wonderfully grungy iPhone app, Scratchcam by Luna’s Edge. $1.99 on the iTunes store. Gotta love the price point of apps!

susan tuttle

Detailed how-to’s are available on the Scratchcam site but most camera apps are pretty intuitive.

Wow. Deliciously wonderful scratches, grunge, color, and texture. Love!

Other loved iPhone apps are Instragram, Hipstamatic, Camera+, Photo FX, Photo Toaster, Vintage Scene, TtV Camera. This list grows each day as this craze continues.

There are many sites dedicated to iPhoneography and reviewing iPhone camera apps. A few favorites are:

iPhoneography

Life in LoFi

the Beginner Lens

iPhoneography Central

the Modern iPhoneographer

Android user??? Unfortunately, at this time Android photography apps pale in comparison to the iPhone market. Let’s hope that changes soon. My favorite apps are Camera Zoom FX, Vignette, Pano, and Picsay Pro.

See my iPhoneography Pinboard for more images using Scratchcam and other iPhone apps.

Happy shooting! Michelle

Hi all! Stopping in quick for an important announcement. Fellow artist, author and instructor (plus beautiful soul), Susan Tuttle, is teaching a highly creative online workshop: Toy Camera Effects with Adobe Photoshop Elements. It is guaranteed to get your digital art creative juices overflowing!

See her inspiring iphoneography article in the Spring 2012 Somerset Digital Studio {on newsstands}. Note: my Software Comparison article continues to be updated for this inspiring issue and falls as a resource in the back of the book.

Here’s all you need to know about the class:

Format: stepped-out instructions, screenshots and video tutorials (clear video of the projects being carried out on)

The class is not given in a live format, so you can sign in and work on the projects at any time that is convenient for you during the duration of the workshop.the screen, with audio)

Software: The projects are taught with Photoshop Elements 9.0 (PSE 9.0) — earlier versions of the program and the most recent 10.0 will work just fine, as the tools and functions used in the projects are the classic, tried-and-true ones. I provide supplemental written instructions for Photoshop/CS versions. If you have an earlier version of Elements or a Photoshop/Photoshop CS version, your screen will look different from my screenshots, but you will be able to carry out the projects in your program if you have a basic knowledge of your program’s tools and functions and are able to navigate your program with ease. Note: You can get a free 30 day trial of the latest version of Photoshop Elements on Adobe’s site.

Length of Workshop: 4 weeks (plus an additional 2 weeks of comp time to access the site if you need it)

Cost: $129

Workshop Dates: March 1 - March 29, 2012  The workshop site will open Thursday, March 1st. at 9 A.M. EST.

Level: This course is designed for both beginners (who have a basic understanding of the tools and functions of Photoshop Elements and/or Photoshop/CS) and the more seasoned folks who wish to learn how to digitally replicate toy camera and film processing effects.

She’ll also be giving away a $25 Gift Certificate to our shop to enhance your digital artwork and photography!

Register HERE on her site!

Happy learning! Michelle

Stopping in for a creative edition of our Click.Mask blending how-to’s as our newest set, Click.Masks 24 - Love Fresco, has even more possibilities and we wanted to explore those with you.

Love Fresco Papers, Click.Masks 24

Note: our newsletter went out on Sunday afternoon. Check your e-mail for new ideas, products, quick tip, two-day sale, and additional subscriber coupon code.

Not signed up yet? Free sign-up here.

Here’s how in Adobe Photoshop Elements. Adobe Photoshop and Corel Paint Shop Pro would follow similar steps.

1. To begin we opened up a favorite paper, 07 Love Fresco.
2. The three elements we’ll be blending on this layout are the bead spray from Letting Go, Heart Bokeh Click.Mask, and little photo of our puppy. Open and position onto paper.
3. The Click.Masks in this set are black. To assist in the blending process, let’s change the color to white by pressing Ctrl-U (Mac: Cmd-U) and setting the Lightness to 100. Click OK.
4. Open a paper to clip to the mask. We chose a creamy painted paper from Art Journal Fresco Papers. Position over the mask.
5. Clip to the mask using the shortcut Ctrl-G on the paper layer (Mac: Cmd-G). Set the layer blend mode of the white mask to Overlay. Note: for a more detailed tutorial on using Click.Masks see our first in the series here.
6. Repeat for Bead Spray using a duplicate layer of the red paper clipped to the beads. Set the layer blend mode of the paper layer to Color Dodge at 80% opacity.
7. Now for blending the puppy into the lower left painted region of the paper. Use a soft eraser brush to erase the background of the photo.
8. Duplicate the puppy photo layer (Layer>Duplicate Layer).
9. Set the bottom puppy photo layer to Soft Light. Top layer to Normal at 50% opacity. Your settings will vary depending on the photo.
10. Finish layout with main focal photo, layered vintage frame, tag, and date.

michelle shefveland. Love Fresco 3 Papers, Love Blooms Pak

An opposing technique is to blend a shape into a paper beneath it. For the layout above I blended the word art and decorative border strip into the Love Fresco paper, both using Color Burn blend mode. So easy and so many options!

tonya regular. supplies here.

Tonya used two other Love Fresco masks to clip her image as well as create a synchronous design accent. The focal photo used a simple clip on Normal blend mode. The script heart was blended using Multiply blend mode at 70% opacity.

beth ervin. supplies here.

Beth blended many clipped Click.Masks and Love Fresco papers using Overlay blend mode in her dreamy vintage piece.

See additional Click.Mask blending tutorials here and here on our blog.

Happy blending! Michelle

One of my favorite pieces is a 12 x 24 storyboard I had printed and backed with styrene (by print vendor whcc) for a modern, sleek style.

It can be displayed on a mantle or shelf or hung using 3M Picture Hanging Strips or another adhesive hanging fastener. Use two medium strips for this size.

For the 10 x 20 collage below I printed it without any backing…keeping it lightweight for hanging on our photo clothesline with an Ikea clip or two. Do note that the Ikea clips have little jaws and will leave indentations on your print.

simply storyboards 4 templates

This final 12 x18 storyboard was hung from the center of a beautiful piece Rachel made me for my birthday using a birch branch, twine, magazine cutout collages, and Ikea clips. I rotate different pieces from the center.

simply storyboards 5 templates

FYI…we offer professional use licenses for photographers on all of products for a small add-on one-time fee (per product).

Happy printing! Michelle