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Follow this wood photo transfer tutorial, and learn how to add images to wood surfaces using Mod Podge. Discover an easy way to print pictures onto wood rounds for photo gifts.

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UPDATE: Watch this VIDEO tutorial to see this process start-to-finish, and see me compare Mod Podge to Rust-Oleum Photo Transfer Medium.

A note on printing your image:

This is really important, and you need to follow these instructions carefully:

• White space in images will appear clear when transferred, so choose your image carefully.
• Print your image on a laser printer, and NOT on an inkjet printer. The printer you have at home is likely an inkjet printer. I usually load my image onto a flash drive and take it to my local printer (think Fedex/Kinkos or Office Max) to print in color. Or else, if you already have a hard copy of the picture, you can go make a color photocopy.
• Use regular weight printer paper – NOT photo paper.
• Flip your image if you like – using a photo editing program like PicMonkey, since your image will be reversed when transferred.

Tutorial: Wood Photo Transfer

1. Print your image according to the guidelines above. Trim to size.
2. Paint a layer of Mod Podge on your smooth wood surface.
3. Lay the image, printed side down, flat on the surface.
4. Smooth flat the image flat, and let dry.
5. Using a  scrub rag and a bowl of water, soak the paper.
6. Then gently begin to scrub away the paper. 
7. As the paper begins to peel away, set aside the scrub rag. Use the friction of your fingers to remove all of the paper, leaving the image behind.
8. Let dry, and make sure that no paper remains. If there are still white spots remaining, re-wet the surface and rub the paper away.
9. Seal with a layer of Mod Podge. Let dry.

Here are a few fun image transfer projects you may enjoy:

Continue to Content

Wood Photo Transfer With Mod Podge Tutorial

Yield: 1 Craft

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Active Time: 10 minutes

Additional Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 50 minutes

Difficulty: easy

Estimated Cost: $8

Follow this wood photo transfer tutorial, and learn how to add images to wood surfaces using Mod Podge. Discover an easy way to print pictures onto wood rounds for photo gifts.

Print

Materials

• Smooth wooden surface, like a wood round
• Scissors
• Photo, printed on a laser printer
• Mod Podge
• Paint brush
• Craft bone folder or credit card
• Scrub rag
• Bowl of water

Instructions

1. Print your image according to the guidelines below. Trim to size.
2. Paint a layer of Mod Podge on your smooth wood surface.
3. Lay the image, printed side down, flat on the surface.
4. Smooth flat the image flat, and let dry.
5. Using a scrub rag and a bowl of water, soak the paper.
6. Then gently begin to scrub away the paper.
7. As the paper begins to peel away, set aside the scrub rag. Use the friction of your fingers to remove all of the paper, leaving the image behind.
8. Let dry, and make sure that no paper remains. If there are still white spots remaining, re-wet the surface and rub the paper away.
9. Seal with a layer of Mod Podge. Let dry.

Notes

This is really important, and you need to follow these instructions carefully:

White space in images will appear clear when transferred, so choose your image carefully.
Print your image on a laser printer, and NOT on an inkjet printer. The printer you have at home is likely an inkjet printer. I usually load my image onto a flash drive and take it to my local printer (think Fedex/Kinkos or Office Max) to print in color. Or else, if you already have a hard copy of the picture, you can go make a color photocopy.
Use regular weight printer paper – NOT photo paper.
Flip your image if you like – using a photo editing program like PicMonkey, since your image will be reversed when transferred.