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You are here: Home / Home Ideas / DIY and Craft / The BEST Image Transfer Technique Using Paint On Furniture

The BEST Image Transfer Technique Using Paint On Furniture

DIY and Craft

This post may contain affiliate links for your convenience and at no extra cost to you, please refer to our affiliate disclosure for more details.
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There are many different ways you can create an image transfer and today I’m going to show you an image transfer technique I recently used on a piece of Ikea furniture. This image transfer method is for furniture and wood.

This is an easy image transfer technique tutorial for any graphic transfers on to furniture. Use chalk paint to transfer your images. The finish is fabulous.

I love when I see beautiful, upcycled and unique pieces of furniture that have been painted and given new life. I love it even more when I see a piece of furniture that has that extra “wow factor” when you see how it has been adorned with a beautiful image or some beautiful writing.

Quite a few months ago I did up an old Ikea Rast chest to display in my sons nautical nursery. This piece of furniture was cheap and had been in far better shape before I decided to bring it back to life. I will be sharing the final project in the coming weeks so keep an eye out! Today, I am sharing the image transfer technique I used for this project.

The BEST Image Transfer Technique

This tutorial is for an image transfer to wood, but since we are using chalk paint and chalk paint generally paints over any surface I am inclined to say that you do this image transfer to metal and other surfaces also. I will pre-warn you. The size of my project was large so it did requite some patience but it was worth it in the end!

Warning, today’s post is not filled with pretty pictures. But this post is about the technique rather than the final reveal.

Easy image transfer technique for furniture using chalk paint.

Follow these steps on any piece of furniture or small work surface you wish to cover.

This post may contain affiliate links for your convenience and at no extra cost to you. If you wish to learn more please refer to my disclosure policy. 

What you will need for this image transfer technique we are about to do:

The surface you will be working on. In my case an Sea Creatures Printable.

Chalk Paint

Chalk Paint Brushes

Bowl of water

White, lint free rag cloths. If you are doing a large project have a lot on hand.

Printer or have it professionally printed

Your image/graphic printed on basic printer paper. ( No need for image transfer paper!)

Masking Tape

If you like the nautical design I have created and want to do the same you can download the Sea Creatures Printable right here.

Image transfer technique

How to create the image transfer:

Start painting the piece of furniture or work surface you are working on. I completely painted the chest of draws with two coats of chalk paint and allowed it to dry. The beauty of chalk paint is that is died very fast between laters. I would still allow some extra time for it to dry thoroughly.

Easy image transfer technique.

Prepare your print! Don’t forget if you are working with wording you must print the image backwards otherwise it will be backwards on your finished piece. I was working with illustrations so it didn’t matter, though I did design the collage of sea creatures backwards to what I wanted it to look like. If you are working with a large piece of furniture you will find that you will need to print the images on multiple pieces paper. The size of paper I printed on was A4 which is a universal size paper for printers.

Image transfer technique using paint.

Skip this step if you are only doing a small image transfer-

Once all of the sheets of paper are cut then I used masking tape to tape all of the edges together. It was a bid job and I had to be patient to be precise but I was happy how it all turned out.

I recommend only using masking tape or painters tape to tape the sheets of paper together because later you need to remove the tape and you do not want it to rip off any of the paper as this may cause issues with your image transfer if it pulls off too much paper and rips your image away from the paint.

Image transfer technique using paint on furniture

Once your image is ready, it is time to paint again. Apply a generous and thick layer of paint to the surface you are working on. I covered the entire chest of draws with paint.

Note; it is VERY important you work fast, particularly if you are working on a large area. As I said before chalk paint dies very fast and you want to place the image transfer on the surface while the paint is still wet.

Image transfer technique suing paint only

Carefully place the paper over the wet paint. Use a credit card or ruler to gently work out any air bubbles under the paper. Leave it to dry for 24-48 hours to make sure the paper has completely died on the wet paint.

Since the paint was fairly thick, I allowed 48 hours. You can not tell that the last layer of paint was thick. So do not worry about this.

Simple image transfer technique that works on wood.

Remember how I told you that you need patience if working on a larger piece like this one? Well, here is the part where you will need patience. I would recommend spacing it out over a few days.

Make sure that the surface is completely dry. Gently remove the masking tape. Get a bowl of warm water and the white rag clothes and start working away at the paper. I wet the paper with a little water and allowed the paper to absorb the water, then I slowly started rubbing the paper with a cloth in circular motions.

Slowly but surely the paper will start gathering in little balls and coming off. This was a lot of work for a large piece but I can’t tire of saying, worth it. I don’t think I could have created such an intricate design by tracing and painting these illustrations on the chest with my hand. Far too complex.

Keep working away at your project.

Image trasnfer technique that works great on wood.

You can see it is starting to show through! Success!

Oh yes, place a large drop cloth or plastic underneath to catch all of the little balls of paper because it is a lot of mess with a project of this size.

Image transfer technique for furniture using paint.

After about a week of working on this I was almost there! I would only work on it for short periods of time as my garage was very cold and I get bored easily.

Here is a photo of the almost finished image transfer!

I suggest not getting impatient. As you work away at the paper the paint does start dissolving a little so you need to be very light handed when you get close to exposing the image. The paint has absorbed the ink but only on the surface. Some of the image did ware away but I was ok with this as I was going to sand over it to distress it anyway. I wanted a worn look.

Simple image transfer technique using pain. Perfect for image transfers on furniture.

So there you have it! Once all of the paper has been removed you need to seal in your master piece with finishing wax for chalk paint to protect the paint and the images. I love the finish. It was matt and it doesn’t look like it is an image transfer. I was scared to use other methods as I didn’t want even the slightest bit of gloss on this piece. I can’t wait to share the finished project with you! So that you don’t miss out on the final reveal don’t forget to sign up to my Email Newsletter where you are kept up to date with all of the latest posts and freebies!

Have you tried this image transfer technique before?

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Comments

  1. Claire says

    February 10, 2017 at 8:04 pm

    Great technique, has sparked some ideas for me. I love the octopus image by the way.

    Reply
    • Pastels & Macarons says

      February 11, 2017 at 8:14 am

      Thanks Claire. It is time consuming if you are doing a big piece but well worth it. I can’t wait to share the finished product with you guys 🙂 Definitely give it a go and just go slow on the removal of the paper.

      Reply
  2. Susanne says

    February 11, 2017 at 4:50 am

    I have never heard of this technique…very interesting! I may have to find a project to try it on!

    Reply
    • Pastels & Macarons says

      February 11, 2017 at 8:16 am

      It’s different isn’t it Susanne! Give it a go, start with something small first because there is a lot of work involved with removing the paper! 😉 haha.

      Reply
  3. Janice @ sawdustsisters says

    February 11, 2017 at 5:55 am

    Just gorgeous! And so classy ! I love that finish!

    Reply
    • Pastels & Macarons says

      February 11, 2017 at 8:21 am

      Thanks Janice! Well worth the effort 🙂

      Reply
  4. Anika says

    February 11, 2017 at 7:07 am

    This is such a cool technique! I would have never imagined!! I need to try this soon!

    Reply
    • Pastels & Macarons says

      February 11, 2017 at 8:22 am

      Hi Anika 🙂 It’s different and awesome. Works so well if you don’t want any shine or slight gloss on the piece of furniture you at transferring images in to.

      Reply
  5. Carol says

    February 17, 2017 at 5:44 am

    I’ve done image transfers to wood with either Mod Podge or Gel Medium, and I love the effect…I’m looking forward to trying your process.
    One question-does it make a difference if the image is printed on a laser jet vs an ink jet printer?

    Reply
    • Pastels & Macarons says

      March 20, 2017 at 11:53 pm

      Hi Carol, sorry for the late reply! To be honest I’m not sure. I would have to try. My images where printed on ink jet so try that to be on the safe side or you could do a small sample of both and see which turns out best? Sorry I can’t be more help!

      Reply
  6. marty says

    February 27, 2017 at 12:34 am

    Please clarify, did you place your image -printed side down or image facing up?
    I have done other image transfer projects and always had to place the printed image down.

    thanks

    Reply
    • Pastels & Macarons says

      February 28, 2017 at 9:05 pm

      Hi Marty, the image must be placed printed side down so that the image is pressed against the wet paint 🙂 Hope that answers your question.

      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. The BEST Image Transfer Technique Using Paint on Furniture – My Blog says:
    May 5, 2017 at 2:05 pm

    […] This is sample post This is the BEST image transfer technique for furniture and other wood surfaces. Transfer images using paint and this very easy method! . Source : Pastels and Macarons […]

    Reply
  2. IKEA RAST HACK: transform a basic dresser to beach cottage style beauty says:
    May 22, 2017 at 7:05 pm

    […] see the exact method I used to transfer the marine life images to the chest, you can read my image transfer technique post with a step-by-step guide on how to do this […]

    Reply

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welcome, i'm maria

Hi there! Welcome to Pastels & Macarons! Most of the time you'll find me creating, caring for my two toddler boys, socializing or dreaming of my next project! I'm definitely a creative type and I love sharing it all with you right here. Join me as I share crafts, DIYs, recipes, home inspiration, travel stories and fun printables for you and your kids!

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