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Transfer Ink on Customized Notebook

By April Staker
Off Road Inksters
Intermediate Scramping Team Designer

Well, I had to play with this product.  How could I resist the chance to transfer images to virtually any porous surface?   Transfer Ink allows you to transfer images that you have stamped or even printed from an inkjet printer.  The possibilities for fun are endless!  Thus began my adventure. 

I wanted to make a very vintage layout, but my papers weren’t vintage and my photos were certainly not.  Transfer ink allowed me to create this look very quickly and easily.   It is acid free and therefore safe to use on your pages!  That was fun to do, and it occurred to me that I could make a cute little notebook for my daughter!  That brings us to our project! 

Supplies

•  Squiggle Ladybugs (The Angel Company)
•  Noir Palette Hybrid Ink Pad (Stewart Superior)
•  Transfer Ink (Stewart Superior)
•  Red Cardstock cut to 8" x 4¾" (Unknown)
•  Black Cardstock 8½" x 11" (Unknown)
•  White 8½” x 11” Cardstock (Hammermill)
•  Black Tie, Saville Paper (Basic Grey)
•  Inkjet copy of photo
•  Ribbon (Michael’s) (4 styles, cut into 1½” pieces, 6 of each style) and one 12” piece
•  Rubber Brayer (Speedball)
•  Mini Composition Book (Greenbriar Int’l)
•  Scissors (Provo Craft)
•  Xyron Machine with double sided adhesive
•  Stapler
•  Staples 

Instructions

1.    Cut your papers to the following dimensions:

White 8½” x 11” Cardstock          
For photo transfer = 2½” x 3”

Black Tie, Saville Paper
Inside Covers (2) = ½” x 4”

Black Cardstock 8½" x 11" Left Page:
Inside Covers (2) = 3” x 4”
Photo Mat = 2¾” x 3¼” 

2.    Using the Noir ink stamp your image randomly onto the red cardstock.  

The Technique:

3.    Place scrap paper under your white cardstock.  Turn your copy of the photo upside down and place it over the white cardstock as you want it to be when transferred. 

4.    Hold the photocopy down firmly on the edges so it will not move around.  Spray the transfer ink onto the backside of the copy.  Cover it evenly. 

5.    Immediately run the brayer over the image.  Go back and forth and use a good amount of pressure while doing so.  Be sure that you are holding the image down firmly so that it won’t wrap around the brayer as you roll.  You will need to check the transfer by carefully lifting a corner up and peek to see if it has transferred all the way.  If not, carefully lay the corner back down and repeat the process. Allow the image to dry or use a heat gun to speed the process up. 

6.    Run the cardstocks through the Xyron.  Adhere the red cardstock to the book, trimming the corners as needed.  Apply the photo and mat to the cover.  Cover the inside with the black cardstock, applying it from the center of the book outward.  (Note: There will be a gap still.) 

7.    Staple ribbons to the Basic Grey strips.  Press them over the gap on the inside covers to finish the book. Tie a ribbon around the front cover. 

8.    Now you have a fun little gift that is personalized! 

***A Note:  The layout photo was made using this same technique except I stamped the flowers using Cowboy Boots brown ink (The Angel Company).  The background paper was a white core printed-paper.  This turned out very cool and vintage because the transfer ink actually changed the paper color.  It appears to almost be tea stained now.  I, also, used transfer ink and transferred the photo onto white paper that I had pre-stained with walnut ink.  I did learn that the transfer ink changes the cardstock somehow. If you apply walnut ink after the transfer ink, it absorbs so quickly that you cannot blot it.  That made it so you couldn’t see the transferred image as the walnut ink was so dark.

If you would like to print this technique including the template and a near-full size image of the layout, click here.  Once you've saved or printed the technique sheet, use your browser's back button to return.

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