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Crafty, Scrappy, Happy: A citra solv and graphic fairy inspired night

Monday, February 28, 2011

A citra solv and graphic fairy inspired night


Soooo tonight I was inspired to up-cycle an old frame sitting around the house...funny how people told Cal and I that we wouldn't display our engagement and wedding pictures and we didn't believe them....  Needless to say this is a frame that is not being used so I decided to recycle it.


My original idea was to create a memo board with muslin fabric as the background as I am OBSESSED with the unfinished vintage look... 


Butttt when I had it all together I didn't love it.... insert CitraSolv....the most difficult solvent to find in the greater Ann Arbor area.  (a word to the wise if you have ANY desire to do a project like this save yourself the time and effort and just order online!)  I searched whole foods, trader joe's, and a couple of novel organic type stores in Ann Arbor and finally started calling to find a location that carried this magical solvent.... needless to say I finally found it. 


And I needed a little practice obviously because I neglected to think about flipping my image before trying to add a fun graphic fairy number onto my current favorite table decor...darn!  


buttt when I flip the placemat upside down it looks super cool...right?!?!??!  Noooo but hey I can pretend right?!?!?


Sooo onto the real project: picking my favorite graphic fairy images---I love them all so that is harder than you might think.  


In this case I wanted to make a bit of a collage so I got to pick quite a few!!!!


**note you have to print onto an laser printer or make copies onto a laser copier (I guess most are) in order for this to work (I really took this part for granted as I own an old college laser printer that my undergrad university auctioned off---check with your local university to see if they do auctions like this----newer stuff for VERY cheap!!)  

This picture also shows how you have to tape or pin down your images before applying citra solv


next apply citra solv---it doesn't take much!  Then add some muscle to a spoon or other braying type object!


I chose to iron on my images after applying them.... this step sounds like it is optional according to the citra solv web page but I liked how it dried the solvent.


****I should also note that at this point in the night I was overwhelmed by the smell of orange (the citra solv sent) sooo we turned off the heat and aired out the house (granted that only lasted about 10 minutes----I mean really---look at that snow!!!)  this might suggest that you should do this out doors!


Anyhow here is my somewhat final product aren't you just in love?!?  I am!


I added a cute quote and put it back into the frame---fun and easy and fast and cheap---all things I love and DID I MENTION EASY?!


A close up on the quote I picked.




And I have to mention that I was somewhat inspired by this splurge pillow cover I bought from the local pottery barn outlet last week.

I should also note that I did successfully make a placemat---what do you think?!?

Loving it!


And lastly since I was soooo inspired by my citra solv transferring abilities I made my house guest, sister and best-est buddy a little something  (Linds also happened to be my photographer for these!).  

We picked a fun scrapbook paper to use as a matte and pressed along the original matte in the ikea frame that I wasn't using-and-was-laying-around-my-house for a guide


I used an exact-o knife to cut out the frame.



Next I got out my trusty sandpaper (I use this for every craft project) and smoothed along the inside edges to make the corners more perfect looking (noting I make is perfect but this REALLY helps).


Next I added a bit of brown ink (the second thing I ALWAYS use in craft projects) with a sponge to the edges to give a bit of a distressed and vintage look.


wooohooo final project is a very excited Linds with a little dachshund art work that she loves....! Woohoo





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24 Comments:

Blogger Sweet Bee Cottage said...

FABULOUS! These turned out great and I have to say that memo board is good enough to be SOLD at a Pottery Barn. Great job!

February 28, 2011 at 9:22 PM  
Blogger Jaime Lyn at Crafty Scrappy Happy said...

Nicest complement EVER, thank you so much for commenting, I never know if my ideas are silly or worth sharing..... It REALLY REALLY means a LOT to me! Thank you for stopping by!

February 28, 2011 at 9:45 PM  
Blogger Audrey Pettit said...

Very, very cool! I haven't even heard of this product, but how fabulously the transfers look. I love your memo board transformation, and your placemat is great. The pup frame is just too, too cute also.
Visiting from the Graphics Fairy. TFS!

March 1, 2011 at 3:42 AM  
Blogger Tabitha@InspiredByGiving said...

Jaime! So incredible! You need to teach a class on this, I would LOVE to make pillow cases with Graphic Fairy graphics!! You do such an amazing job!

March 1, 2011 at 7:58 AM  
Blogger Unknown said...

This is absoultely amazing babe! I feel very lucky to have such a crafty wife. P.S. Only 66 days until we are together again. I cannot wait to do these crafts together with you. :)

March 1, 2011 at 5:14 PM  
Blogger kim said...

Wow, what a great project. I love the bulletin board. I've tried the Citra Solve method of ink transfer with very little luck. You've motivated me to give it another try. My ink never transferred as dark as yours. Do you have any suggestions?

March 1, 2011 at 8:32 PM  
Blogger Jaime Lyn at Crafty Scrappy Happy said...

Hi Houtz, thanks for checking out my work and commenting it makes me SO excited!!! So, I am no pro at this technique but the things that might make a difference for you would be printer and toner (maybe try a copier if you used a printer last time...I think I was just lucky that mine happened to work because it is a laser printer), another good hint might be to use extra pressure when braying and finally according to the Citra Solve web page if you iron after you use pressure but before you remove the paper you might get a darker transfer...and I had to look this up before doing it but the directions I went by said not to dilute the solvent... I hope this helps! I don't know if you have a blog but if you give it a second try I would love to see it!!!
:o)
Jaime

March 1, 2011 at 8:49 PM  
Blogger kim said...

Thanks for the reply Jaime -- I tried four different copy machines and found that out of those four only one of them actually transferred with the Citra Solve. I didn't dilute the Citra Solve either. But, I will try the ironing as I didn't do that before and hopefully it will make a difference. Thanks for the suggestion. I'm certainly going to give the process another try.

I don't have a blog but have been thinking of starting one. Maybe I could make that a summer project!

Thanks for your help and I hope you keep posting your projects as you are very creative!

Kim

March 2, 2011 at 8:32 PM  
Blogger Dee ⚜️⚜️⚜️⚜️⚜️ said...

I never saw this done before. I'd love to try this.

Thanks,
Dee

April 8, 2011 at 5:19 PM  
Blogger Connie said...

I just stumbled upon your blog and can't stop reading! You have some awesome tutorials! I am so doing the candle and this tutorial! Does it work for colors or just black and white? I am happy to be your newest follower! Would you like to guest post on my blog sometime?--connie, measuredbytheheart.blogspot.com

April 11, 2011 at 8:21 PM  
Blogger Connie said...

I just stumbled upon your blog and can't stop reading! You have some awesome tutorials! I am so doing the candle and this tutorial! Does it work for colors or just black and white? I am happy to be your newest follower! Would you like to guest post on my blog sometime?--connie, measuredbytheheart.blogspot.com

April 11, 2011 at 8:21 PM  
Blogger Jaime Lyn at Crafty Scrappy Happy said...

Hi Connie,
I am so SO so excited that you like my ideas! And I can't even say how honored I would be to guest post on your blog---that would be amazing!!!

Thank you for stopping by you made my night!!!
Jaime

April 11, 2011 at 8:46 PM  
Blogger DreamVintage said...

Hi Jamie! I LOOOVE your blog!! It's hard to stop reading your excellent tutorials :) I also love vintage inspired designs (so much that I started designing them myself) and my favorite transfer technique is Citra Solv! I have a new blog that I started adding image transfer tutorials and I would be VERY happy if you also could do a guest post on my blog (dreamvintagedesigns.blogspot.com ). A tutorial like this would be perfect! Let me know :)
Congrats on your super inspiring and beautiful blog, I'm sure I'll be coming back often!
Silvia

April 12, 2011 at 2:50 PM  
Blogger Jaime Lyn at Crafty Scrappy Happy said...

Hi Dream Vintage, I have SO enjoyed your comments today! Thank you for following my blog!
I would be so honored to be a guest post on your blog just let me know what you would want me to do!

April 12, 2011 at 6:41 PM  
Blogger Sabrina said...

I was interested in trying your candle project. I made some at Christmas, but I used tissue paper. I found that the candle really warped and melted when I dried it. Does this happen as bad with vellum and wax paper? Thanks! Love your blog!

April 14, 2011 at 5:57 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

Wow! Totally impressed. I love this idea. I am going to test it out this weekend. Do you think other cleaners similar will work as well? I am going to test it out.

Ginger
literally inspired

April 22, 2011 at 5:46 PM  
Blogger Connie the crafterbug said...

I am so in love with your blog!!! i just found you today,but I can tell you this is exactly what I have been looking for! Thank you for sharing all your fabulous ideas!
Connie

April 27, 2011 at 8:45 AM  
Blogger Kate said...

Oh my gosh, I love the transfer project that you did! I have never heard of CitraSolv. I will have to find some!

June 24, 2011 at 9:31 AM  
Blogger Honey I'm Home Blog said...

I'm really excited to know about this transfer method. I love this vintage look. I'd love to try the lat & long idea when we buy a vacation home. Thanks so much for sharing your brilliant ideas.

Warmly, Michelle

July 24, 2011 at 7:30 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Jaime, I just LOVE your blog! You have given me LOTS of inspiration to try different things around my home! Thank you so much!!

August 16, 2011 at 11:35 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Can you wash the image you transfer? Does it work on t-shirts?

September 8, 2011 at 12:00 AM  
Blogger Cirque Du Bebe said...

Hello! Great tutorial. Do you think these transfers would stand up to washing? I'd like to do one on a shirt for my son. Also, is there any way to get the image darker>?

November 28, 2011 at 9:54 PM  
Anonymous Tiffany said...

This looks like so much fun! But I don't have the money to buy a laserjet printer. May I ask why it has to be laser?

And the No. 1 does look amazing!I think it looks better as a faint image on a place mat.

February 5, 2012 at 11:25 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I did this yesterday on a dish towel for my momma's bday. I used old family recipes in her grandmother's handwriting. I loved it! But then, I washed it. I wanted to get rid of the orange smell plus a little of the citra solve had made some yellow places on the towel. I read on the other blog mentioned that you could wash them, even bleach them. Washing ot was a BIG mistake. It faded so badly you can't even read the recipes anymore. Any suggestions? I guess it really isn't washable. How do you get rid of the smell? Did your leave any yellow residue?

January 31, 2013 at 9:45 AM  

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