Graphics Transfer With Citrasolv Spool Cabinet

Alrighty now.... for the past week I've been showing you how I transformed a pale yellow toy box into a fool the eye cabinet with fake drawers, and knobs made out of vintage wooden thread spools.

But I didn't show you the graphic that I put on the top.

Graphic from The Graphics Fairy

I wanted the graphic to be very faded like it had been around for as long as the antique spools I used as knobs on this project.

My two favorite places to find vintage advertising prints for use are The Graphics Fairy and Angie at Knick of Time. 

They both have lots of inspiration to pick from.  For this project I picked a graphic from Karen the Graphics Fairy.

I painted a design on the lid top with a mix of metallic copper and gold to give the paint the same color as the decals I used. 

They weren't quite gold, and weren't quite copper, and making a mix turned out to be just right.

First I printed out the graphic and taped it together.

I placed it on the lid to see how big I wanted to make the painted area.

Then I taped it off.

I used the citra-solv method of transfer.  If you want the full tutorial you can read in detail {here} where I transferred a graphic to some muslin napkins.

One thing you have to remember with this method is to print your design out in reverse and to use a toner based printer.  I used my husbands fax machine which has a toner cartridge.

I had a little trouble getting a decent photo, probably because I was in a hurry.  But the design on the lid is just faded enough to be noticeable without stealing the show from the front of the toy box.