Fun with French Typography

Last week I posted different ways of transferring graphics or pictures on furniture.  With the vintage liquor cabinet, I used the projector transfer method because it was such a large area.  I did more research on other methods because as much as I love using the projector to transfer onto furniture, I was looking for a simpler way for smaller pieces.  The Citrasolv method looked like it would work.  With this method, you simply print out your image on a laser printer, not ink jet, and lay it flat on the surface and then ever so lightly with a cotton ball soaked in the Citrasolv solution, wipe the image backing and it transfers the image to the furniture.  By the way, Citrasolv is a all natural cleaning or de-greasing solution that is usually sold at natural food stores.  I didn't have any on hand and didn't want to run all over the place looking for it, so my research continued.  Next, I found a blogger who used the woodworkers transfer tool.  I apologize to the blogger for not remembering you if you read this,  please let contact me with your info so I can give credit.  As per her blog, I bought this tool from Amazon called, Wall Lenk L25TT Woodworker's Transfer Tool.

The Woodworker's Transfer Tool

I was very excited when I received it in the mail.  I ran out to the workshop to give it a try on a tea cart top I had painted ASCP Old White and wanted to put a French Graphic on.  I read the directions and it directed me to have my image Zerox copied and place down on surface, which I did.  Then you were to slowly move this tool around in circles around the image to transfer it.  When I placed the tool down onto the paper, it immediately burned through the paper!  Ok, so read the directions again and tried again this time pressing down ever so lightly.  After a few rounds, I lifted a corner of my paper to find that it was melting to the paint and pulling it up.  Very disappointed, I put the tool away for now until I could do more research on it.  I was still on a mission to find a somewhat simple way of transferring, when I found on Graphics Fairy Blog a tutorial on way to transfer images onto furniture.  I found the Citrasolv and projector method and then saw a method of an iron on method using a product called TAP.

French Typography from Graphic Fairy, this is the reverse image view which she provides for you, very nice!

You can buy this on Amazon as well and I did!  When it arrived, I just finished a set of mid century side or coffee tables using ASCP CoCo and had the idea of trying a French Typography on the top.  I went to my favorite graphic image blog The Graphics Fairy Blog, because it is free of course, but also because she has so many cool graphics.  After finding the perfect one, I read the instructions on the back of the TAP iron on sheets and went to it.  Fail, fail, fail!  I'm sure it was just me and how I applied it because I've read so many wonderful reviews on the product, but when I ironed my image down on the chalk paint it did peel up the paint.  Now I will try using this method again, however maybe just on bare wood, not painted.  Back to the drawing board it was.  After thinking a while about all of these ways and what I've read, I remembered how wet the ink was when I printed out a image onto  transparency paper for the projector.  Would it work if I did a reverse image, print it out and lay it down on the painted surface.  Well you don't know if you don't try right? So I did, and IT WORKED!!

 Yes, success.  I used the same French Typography image from the Graphics Fairy, and it looks amazing on the 2 vintage mid century end tables!  Don't get me wrong, the other methods work I'm sure, but not for me on this particular project.  

So, after all the research and trial and error, I'm very happy with the results of these 2 mid century side tables that went from plain Jane's to OOH LA LA!

Hope you enjoyed, these adorable tables can be purchased at my shop in Columbia Illinois at 235 N. Main Street or in my viewed on my For Sale Page!