Hi. I sell some of my jewellery at the local art gallery and I was thinking about branching out and making oars/paddles. I'd like to make put some of the photos of the area on them or of wildlife. For example a picture of a bald eagle on the oar could hang vertically next to a door or something and a horizontal one could hang above a couch (sofa). So what are the different methods I could use to put a photo onto a wood surface? Thanks for your help!
i'd say modge podge... you can buy it at hobby lobby, walmart.... pretty much anywhere... its like... contact paper almost, except not in sheets. its like in a gel kind of thing... you'd have to check and see if it is water resistant though, for paddles. oh wait, i just realized they would be docorations. nevermind about the water resistant then. luckily, modge podge is pretty cheap so it wont be too bad.
i used a thing called image maker but it was on t-shirts....it might work...i think its a bit like moodge pooge or whatever
There are sheets wood veneer that you can run through your computer's printer. I don't remember whether it is avalibale through Rockler, Lee Valley or some other supplier, but the crew at the www.woodworking.com forum would probably know.
I would use a doucopage glue to adhere it and seal it, then seal it again with some kind of varnish. Test it out though to make sure its not going to discolor you image in an unfavorable way.
Take a photo and scan it. Print it out on some of that computer paper you can iron onto fabric (fabric is composed of fibers... wood is also composed of fibers). Make sure the wood is damp (not soaked and soggy, but DAMP) before you iron it on, and I'd bet you'd have a nice little print seared into the grain of the wood... *I've never done this myself, but I'd be willing to bet my last two cents it would be pretty successful.*
