Thursday, May 19, 2011

Citrasolv and Mod Podge Transfers

I recently discovered the magic of Citrasolv. Using tutorials from here and here, I decided to have a little fun. Andrew was away on a business trip, and I was in need of a study break, so here's what I came up with:


Supplies: Citrasolv, spoon or other burnishing object, and brush of some sort. 


I started with a plain $1 place mat from the Christmas Tree shops, my design from The Graphics Fairy which I printed as a mirror image of the original on a TONER-BASED printer, and my recently purchased citrasolv.


Then I made a dish drying towel for my sister-in-law who is going to be married this summer.


Next, I was inspired by the lamp on Crafty, Scrappy, Happy. I seriously love her blog. She is so creative, and  just graduated from dental school, which proves that one can be a doctor and still have some creative fun :)


My shade was already white, so I just "citrasolved" directly on the shade. It was a bit challenging and the transfer wasn't as complete, but it worked well enough. :)

Most of my images came from The Graphics Fairy. She is amazing!





I was tired of working on fabric, and decided to try another transfer method from Crafty, Scrappy, Happy. This one used Mod Podge! My sisters and I used to do crafts with this stuff all the time with Grandma as kids, so it was fun to bring it out again for a more "grown-up" project :)



I purchased a bamboo cutting board for $1 at the Christmas Tree shops (love that place), painted it white, distressed it a bit, and let it dry. Next, I used my image from The Graphics Fairy, printed it as a mirror image **on a toner-based printer**, coated my painted board with mod podge, and stuck my paper face down on the board. I let it dry and "washed" off the paper with a wet paper towel. Finally, I put a coat of mod podge over the entire thing.



I did a similar thing to this flower pot. This one was a bit trickier because the entire image wanted to rub off. The ceramic pot was too slippery for the mod podge, so after it dried, I had to very carefully wash off the paper so as not to disturb the image. I put a coat of mod podge over the entire thing when the paper had successfully been removed. I think it turned out pretty nice!


Linking up at 

21 comments:

  1. Hi! I just stumbled upon your blog and I wanted to say what an amazing job you did with your projects! I love all of them! I have to say the vase is amazing, I have tried the mod podge on shiny thing twice and gave up pretty quickly because they rubbed right off....but yours turned out GREAT!!! Also, thank you so much for mentioning my blog. I hope you don't mind if I follow your blog---I am excited to see what else you come up with!
    Jaime from Crafty Scrappy Happy

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi Jamie! I'm excited that you are following my blog... as you can see, I'm new to this whole blog thing, but you have been an inspiration! My husband and I are back in Seattle for the summer (between my 1st and 2nd years of medical school). Hopefully I'll have some time to be crafty, though all my supplies are in Albany. We'll see! - Sarah

    ReplyDelete
  3. I am SO glad that I found your blog---and yuck I know what a lot of work first and second year of med school can be (my sister is also in med school so I somewhat live through her) and I am just now done with dental school (I am assuming you picked that up from my blog). so I feel like I can understand! I hope you find some time to craft and to blog! I look forward to it!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Your projects are amazing! I really love the lampshade! Coming over from Brag Monday and your newest follower!

    Jeanine

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Jeanine! I just checked out your blog, became your newest follower, and LOVE your projects - especially all the sheet music! I am definitely going to have to start using it in future crafts!

      Sarah

      Delete
    2. Love your log. I saw your project on Graphics Fairy and it looks wonderful. I just started following you!
      Chatty Cathy @ www.chattycathy-clipyourstring.blgspot.com

      Delete
  5. You got professional looking results using those techniques. You didn't mention what type of printer you used for the mod podge transfer, does the mod podge technique use toner or ink jet, which did you use? Thanks for the tutorial.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi! I used a toner printer for the mod podge technique. I haven't tried mod podge with ink jet in black and white, but when I tried the technique with a color image from an ink jet printer, the colors separated and the image didn't transfer correctly. I would stick with toner printers, to be safe. Hope that helps!

      Delete
  6. All of your transfers came out great. Love 'em all.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Isn't Citra Solv da bomb?!

    My entry on most weeks here at GraphicsFairy are Citra Solv based!

    Cheers!
    Oh and did you find Citra Solv locally or did you have to order it online?

    Thanks for sharing :D
    Via: Brag Monday at GraphicsFairy,
    Suzanne in NW Illinois at WHYCUZICAN

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Suzanne! I found Citrasolv at Dean's Natural Foods in Albany. That stuff is not easy to come across. Also, I like your place mat teaching project!

      Sarah

      Delete
  8. Just me again- CONGRATS on being picked for GraphicsFairy Top Two FEATURED projects this week at Brag Monday, Sarah! (Nice name, btw,named my own girl Sarah too)

    Can hardly wait to see if you have another pretty project using GF images to share at Brag Monday today!
    Smiles,
    Suzanne

    ReplyDelete
  9. Has hecho unos trabajos preciosos. Te mando mi enhorabuena. El macetero es espectacular.Saludos, Blanca, desde España.

    ReplyDelete
  10. This is fantastic! I wish I had thought of this a long time ago. Thanks for sharing! Congrats on being shown on "Brag Monday!"

    ReplyDelete
  11. Thank you for all the encouragement, ladies! I appreciate it so much! - Sarah

    ReplyDelete
  12. Came here via GF. Your ceramic pot (from IKEA?) looks gorgeous! I would never have tried it on a slick surface, now I am tempted. Hope to see more posts since I see the last one up was from 2011 :) I don't know how you get it done being in med school but I think it would be awesome for your patients to not only get your medical advice but also some soul advice about creative passions :)

    ReplyDelete
  13. I like your blog very much. I would like to try this technique (citra solv) but I live in Hungary.(Europe) It is not possible to buy this product here. You think that somebody else is detergent okay? From this the fabric will not be patchy? Sorry, but I speak only a small one in English... :( Thank you very much! Eva

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Eva! Thanks for visiting! In terms of a Citra Solv substitute, you might be able to Google it and see what comes up. Some people recommend using Windex, which is a window cleaner. Some other people use other orange peel based cleaners. You can order Citra Solv from Amazon and other websites, which might work for you in Hungary. Good luck!!

      Delete
  14. Dear Sarah! Thank you very much for your answer! I make an attempt. :) Eva

    ReplyDelete
  15. Super pomysły, bardzo ładnie wyglądają lampki. Pozdrawiam

    ReplyDelete
  16. I sure love all your projects, think you have alot more patience and better technique than myself. Just found your blog tonight thru a link. I will be very interested to see what you make next. good luck on your goal to become a doctor.

    ReplyDelete