Photo Transfer: Remembering a Beautiful Wedding

 

For those of us (Maria and myself included) who didn’t waste any time starting a family after getting married, the wedding itself can quickly start to seem far, far away.  I was just married in August of 2010, but since our first child came amount exactly 9 months later, the wedding already feels like a distant memory.

 

Now, I feel quite strongly that our society has made weddings into way too big of a deal (and an expense).  But, as wives our wedding day was an important, sacred day.  It was the day that I entered into this crazy vocation where I chose freely to give myself completely to my spouse and my family.  And it is important somedays that I remember that this is something I did freely choose!

 

Therefore, I embarked on this project because I really didn’t have many pictures of my wedding around the house (and my sister, who had been married 3 years longer that me, only had one picture of her wedding that had been printed on a computer!).  There are many photo transfer tutorials on-line.  This one uses canvases and creates an old-timey look which I really like.

 

 

Supplies:

Canvases

Wedding Pictures printed on a printer on regular paper

Spray bottle

Black acrylic paint.

 

 

Step 1: Cut pictures to the same size as the canvas

 

Step 2: Apply a generous coat of transfer gel to the canvas

 

Step 3: Press the picture, face down, into the transfer gel.  Rub to get rid of as many wrinkles and air bubbles as possible.  The finished canvas will be a mirror image of the original picture.

 

Step 4: After the canvases have dried overnight, spray with water and begin the slow process of rubbing off the paper.  Be gentle, but also be aware that this is a PROCESS and will take lots of rubbing to get all the little paper bits off.  I started with just rubbing with my finger tips, and got the last bits of paper off using an old toothbrush.  Below are a few pictures of the canvases mid step 4.  Once all the paper has been removed the image will show clearly.

 

Step 5: After all the paper bits are removed, add another coat of transfer gel, and use back acrylic paint to paint the edges.  Finally, I used big black ribbon to hang mine from the wall which I attached to the back of the canvas with a hot glue gun.

 

Here are a few close-ups of the ones I made for myself.  As you can see, the transfer will not be perfect, but I think the result is a wonderfully classic look.

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is a simple projects that helps me remember the beautiful day of my wedding and how lucky I am that God had prepared such a perfect vocation for me.

 

In Christ,

Nancy