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Easiest Design Transfer Method You’ll Ever Find

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Easiest Way to Transfer a Design onto Wood via MakelyHome.com

In the middle of a new project that I was working on, I realized that I had a problem. I needed to transfer a very large design (think 4 feet by 4 feet!) than I want to paint onto a primed piece of wood, and I couldn’t figure out how to do it.

I laid the printed design out on the wood and thought I could just trace the design on the paper with firm pressure and a little impression line would be left on the wood that I could just go back and trace. Um, nope.

Then, I tried a ballpoint pen. Nada. How about the tip of a butter knife? Nah. A bamboo skewer? No way.

I was getting pretty desperate at this point. I knew I could run out to the store to buy transfer paper, but my son was napping and that’s prime crafting time as any of you other moms know. I had to use something I had on hand.

Then a light bulb went off in my head: Newsprint! It always rubs off on my hands, so maybe it would rub off on the primed wood. Egads! I was right!

This technique will be especially helpful if you have a very intricate design, a very large design, or you just don’t want to take the time to cut out your design and trace like a stencil. I think this is going to be my go-to tracing technique from now on. It is so easy.

The Easiest Way to Transfer a Design Onto Wood

1. Print out your design and cut away the excess white space. Tape the top of your design to the painted or primed wood in the location you want to transfer the design.

2. Lift up the design and slide a page of newsprint underneath it. The classified pages and stock market pages work best, as there is a lot of small newsprint all over the page. Make sure that the entire design is underneath the newsprint.

3. With a pen or pencil (preferably a pink one with your name on it like you are 6 years old) , trace the outline of your design directly onto the paper. Press firmly, but you don’t have to go overboard with the pressure.

 

4. Remove the taped design and newsprint to reveal a light transfer underneath! I have turned up the contrast on this photo so that you will be able to see the transfer.

5. With your pencil (or with a paintbrush if you are way more talented than me), trace the transfer directly onto the wood.

6. Admire the beauty of your transfer, and then get busy painting!

Try this technique the next time you want to transfer a pattern or stencil a word onto a piece of wood. I’m pretty sure this would work on your walls, too. You’ll be amazed at how quickly and easily you can transfer that design. I’d love to know how it works out for you!

Finding Privacy Solutions for Uncommon Windows

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When we built our house last year, our neighborhood was just in the beginning stages. Only four streets had been added to this former farm land, and our home was one of the only ones on the far west side of the neighborhood. With no neighbors on either side and no neighbors behind us, we could look out of the rear windows onto an open plain and see every star in the big Texas sky. As you can imagine, it was absolutely tranquil.

Then, the hammering started. And new roads were built. And more and more neighbors came to join our community. We absolutely love having families nearby with children the same age as Zack, but we really miss the privacy we used to have.

As the homes behind us are being built at an alarming rate (seems fast to us, but I’m sure it’s taking FOR.EV.ER for the families waiting on them!), we’re suddenly realizing that we have a problem. We have a two-story living room which I absolutely love, but that means two-story windows. The windows let in so much light that we never have to turn on any other light source until it is pitch black outside, so we opted for static window treatments on either side of our bank of windows.

I’m not too concerned with our privacy during the day since we don’t turn on any interior lights and you really can’t see in these windows at that point. My main concern is at night – especially if the house directly behind us is going to end up being a two-story home, too. You would be able to see directly into the lofted second story catwalk and playroom of our home if the lights are turned on. Even if there is nothing “good” to see, I just don’t like the feeling of someone being able to see me walking up and down the stairs and playing with my son in his playroom.

I have started to look for privacy solutions for these windows, but I haven’t found anything I think will work for us. My options seem to be:

1. Frosted privacy film – This film, which you can apply yourself, lets light in through the windows, but makes the windows translucent enough that no one can see in. The film is great for privacy at night, because it even blocks the the view into your home when it’s dark outside and light in the house. My problem with this is that if I used it on all six windows, I wouldn’t be able to actually see out into the backyard, which is a major deal breaker for me. I guess I could use it on just the top windows, but I think it would look odd to only have some of the windows frosted.


This product, by Gila, is available in DIY kits at Home Depot.

2. Mirrored privacy film – Like the frosted film, privacy film is also available in a mirrored finish. Like the interrogation room windows you see in cop movies, you can see out, but no one can see in. I thought this would be a great solution, until I realized that it only works during the daylight. Once lights are turned on inside the home, the film is useless. For my needs, the mirrored film is pretty much useless.


Another Gila product available at Home Depot.

3. Wood blinds – Wooden blinds seem like the most reasonable solution to my problem, with one exception. It would be a nightmare to have to open and close the ones on the top windows. I think I would want the top windows open during the day so I wouldn’t have to give up my light. There are options available for motorized blinds and shades, but I’m scared to even price those!

One option would be for me to make (or purchase?) a really, really long tilt wand that would hang down low enough for me to tilt the blinds.


Image from House Beautiful

6. Shutters – I absolutely love the look of interior shutters, but again we have the question of how to open and close them. I feel like the shutters would be even more difficult to adjust than the blinds.


Image from House Beautiful

5. Hope for the best – The last option I can come up with is just hoping for the best. Maybe our new neighbors will never look out of their windows and it we won’t have anything to worry about, right? If the houses behind us are single stories, maybe we won’t have to do anything at all…

If you were in my situation, what would you do? Can you think of any other options that I haven’t considered? What do you think would work out best for my windows? Help!