Instant Photo Transfers With Blender Pens

For the first time in a long time, I bought a roll of film.

Brigette and I are so used to shooting digitally that the process of buying film and
using a film camera was something we almost forgot how to do.
There’s something about shooting on film that gives an image such character.
It’s clean and crisp, yet moody. You never know what you are going to get;
one click and you advance the film, leaving the image unseen until it’s processed.
Such an element of surprise is incorporated that it makes each image a bit more
special.

If you’ve recently shot some film and are looking for a fun little project
to do with your images, Brigette and I worked on something this week
that blew our minds: blender pen photo transfers.

This is the process of taking a photo and transferring it onto a specific
surface using a special little gadget called a blender pen.

These incredible pens can be bought at specialty craft stores. They’re
so easy to use — and your photo transfers are basically completed
instantly. There’s no waiting here. Just be warned that they give off a
very strong smell, so make sure to use them in a well-ventilated area —
outside works best, if possible.

After you get your film developed, make photocopies of the images you’d
like to transfer. This step is very important — simply printing a photo from
your computer unfortunately won’t work.

Next, decide where you want to transfer your image. Paper seemed to
be the easiest for us, but this can also be done on wood, ceramic, and
tin.

Flip your image face down, and hold in place while you completely cover
the back using a blender pen. Keep in mind that your transferred image
will appear as the reverse of the original — like a mirror image. If you’re
nervous that the photocopy will move during the process, feel free to
tape it down. The best way to do the transfer is to completely saturate
one area with a blender pen before moving on to the next. A good way is
to start in a corner so that you can lift it up and check to see when it’s
time to move on to the next area.

As you go, you’ll see the image appear through the back of the
photocopy — it’s so cool to look at!

Here you’ll see the original photo, the photocopy, and the image transfer.
We’re obsessed with the vintage, almost eerie feeling the transfer gives
off. How awesome!

We decided to add a few more images into the journal, as well.

Then, we tried a wooden cutting board! We first cut the photocopy to
make uneven edges so that there wouldn’t be a clear line showing the
perimeter of the photo. If you do this to a cutting board (and plan to use
it for food), make sure you use a coat of food-grade sealant over your
image transfer.