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DIY WALL ART & HOW TO TRANSFER IMAGE TO WOOD

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It is super fun and easy to transfer image to wood!

These beautiful wooden wall art pieces take less than one hour to make. They are
very easy to assemble, because they do not require any frames.
This simple technique also works great to transfer letters, stamps, and other motifs.

Once you learn to transfer image to wood, you will be able to make all kinds of
printed wood art, home decor or gifts for loved ones.

Remember these wooden crates inspired by vintage farm and orchard crates? I made
them using the same method!
DIY vintage inspired crates.
Materials and tools: ( Some of the helpful resources are affiliate links. Full
disclosure here. )

wood: any kind of wood with a smooth surface will work. I used 1″x8″ common
pine board from Home depot. If you cut the wood, you will need saw and sand
paper. Remember to wear eye goggles!

wax paper , or other kinds of smooth and non-absorbent paper such as the
glossy backing paper for labels or stickers

a inkjet printer ( most home printers are inkjet)

saw-tooth hangers like these for hanging, and some bees wax and olive oil for
the luscious home-made furniture wax finish

Here’s a quick video tutorial –

Detailed tutorial on how to transfer image to wood easily and mak…

Here’s an outline of the process. Check out the crate tutorial for more detailed
photos plus my 3 failures when I first learned this technique.
Step 1: Cut wood and sand edges. For this project we cut 1″x8″ common pine board
into 8″x8″ pieces.
Step 2: Print image on wax paper.

Fold and tape one end of the wax paper onto a piece of regular 8.5″x11″ paper, this
will be the end that first go through the printer. Leave the rest of the paper loose.
Print your image so the ink goes on the wax paper or the glossy side of the backing
paper for labels or stickers . Be very careful not to touch the printed surface.

Check out the wood crate tutorial for more detailed photos for Step 2 & 3.

IMPORTANT: flip the images if it contain words – remember they are going to be
transferred (mirrored)!

You could also create your own art and transfer it to wood. Here’s a tutorial on how
to paint watercolor flowers easily with no art experience!
Step 3: Transfer image to wood.

Take a wet piece of dry sponge or rag, wet the surface of the wood you are about to
print on, then use the dry sponge or rag to absorb the water a little. The goal is to
get the wood to absorb the ink, but if the wood is too wet, the ink would be runny.
You can always test on a piece of wood to get a feel of how wet/dry the wood should
be.

Place the design onto the wood surface, try not to shift it once the paper touches
the wood. Continue To Next Page…

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COMMENTS

Cathy
February 23 at 8:14 am

This is wonderful! Thank you for the simple yet detailed instructions.

R E P LY

candy
February 23 at 10:04 am

Wow love this look and can’t believe you did this from an inkjet. Saving so I can try
this on some wood pieces.

R E P LY

Joe
February 23 at 12:23 pm

i was thinking about doing something like this – i’m always seeing sayings on small
pieces of wood.

my fiancee loves decorations with quotes – i want to put some on a short 2×4 and
see how it looks!

R E P LY

Malissa
February 23 at 4:28 pm

Oh neato – this seems easy enough to try! Thanks for the beautiful step by step! I’m
definitely gonna add it to my list of crafty things to try.

R E P LY

Lynn
February 23 at 4:37 pm

Wow, that’s easier than I thought! I wish I had the time to make creative things like
that.

Lynn N.
http://emmaandrose.com
Pinterest/Twitter: @emmaandrose
Instagram: @emmaandroseblog

R E P LY

Charity Barger
February 23 at 6:06 pm

I really love this idea! I’m half scared I’d mess up my printer though. So it feeds
through without jamming?
R E P LY

ananda
February 23 at 7:59 pm

there is a trick to prevent it from jamming, see step 2! =)

R E P LY

hal
February 23 at 6:15 pm

what a fun project – im not sure mine would come out as great as yours look!

R E P LY

Marjie
February 24 at 4:59 am

Beautiful work!! How well does the inkjet ink hold up for you without fading? Does
the wax prevent the fading?
Thanks

R E P LY

ananda
February 24 at 6:51 am

great question! the crates we made from 3 years ago still look great. those kept
 away from direct sun look like new. the wax is more for protecting and
seasoning the surface of the wood.

R E P LY

Linda Manuel
February 24 at 7:59 am

What an outstanding tutorial to make almost anything you’d like to put on a wall!
Thanks so much, have pinned to do!

R E P LY

Willow
February 24 at 10:13 am

What a great project – it looks so easy! I love the crates! Pinning for later.

R E P LY

Rebecca Hill
March 3 at 5:11 am

This is a great idea. Where did you find the images you used in the tutorial? I really
like them!

R E P LY

ananda
 March 3 at 2:37 pm

hi rebecca! they are from graphics fairy, which i linked to at the end of article

R E P LY

Frances Masterman
March 4 at 7:07 am

These are beautiful and process looks simple. Do you know if this will also work on
painted wood?

R E P LY

ananda
March 4 at 9:44 am

hi frances! i don’t think painted wood would absorb the ink very well =)

R E P LY

Tammie Compton
March 10 at 11:40 pm

Wow! This is great information. The technique looks easy to follow. I love the look of
art on wood. Thanks

R E P LY
Kathy Moore
March 12 at 10:26 am

I have a question about the wood. Can the wood be treated or untreated to work.
My ink bleed when I pressed the sponge to it.

R E P LY

ananda
March 12 at 12:51 pm

Hi! If the wood is too wet, the ink will bleed. I prefer the wood to be untreated
– no chemical, and with a smooth surface

R E P LY

Stan
March 13 at 9:32 pm

How did you seal it so the ink doesn’t run when setting a cold damp glass of my
favorite tea on it?

R E P LY

ananda
March 15 at 11:25 am

hi stan! the wax finish is water resistant. you can also use a clear acrylic spray /
sealer like this- http://amzn.to/2nFsteG which is more water proof =)

R E P LY
Jennifer
March 18 at 2:24 pm

Hello!
For some reason mine is not printing vibrantly, and when I go to transfer it’s barely
doing anything. I know I can’t be messing this up, it I a fairly foolproof method. or so
it seems?
Any advice
Thanks!!
Jennifer

R E P LY

ananda
March 18 at 5:03 pm

Hi jennifer! you can adjust the saturation of an image in gimp (free) or similar
programs before printing . the key to a good transfer is to have the right
amount of moisture on the wood. look through the detailed steps

R E P LY

Rosie
March 20 at 4:54 am

Love this tutorial so much. Great for people who want to do these kinds of transfers
and don’t have a laser printer! Most tutorials call for laser printers. Do you think this
method would work on canvas?
R E P LY

ananda
March 21 at 6:41 pm

Hi rosie, if it’s raw canvas, yes. Primed canvas will not absorb ink well

R E P LY

Adrienne
April 29 at 11:51 am

I’m going to try out this project next weekend. I’m going to pick up the materials
tomorrow since I have a Michaels coupon. Thanks for mentioning that raw canvas
works as opposed to primed. I want to do mine on canvas.

R E P LY

Adrienne
April 29 at 11:56 am

Commenting again because I forgot to ask a question. Do you have trouble with the
wax paper getting jammed in your printer? I had mine get stuck when I tried to print
for something similar to this project in the past and I’m afraid of it happening again.
Thanks for any tips.

R E P LY

ananda
 April 29 at 6:02 pm

hi adrienne, there’s definitely a good tip here on how to tape the wax paper
onto a piece of regular paper. the link is in step 2 !

R E P LY

Adrienne
May 17 at 11:56 am

Thanks, Ananda! I did attach the wax paper to a piece of thicker printer
paper that is more like cardstock but it still jammed (my printer and I have
a quarrelsome relationship!) I think what I need to do is invest in a better
printer, which is on my to-do list. Thanks for trying to help!

R E P LY

Jamie
May 5 at 4:23 pm

Is there a trick to getting the image I print out not to run on the wax paper? I
followed step 2, but the image keeps getting smeared.

R E P LY

ananda
May 5 at 9:18 pm

Did you print on normal or best setting? Is the image very densely colored?

R E P LY
 Jamie
May 11 at 5:05 pm

Its a normally colored image. I used the best setting.

R E P LY

ananda
May 11 at 9:19 pm

i would use normal print setting, ‘best’ puts out too much ink for the
wax paper.

R E P LY

Michelle
May 9 at 10:40 am

Will this work with family photos?

R E P LY

ananda
May 9 at 11:11 am

hi michelle, yes you can use this technique to transfer photos to wood. photos
with more contrast will give better result . =)
 R E P LY

Cat
June 4 at 6:10 am

JUST AWESOME

R E P LY

Jenni James
February 15 at 2:59 am

This is great! Just wanted you to know: olive oil will go rancid over time, a better
choice would be mineral oil. Just a friendly suggestion. I don’t want anybody’s
artwork to eventually stink or darken or worse. I think I will use this technique on
some of my projects. Thanks for the tutorial! Have a glorious day!

R E P LY

ananda
February 15 at 10:36 am

hi jenni, thank you so much for sharing your tips! =)

i think the bees wax have preservative qualities, and i have not noticed
anything smell rancid. but thank you for the great input! =)

R E P LY
Belinda
May 9 at 12:39 am

Is the wax paper whiney side up or down? Thanks

R E P LY

ananda
May 9 at 9:02 am

hi! it works on both sides actually, but i tend to print on the more slippery side
=)

R E P LY

Barb
May 18 at 7:01 am

Beautiful! Do you think a light stain made from coffee would have an adverse effect
on the transferring of the picture? I think it would give the wood a nice warm look to
it.

R E P LY

ananda
May 18 at 2:53 pm

hi barb, yes a light stain would work, coffee stain will fade though, i’d try one of
these, diluted with water- http://www.apieceofrainbow.com/make-wood-stain/

R E P LY
L E A V E A R E P LY

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 Hello and welcome!
I'm Ananda, a home
and garden designer,
artist, and lifestyle
blogger in Southern
California. When I started this blog
in 2014, I never thought it would
grow from 0 to over a million
monthly views in just 3 years. I hope
A Piece Of Rainbow becomes your
trusted resource and good friend for
living creatively and loving each
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