#AtoZChallenge | Xerox print transfer to evoke my all time favorite word.

I didn’t have an idea in my head. I just knew the word I wanted to evoke. It’s my all time favorite word.

I drive my girls crazy because I talk about it all the time. I text them images when I come across the word in a book. I mention it to them during casual conversation although it never comes off as casual as I would like. I point it out when it comes up in a movie or television show. I feel it is the most critical personality trait a person can have in life.  It sustains you and helps you move forward whatever the world throws at you. I believe you can develop it but whether a gift from birth or learned you must have it.

That word is GRIT! Resiliency, Bootstraps, Tenacity, Perseverance. There are many words. Grit is my favorite.

I wanted to create an art piece that would remind me of this word at a glance. I’m sure on my deathbed my girls will be throwing it in the donation bin but hopefully I’ll get to enjoy it for many years before that time comes.

I landed on attempting a xerox art transfer. I’ve done some small scale versions of this in my scrapbooking using a similar technique but I wanted to go big. I wanted to try this technique on a larger scale. I found a great tutorial on YouTube from Marlene Weisman who sounds like she’s had the most creative, amazing life. Check out her video if you want to try this craft. She does an amazing job of walking you through the steps. She had me convinced I could do it.

I purchased some acetone nail polish and I was ready to go. But, what image should I use?

I started looking at free vintage images on google and something that has never happened in all my many years of crafting happened. The first image I looked at was the one. Maybe it’s living on a lake. Or, life during a pandemic where we all constantly feel like we’re underwater and need a way out but this image hit me in the gut. That feeling of drowning but seeing a glimmer of hope in those stairs telling us we can do this. We can get our heads back above water. I really can’t put words to the instant connection I had when I saw this image. That is the true beauty of art. We don’t always know why it speaks to us, but sometimes it just does.

Here was the image I found on pexal of metal stairs underwater by Francesco Ungaro. I modified it to be black and white and resized it to a square image:

I had my image, so now onto the craft. I printed it out in reverse as I wanted the image to be the same direction visually as the original. My husband made multiple copies of the picture for me at Staples. You can’t use an ink jet printout for this craft. It needs to be a Xerox or laser print in order to be transferrable. I wanted to have extras as I planned to do a few practice runs before attempting to transfer it to my wood block.

This turned out to be incredibly important decision. It took me a few tries to get into the groove.

Instructions

Below is how I worked my way through this project.

Step 1)

I taped the picture in place on my practice sheet of white shiny paper.

Step 2)

I cut a small piece from my sponge. I was using what I had on hand so one side was scrubby but the other side was smooth which is the side I planned to use. I poured some acetone nail polish into a metal bowl. I have a metal bowl that I use exclusively for crafts. It is not for food use.

Step 3)

I dipped the sponge into the acetone and wiped it onto a small section of the paper with the image.

Step 4)

I rubbed the back of the paper where I’d put the acetone to transfer that section of image.

This is where I made some mistakes. I originally tried to burnish using a popsicle stick which is what I normally use to transfer rub-ons. This resulted in an uneven striped like transfer.

For the second attempt, I found a metal rectangular piece and used that but it was too sharp and kept tearing up the paper which negatively impacted the transfer.

Third time I found the right tool to burnish. I grabbed a small metal tape measure that had a rounded top. This was bigger than the popsicle stick but not as sharp as the metal piece I used previously and it worked great.

Step 5)

I finally had a decent transfer! I had one piece of paper left and decided to try one more time. I was starting to get a feel for the amount of acetone and rubbing needed. For this final transfer, I taped all four sides down and applied the acetone and rubbed across the entire image and then did it again going in the other direction. I had peaked as I was going along on my first few attempts and even though I had a side taped down it was hard to keep the image from moving so by taping all four sides there would be no peaking and no movement of the paper.

The final transfer was my favorite. While not perfect, the stairs were clear and visible.  I had a working image. The images below show my progress in transferring the image from my first attempt to my last attempt.

Time to embellish.

Step 6)

Using some photo markers, I highlighted the stairs in pink and the water above in blue. They were the two components I wanted to jump out. I also added a little green to the area around the stairs which made the pink even more of a statement. I loved the little touch of color.

Step 7)

I had a wood block that I had tried to do the transfer directly onto during one of my failed attempts. I wanted to use it to display the image so I painted it black and then glued the image to the top.

Step 8)

I created a small accent using a circular chipboard piece covered in decorative scrapbooking paper with the word grit on top.

I added a few coats of mod podge for durability and then hung it up in the bathroom my daughters use.

I asked my oldest daughter if she thought I was being too passive aggressive by hanging it in their bathroom. She responded, “There’s nothing passive about it.”

Now they’ll be reminded of the importance of grit every single day.  I’m sure they’ll appreciate it even if they don’t know it.

Do you have a favorite word?

I’m participating in a Blogging A-Z Challenge for April 2021. I will be posting new content every day this month except most Sundays. Each post is associated with a letter of the alphabet, starting with A and ending with Z. My theme for the challenge is Craft Projects for my Home. To read more of my A to Z posts from this year, click HERE.

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38 thoughts on “#AtoZChallenge | Xerox print transfer to evoke my all time favorite word.”

  1. Lisa Elliott says:
    Reply

    I’ve never done a photo transfer like that – cool process! I love the way the finished product looks hanging on the wall. I’ll have to think about whether I have a word like grit or not . . .I should probably ask my kids! hahaha!

    Liked by 1 person

    • Deborah Weber says:
      Reply

      I loved seeing your step-by-step process Karen. I’ve done transfers using a number of different methods, and it’s the kind of thing that often offers unexpected and interesting results. Your choice of images and this technique seemed to have worked perfectly for your word. It looks great.
      I confess I smiled gently at your final comment “I’m sure they’ll appreciate it even if they don’t know it.” While one can always hope, I’m not sure our guiding stars ever shine so brightly for anyone else.

      Liked by 1 person

  9. Crackerberries says:
    Reply

    Very clever… at first I was thinking GRIT is not an X word (duh)! That came out really cool. My favorite word… Crackerberries of course.
    Cheers,
    Crackerberries
    PS… if you have an image/logo etc… I’d be happy to share it on my blog and people can click it to come find your very cool and awesome crafts. If you want. 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

  11. Trudy says:
    Reply

    Now see… where was this picture when I was trying to find an image to represent Resilience?? hahaha 🙂 I ended up using an image of a plant growing up through asphalt (even though it was probably a weed).

    I laughed at your daughter’s response, “There’s nothing passive about it.”

    Your finished project is amazing! Now I want one.

    Liked by 1 person

  13. galeriaredelius says:
    Reply

    You illustrate the meaning of ‘grit’ very well, showing your work progress, not giving up! Thanks for sharing this and for explaining all steps so clearly. I can understand that this photo spoke to you immediately, it does to me to! Although I’m really a “water animal” and always loved to swim, I’ve often find that underwater images are unsettling and peaceful at the same time, in an odd mix. The stairs add a lot for our imagination to fill in.
    I never thought about if I have a favourite word… I’ll have to think about that…

    Liked by 1 person

  15. Jeanne Bryan Insalaco says:
    Reply

    I’ve never tried a photo transfer but always wanted to. I find myself procrastinating on projects I’ve never tackled yet… then I find myself saying. Just start! I loved your photo choice snd I’ve used the word Grit but mine stood for girl raised in the South… after adding a S at the end.

    Like

  17. jlennidorner says:
    Reply

    🤩 Wow! That’s beautiful. You are an amazing artist.

    I love letter X posts! Always such variety.
    It’s hard to believe the blogging challenge is almost over for 2021. Then the after survey, reflections, and the road trip sign-up.
    Plus, I’m taking part in the Bout of Books read-a-thon in May. So much excitement!
    J Lenni Dorner~ Co-host of the #AtoZchallenge, OperationAwesome6 Debut Author Interviewer, Reference& Speculative Fiction Author

    Liked by 1 person

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