Oh my DIY!

Hello everyone! So, I've been trying to think of the perfect DIY crafting project to put on this blog and I came across wood transfers on Pinterest. After doing a lot of research and checking out millions of blogs and Youtube videos, I wanted to give it a try. This is my second time attempting it and I would say it was a success! The first time I tried it was about two months ago and it didn't come out as great as I would've liked but it was a good first time. I used bigger pieces of wood and I also did it half assed which is probably why it didn't come out as successful as this time. It's a two day process so if you plan on doing this or attempting this, give yourself a good two days to complete and dry completely. I'm going to give you a step by step with pictures and everything I did in the process. I apologize in advance that these pictures aren't edited at all! But please sit back and enjoy!

So first things first, print out the pictures of your liking. I had five pieces of wood, so I printed out five pictures. Make sure to print it out on regular 8 1/2 X 11 white paper, the thinner the paper the better. I heard that, if you can, print the pictures using an inkjet printer which is a copy machine. I just used my own personal printer (Epson Stylus NX215). You could also do this in color or black and white. It's totally up to you and the look you're going for! 

You'll need medium gel and Mod Podge. When I first wanted to do this craft, medium gel was damn near impossible to find. All the stores I went to were sold out and I had to travel pretty far for this stuff. You could find it at any craft store (Michael's, Joannes, etc.) I personally wanted the medium gel in matte but this was all they had. 

You'll also need wood. I got these at Michael's for two bucks each. They had bigger ones with all types of different designs and shapes. I just personally loved the cute shapes of these.

Next, cut the pictures to fit the pieces of wood. You may need to make adjustments.

Use the medium gel and put a glob on the piece of wood. Smooth using any type of brush, in this case, I used a sponge paint brush. After painting on the gel medium to the wood, take the picture and glob the picture side with gel medium as well. Make sure the picture is nicely coated, then put the coated side on the coated wood. 

After putting the two together, wipe ay excess gel medium that may leak on the sides. Take a card, in this case my H&M gift card, and smooth out all the bubbles. Make sure you don't press too hard because the paper is really fragile and may rip. 

After finishing this step, let dry overnight. 

After letting it dry completely, take a towel and soak in a cup of water and gently go over the piece of wood with the towel. 

This is the hard part. Take your hand, and gently rub the paper off. You should be left with the image on the wood. You can use the towel but remember, be gentle! Rub too hard, and the image will rub off or smudge.

These were the good ones.

These were the not so good ones.

Next, go over with the Mod podge (matte).

This is how it will initially look. I used two coats of mod podge. Let dry 15-20 minutes between each coat. 

And voila!  

With this project, it's kind of a hit or miss for me. I got kind of lucky and three of the five came out really swell but the other two, distorted my face. These wood transfers are great gift ideas for friends or family and they're not that hard to do. DIY gifts show that you put in the effort and went the extra mile to make something special for a person. I love do it yourself gifts and crafts, so be prepared for a lot more and I hope you enjoyed!

Ciao Bella!