As many of you already know, we are very proud to be the Ottawa retailers for Iron Orchid Design products. If you haven’t heard of Iron Orchid Designs — or IOD as you’re more likely to see them called — get ready for some jaw-dropping stuff!
IOD are continually raising the bar on creative, inspiring products to make your projects simply spectacular.
Their product range covers three categories: Decor Transfers, Stamps and Moulds. In this post, I’ll be sharing some examples and inspiration for Decor Transfers.
Decor Transfers
Remember those temporary tattoos we used as kids? Decor transfers are a similar idea, except they’re not temporary! The basic idea is that you pull the transfer (carefully) off the backing it comes on, attach it to your (clean and dry) surface, then start rubbing (I use the plastic stick provided with the Transfer).
Decor Transfers work great on Chalk Paint™ (before waxing though!), but can also be used on walls, windows, mirrors, raw wood — almost anywhere! (After applying the Transfer, you should seal it with a finish, such as a wax or lacquer. For maximum adhesion of your transfer, you can optionally seal it first with a top coat or lacquer, and then apply the transfer, and then seal after as well. But never apply a transfer over wax!)
Below you’ll see a sped-up video from Instagram of me applying my favourite Transfer — Midnight Garden. Notice how after I rub it, I gently peel it up to make sure it has all transferred. If there’s bits that still need to be rubbed, I put it back on and rub more.
Another wonderful thing about Decor Transfers is that they can be cut to size, to achieve different looks for your pieces. On the cabinet above, Midnight Garden was cut in half to fit onto the cabinet. Here’s what it looks like without being cut:
The depth of colour in all IOD Transfers is unbelievable. Many of our customers think it’s hand painted!
There are also black and white Transfers, and Paintable Transfers! These are really cool.
Here is Astoria in black and white…
And here is Astoria painted!
You can use any paints to colour your transfer. A great little tip I learned at IOD Training is to seal your transfer first with a lacquer, varnish or top coat, and then use Chalk Paint™ mixed with water to easily blend your colours and wipe off when needed. You don’t have to do it this way, but it can help the paint to not soak in as quickly, giving you a bit of time to work your magic 🙂
Here are some other inspiring pieces using IOD Decor Transfers to get you inspired:
A piece by Ildiko Horvath from Restored4You using pieces from the Botanists Journal and Midnight Garden Decor Transfers.
A piece using the Bohemian Border, Le Petit Rosier, and pieces from other floral transfers.
And this piece uses Wildflower Botanicals Decor Transfer, as well the Typesetting 2 Decor Stamp (I’ll tell you all about stamps in the next post!).
See what I mean?! Aren’t they gorgeous? And the best thing is, they’re SO easy to use!
For more inspiration, visit the IOD website for great tips and tutorials. Also, follow them on Facebook and Instagram.
And if you want to be truly blown away, join the Iron Orchid Design Creative Tribe to see some phenomenal work and to share ideas and tips with other IOD users.
All our IOD products are available online, so visit the Malenka Originals Shop at malenkaoriginals.com to see all our Decor Transfers!
Kx
