Confessions of a glitter addict: Transfers

I've been meaning to post a little how-to for my transfer technique (such as it is), and with the announcement of the Hubig's Pie permit it seemed a good time.

First up, here are a few pretty similar tutorials (albeit sans glitter):
http://virginiaandcharlie.blogspot.jp/2011/07/canvas-project.html
http://repinned.net/pin/easy-amp-elegant-put-stencils.html
http://virginiaandcharlie.blogspot.com/2011/07/small-projects.html
http://club.chicacircle.com/puffy-paint-window-decorations/

Transfers are pretty simple: you insert a print-out into a ziploc bag (secure with tape as needed), trace with Tulip 3D Scribbles paint, shake glitter over the paint, and let it dry completely (overnight, longer if the paint is really thick). As long as you don't wait too long or put too thin a layer on, the 3D paint holds the glitter. It also helps to match the color Scribbles to the color of the glitter in case there are any uneven spots. You can get Tulip 3D Scribbles paint at Michael's or Joann's (I'm sure other places carry it, those are just the two I'm certain of). I bought a big variety pack on Amazon, and that covers every color I could possibly want and shows no sign of running out any time soon. If a color is on sale at Michael's, I'll pick one or two up. You want to use the 3D paint rather than glue or regular paint, because it's more flexible and retains it's depth better (regular glitter glue collapses as it dehydrates).

Once the glitter is dry, you press a Swiffer down to pick up any un-adhered glitter (Swiffers are amazing at getting glitter up), then repeat with the next color. You can also do things freehand, without anything to trace; in that case it's a good idea to do at least 2 or 3 iterations so you can pick the best to use on the finished shoe (this is how I do nearly all my lettering and if I were perfectly patient it's how I'd do ALL my lettering). UPDATE - I realized recently that inserting graph paper into the ziploc before writing letters helps a lot. I glue the transfers onto the shoe with E6000 (I've also tried Jewel-It and Elmers, but they don't work as well, because they're lower viscosity and as such tend to spread and "soak" into the glitter on the shoe). Some representative images follow.

First I printed out the Hubig's logo, and resized until it was the proper height for the wedge heel. If I'm making a lot of changes to a logo, I'll print the original logo, trace it onto wax paper with the modifications, then photocopy that onto regular paper for tracing (see here for an example of this).

I did the red lines on the Hubig's logo first, then the black lines. Here's a picture of the logo after the black glitter dried and I shook off the excess, but before I Swiffer'ed (see all the little bits of glitter held on with static electricity).

The print-out is still in the bag here. I decided the lines on the gesturing hand were too thick, so I re-did that on a separate plastic sheet and glued it onto the final logo.

Here's the original logo (removed from the bag because now I only need to "color in" the white and yellow regions - I don't have to trace anymore lines and it'll be easier to see any spots I miss without the logo under the tracing. I inserted a white envelop under the traced glitter logo so the lines would show clearly. After Swiffer-ing all the excess glitter is gone and the lines are nice and clean.

I traced the "Muses" lettering separately, and glued it on at the end. When you have a lot of detail in a logo, it can help to split it up a little and assemble when you're ready. That way a little mistake doesn't derail the whole piece. As I mentioned, I like to more than one version of anything I freehand: below you can see I did two takes on the "Muses" lettering (both came out fine, but I like the one on the right better as the lines are a little finer/less chunky) and for the little pink shoe Simon is holding instead of a pie I went a little nuts.

I glued the "Muses," right hand and little pink shoe on with Elmer's (not what I prefer, but fine in this case). Below is the logo before facial touching up, he needs a tiny "M" on his hat.