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    Home » Crafts » Easy Image Transfer and Decoupage

    Easy Image Transfer and Decoupage

    Published by Gail | Published June 12, 2015 | Updated December 11, 2022
    As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

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    Repurpose some old wine bottles with some paint and an image transfer using a gel transfer medium. Great gift idea for the wine lover in your family. #MyRepurposedLife #repurposed #winebottle #imagetransfer #glassware via @repurposedlifeRepurpose some old wine bottles with some paint and an image transfer using a gel transfer medium. Great gift idea for the wine lover in your family. #MyRepurposedLife #repurposed #winebottle #imagetransfer #glassware via @repurposedlife

    I shared some bottle and jar items last week in my Finish Max Painted Glass Bottles and More post. I have made some more wine bottles and took pictures to show you how easy image transfer is with the right product.

    Heirloom-Traditions-1-gel

    Heirloom Traditions Chalk Type paint. has a great transfer and decoupage product. It’s called 1 Gel (available on Amazon) Currently this is not available on Amazon, but something like Liquitex Gel Medium should work equally well.

    Looking for a great deal on a laser printer? IF you have a laser printer (I got a great deal on Amazon) you can use pod podge for this project!

    Easy way to paint glass bottles

    I painted some more bottles using my Finish Max Fine and Heirloom Traditions French Vanilla Chalk Type Paint.

    Related content: Mason Jar Tissue Holders

    Apply gel medium to painted bottles

    I coated all of the wine bottles with the 1gel using a chip brush, and allowed the gel to dry. But, you can use Mod Podge if you have a laser printer.

    Reverse image-print-trim edges

    It's important to trim the images. Any image with text on it needs to be flipped or mirrored when you print it. Here’s the fun part! I used the chip brush to apply the 1gel to the FRONT (printed) side of the image trying not to get any of the gel on the white side of the paper. IF you get the gel on the white side of the paper, it will make it more difficult to peel of the paper allowing the image to be revealed.

    Apply images-allow to dry-dampen with water

    To be able to remove the paper, you will need to wet the printer paper. I used wet paper towels, and let the towels soak the label off. It’s amazing that even though a piece of printer paper feels very thin, there are several layers that make up that paper. It’s best to work on one layer at a time and try to have patience. Ask me how I know?

    Inkjet printer image transfer

    image transfer on a wine bottle

    After removing all of the layers of paper, give a quick coat of the 1gel over the image to seal it. Now, here is what is different about the Heirloom Traditions 1gel. The bottle on the left is an inkjet transfer. You can see it’s not quite as sharp as the laser printed image on the right, but it did transfer. Perhaps your inkjet printer will do a better job than mine did. Of all the things I’ve read and tried, I’ve never gotten an inkjet copy to transfer.

    Embellish image transfer painted bottle

    my-repurposed-life-keep-calm-drink-wine-image-transfer

    This is one I did over the weekend for a friend’s birthday gift. She loved it! I bought the image on Etsy, the flowers and the small key were purchased with a 40% coupon at a craft store. The jute is always on hand because I use it for my Etsy signs.

    You can get the Keep Calm and Drink Wine image from Hope Photo Art on Etsy.

    Add jute to  bottle neck

    This is how I wrap the jute around the neck of the bottle.

    1. Allow several inches to hang down on the loose end.
    2. Start wrapping from the top to the bottom, placing the loose end where you want the knot to be tied
    3. Continue wrapping till you get to the bottom of the neck, allowing the original loose end to hang out. Cut the piece of jute you’ve been wrapping to a length you prefer
    4. Tie the two pieces of jute into a knot. (no hot glue involved, but a very secure way to decorate the neck of your bottle

    Embellish your bottle to your own tastes.

    my-repurposed-life-image-transfer-embellished-wine-bottle

    Have you ever done an image transfer?

    related content: Coffee Table Easy Image Transfer

    See more repurposed glass project ideas here

    gail

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    1. Cindy Leiterman

      February 16, 2019 at 1:00 pm

      Hi gail. I hope u can help me. I tried the 1 gel transfer and decoupage. It doesnt transfer. Im trying to transfer to a painted surface. what am I doing wrong.

      Reply
      • Gail Wilson

        February 17, 2019 at 11:56 pm

        Cindy,
        Ohh, I'm sorry I don't know what advice to give you. Please go to this facebook page, the ladies there will be able to help you!!

        https://www.facebook.com/heirloomtraditionspaint/

        let me know if you're not on facebook and I'll ask them for you!

        gail

    2. Barb

      August 03, 2016 at 5:59 pm

      Gail,
      These bottles are absolutely gorgeous! I love the smooth finish you've gotten on them and I especially like the roses. I am definitely going to try this. The embellishments you've chose look great on the jute neck cording. Simply stunning and what a nice gift for a friend or especially a wine connoisseur.

      Reply
      • gail@myrepurposedlife.com

        August 03, 2016 at 8:59 pm

        Thank you Barb!

        I really loved them, but they haven't been good sellers. Go figure!

        gail

    3. Teresa

      June 15, 2015 at 12:30 am

      Oh my goodness these are absolutely fabulous, I hope you don't mind if I pin this. I will have to definitely put it on my list of things to make. Thank you for the tutorial and thank you also for stopping by and leaving such kind comments.

      xoxo
      Teresa

      Reply
    4. Mindi

      June 14, 2015 at 8:28 pm

      This is cool Gail!! A fun new way to transfer images, I will have to try it! Pinned!

      Reply
    5. Bliss

      June 13, 2015 at 9:01 am

      I am intrigued. So the water soaked paper towel part.... you do that one time only over the image, or do you need to do that a couple times?

      Reply
      • gail@myrepurposedlife.com

        June 13, 2015 at 9:37 am

        Bliss
        you have to do it over and over to get all the layers off. but the layers come off easier the longer you leave the towels on.

    6. Angie @ Knick of Time

      June 13, 2015 at 2:38 am

      I've never heard of that transfer gel before, so I'm going to have to try it - I'm addicted to image transfer projects!

      Thanks for sharing my pretty rose printable with your readers - I'm glad you like it as much as I do!

      ~Angie

      Reply
    7. Michele

      June 13, 2015 at 12:17 am

      Very cool!

      Reply
    8. chris aka monkey

      June 12, 2015 at 11:19 am

      that flower vase is plumb gorgeous xx

      Reply
    9. Lisa

      June 12, 2015 at 9:56 am

      Where can I find the 1gel?

      Reply
      • Lisa

        June 12, 2015 at 9:58 am

        I guess I just had to read the post better - found it!

    10. Kim

      June 12, 2015 at 7:10 am

      OMG! I love these! I have some plain off white vases that I could try.....
      You are such an inspiration! Have a great weekend!

      Reply

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