Saturday, May 1, 2010

Applying a Water-slide Decal to a Project:Tutorial

I was so excited when this came in the mail!

I love to personalize things. It gives whatever it is such character and makes it unique. I started researching water-slide decal paper the other week. I ended up ordering it from this site. I bought two different kinds of paper (inkjet water-slide and magnet). I could use the inkjet water-slide paper for candles, decorative plates, soap, etc. and with the magnetic paper I thought I might do some fun stuff for Carson. She is really into trying to spell her name and everyone's name in our family. Maybe some name puzzles?! Anyway, I have really enjoyed using these decals and wanted to share the process with you!

If you are interested in water-slide decal paper...this is how it works in a nutshell.

Materials: Clear Water-slide Decal Paper, Krylon Acrylic Clear Coat Spray (if you have a laser printer you don't need this), an object in which to place your decal, bowl of water, scissors, printer

Before you begin, clean your object and take any stickers off. I used Goof Off to remove it and it worked great!

1) Use photoshop, power point or any other program you may have to create your picture/text.

2) Print it on your water-slide decal paper. NOTE: if you are going to place your decal on the inside of the object, like I did here, you will want to print it in REVERSE. I have a Mac and did that by going to File-> Print-> (go to the 3rd drop box where it says copies and pages) choose Layout and then check the box that says Flip Horizontally. Print it out!

3) Spray 2-3 coats of Krylon Acrylic Clear Coat Spray and let it dry for 30-60 minutes.
4) Cut out your picture/text

5) Get a bowl of tap water and place the decal in the water for about 30 seconds until the paper slides off. If the ink comes off in the water you did not apply the spray properly. I did this the first time around:)

6) Take the decal and position it like you want it.

7) Blot the excess water with a towel. Remove any air bubbles at this time. And let it dry for a few hours.

ALL DONE in 7 easy steps!

I am in the process of finishing up some things for Mother's Day using these decals and can't wait to share them with you...stay tuned!
Here is a sneak peak of one of them...
A tutorial on decoupaging plates coming soon!

3 comments:

Joy Williams said...

Visting from Made By You Mondays and wow those are neat! I will bookmark to make for another occassion!

girlytwins said...

I love this soo very much. Seriously I wish your talent would rub off on my just a wee bit :)

Kelly said...

OK I am really enjoying your ideas!!

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