How to Transfer an Image to Wood

If you read my last post on my balcony updates, you saw my wooden Littlefoot Gardens sign that I made. As promised here is the super simple tutorial on how to do it.

I based my sign off of the tutorial from Crafts Unleashed.  If you'd like more photos of the step-by-step I suggest you check out their site!  I was mostly trying to see if I could get the process to work and not mess it up (since I only had 1 piece of wood!) so I didn't take as many photos as I probably should have.

Supplies Needed:
Wood
Images (printed with a laser printer)
Stain
Mod Podge
Clear outdoor varnish

My piece of wood came from a pallet my sister picked up from the side of the road.  She was making some planter boxes for her balcony and she saved the scruffiest piece for me!  I stained it with one coat of wood stain.

Next, I found images and created the text I wanted to use on my sign.  If you want words like I did, make sure you reverse them in a photo-editing program, otherwise your words will turn out backwards on the finished product.  It is VERY IMPORTANT that you print your images on a laser printer.  An ink jet printer won't work, as the ink will run when you try to transfer it.  If you want a colour image, you can print it on a colour laser printer, do a colour photocopy of your image, or simply paint the final product!

Cut out your image and apply a very generous coat of mod podge over your image.  I put so much on I could barely see the image anymore.  Another tip I discovered was make sure you cut as close to the image as possible.  I just cut a square around mine, and if you stand very close to my sign with your head tilted at an awkward angle, you can see the old outline of the paper.  Press the image, photo side down, to the wood. Smooth it out to eliminate any bubbles.  I used my library card for this step :)

Let it dry completely overnight.  Once it's dry, use a damp cloth or sponge to gently rub off the paper.  If you use too much water or too much pressure, you are liable to rub off the entire image so be careful.  Once you rub off all the paper you are left with a transferred image!  (You can faintly see the square around my words that I mentioned before, in this picture)

It is impossible to remove all of the paper.  You will be left with little "fuzzies" over your image.  I simply coated the entire thing in mod podge and they disappeared.  I then coated the entire sign in an outdoor spray varnish.  I did about 4 coats since it would be in direct sunlight most of the day and would get wet in the rain.

I attached an eye on either side of the wood and tied a piece of twine to hang.

I love the end result!  It was so easy to do and relatively quick too.  It looks like the image is a part of the wood rather than just glued on.  The possibilities for this technique are endless!

Summer at Last

At long last summer has arrived!  I didn't think it would ever get here.  My last day of school was yesterday and it was filled with graduation and goodbyes as I'm moving on to a different school next year.  I'm looking forward to a bit of a break and only working one job (at Ikea) this summer!  My last blog post was over a month ago and I definitely want to change that!  I've done lots of little things around the house in the last few months that I need to document and share.  I thought I'd start with my balcony since outside is where I want to be these days!

Littlefoot Gardens is going strong again this year! I have green onions, lettuce, tomatoes, green peppers, jalapenos, sweet pickle peppers, and raspberries growing.  I also have my pot of flowers and a little rose bush that my dad gave me for my birthday back in March.  It was pretty much dead by May.  It is so hard keeping a rose bush alive during cold winter months, even when it is indoors!  But ever since I put it outside it has rebounded and is even producing a few flowers buds!

I got two new blue bird cushions from Lowes.  The ones I had from last year faded REALLY badly and got mouldy... These ones are really nice and plump.

I also picked up a new outdoor rug from Target.  I spent a little more on it then I wanted to, but it was a necessity.  My favourite blue and white, Moroccan-patterned one from last year completely disintegrated. There were little pieces of blue plastic EVERYWHERE.  It got to the point where I had to leave a separate pair of shoes outside to only wear on the balcony.  This one is soft on the feet and feels more durable than my last one.  I was bummed I only got a year out of my previous one, but I guess that's what you get when you only spend $12!  And I learned my lesson of never purchasing a plastic rug again!

You may have noticed my Littlefoot Gardens sign hanging on the wall.  I made it out of a piece of wood from a pallet and some laser printer images.  I'll share a tutorial this week on how to make your own wooden sign. It was really easy!

Enjoy the long weekend to all my fellow Canadians!

  

My Blue Balcony

My outdoor space has come together quite nicely, and just in time for the great summer weather!  I decided on a blue colour scheme centered around my blue ceramic flower pot.  I've already spent so much time just hanging out and relaxing on the balcony.

It's a pretty small space but I definitely wanted a spot to eat meals and enough seating for when guests come over.

I love the white stool between the chairs.  It can also double as extra seating, and as a side table when I bring it indoors in the winter.  My little recycling pail matches the quatrefoil-patterned outdoor carpet perfectly!

I also get to enjoy Littlefoot Gardens which is going to produce such good vegetables this summer!

The outdoor solar lights were a also a great find from Jysk.  I've never seen bottle lights before so I had to snatch them up!

Last year it was just an empty space with some furniture.

This year it's got some spunk!

Here is the resource list of everything on the balcony:

Furniture

Swivel Rocking Chairs: Zellers

Grey Mesh Chairs: Loblaws

Table: Canadian Tire

Accessories

Pillows: Jysk

Bottle Solar Lights: Jysk

Outdoor Carpet: Jysk

Stool: Winners

Recycling Pail: Giant Tiger

Plants

Rail Planters: IKEA

Green Planter: Home Depot

Blue Ceramic Planter: someone's trash :)

Want to read about the balcony design from the beginning?  Here's a list of all the published posts along the way!

The View so Far

Ceramic Pot Fix-Up

Littlefoot Gardens

Littlefoot Gardens is Back!

Before I moved into my condo, my mom and I had this amazing vegetable garden that produced such good crops year after year.  My friend Sarah named our vegetable patch "Littlefoot Gardens" and the name has stuck! (She's called me Littlefoot ever since we realized I have little feet...but FYI they are totally in proportion to my height and not that little :p)

I was worried by not having a yard that I wouldn't be able to grow vegetables and would miss out on one of my favourite summer activities.  Last year, I only grew flowers since I moved in the middle of the summer.  But I just knew I wanted my own little veggie garden again!  This summer marks the return of Littlefoot Gardens :)

I still have my pot of flowers for colour.  I love the pink in the gerbera daisies - they're my favourite!  In the green pot I have two jalapeno plants, then one patio tomato and another green pepper plant in the black pots.

I picked up the two hanging planters from IKEA.  The one on the left has green onions and the one on the right is full of buttercrunch lettuce.  I planted these from seed on a Monday, and by Thursday the lettuce was already sprouting! (Update: since drafting this post, both the lettuce and the onions are growing like gangbusters!)

Who wants to come over for dinner this summer?

Summer is Officially Over

You know how I know summer is over?  I had to put my balcony furniture away.  I always associate the putting away of lawn chairs and outdoor items with the death of summer.  It's tragic really.  Bring on winter because I'm already counting down the months until flip flop season again!

But, I had some awesome patio furniture covers to use this year!  I won them this past summer in a giveaway from Modern Jane Design.  She's a fellow teacher and blogger and Canadian, from beautiful Prince Edward Island.  (If you haven't checked out her blog, you should!)  I won $75 worth of merchandise from Empire Patio Covers.  It was enough to let me get 3 chair covers and another cover for my table!  They are durable and will withstand the snow, and have ties to secure them to the furniture.  (Bonus: my flower pot fits under the table!)

Check them out!

I love them, and I'm super pumped I won them!  I never seem to win anything!  Or at least anything that I need and can use!  Can you believe it's already the middle of November?  Come find me when the snow melts, I'll be hibernating with my hot chocolate...

These Boots Were Made for Walkin'

Aren't they ohsosexy?  Some girls go for Jimmy Choo's, for me, it's my steel toes.  I can't get enough of them.  I actually wore them all day today.  I only took them off because I was not allowed to sleep in them they were wet. 

I worked my last shift in the IKEA Restaurant on Saturday, and I'm starting in the Customer Service Department this Friday.  Since I'll be working with pallets and boxes there, we needed steel toes.  I have never owned steel toes before, and I had no idea I was missing out on such lovely footwear.  They make me feel so powerful!  Like I could kick someone and it would not hurt me at all... They're surprisingly comfy (which makes me believe I have been buying the wrong sized shoes my entire life.  Are boots supposed to be this comforting?) and provide a nice spring for my step!

I'm breaking them in all this week and dirtying them up a bit...the more dirt the more beautiful they become, ha!  So today I put them to work planting my summer flowers!

I found this pot last fall.  Someone had put it out at the garbage!  I liked it too much to let it go to a landfill.  It's a glazed terracotta-type pot and REALLY heavy.  When I got it home (I had to get my dad to come back with me so we could lift it into the car together), I realized it had a long crack in it.

So I used some masonry waterproofer, and painted the inside to seal it.  No water is getting in this puppy anymore.  I let it dry, then planted away!

I used Gerbera Daisies, Nemesia, and Diamond Frost.  I love the daisies.  They're my favourite summer annual.  I think it will look smashing on my patio!