How to Add Hand Painted Furniture Graphics

This is an easy way to add graphics to hand painted furniture! (And you don't have to be a real artist to do it!) :)

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Art or clip art that is okay to copy
• Transfer paper or chalk
• Painters tape
• Dull pencil
• Water-base craft paint
• Water-base polycrylic

1. 
   Excellent copier!

   Choose clip art or graphic image for your hand painted furniture. Take to a copy center and have it enlarged as desired.

2. Lay transfer paper on the furniture and secure with painters tape. Next, lay your pattern on top of the transfer paper and secure it also with painters tape. Note: transfer paper is similar to carbon paper, but it doesn't rub off on your hands. It makes fully erasable black lines and can be used over and over again.

3. 
   Dull pencil.

   Trace the pattern with a dull pencil - the lines are transferred! Now, paint the image with your individual colors. Let paint dry thoroughly.

4. 
   Painted Graphic on Chest

   After paint has dried overnight, protect your image with 3 coats of water-based polycrylic. It's done! :) Now you see how easy it is to add graphics to hand painted furniture!

Tips & Warnings

• The steps above are for transferring graphics on a surface that has not been finished with any type of varnish, etc. It should be done BEFORE any final protective coats. (Please see my article on Quick Easy Cheap Paint Treatment)
• Optional: after paint has dried well, you can outline the graphics with a black permanent marker to make the images "pop". After the marker dries, then finish with the 3 coats of polycrylic.
• For the daring artists out there...... instead of tracing a pattern, you may opt to freehand your image using white chalk. After the image is painted, you merely gently wipe off the chalk with a dampened cloth before polycrylic is applied.

[ahickpoet]

on 1/18/2009 Cool idea!

[Diligent77]

on 1/17/2009 Very funky!!! Good tips

[klnygaard]

on 1/17/2009 Great info-

[Bfastattiffanys]

on 1/16/2009 I love this. I didn't even know this technique existed. *****

[CWilliams]

on 1/14/2009 WOW great tips! I never thought about using transfer paper, and carbon paper is really messy. +5