New Project! ITS on Tile

Sherri's been working for a while to perfect a method to successfully transfer images onto tile. We finally got great, consistent results after some trial and error. Above you can see black and white images from Sherri's daughter Rachel's wedding, and color images from my daughter Brennyn's wedding. I love this project because they are great handmade gifts that anyone can appreciate. The images don't turn out perfectly, and they have a quality that makes them almost looked painted on. You can turn them into coasters (my favorite use) or put them on small easels for tabletop display.

You will need:

4 x 4” tumbled marble tile

ITS Solution

ITS Paper

Images

Scissors

Paintbrush

3M Wet/Dry 1200-grit blue abrasive sheet

ITS Matte or Gloss Sealer

Felt chair pads or 4 x 4 square of felt

1. Soak the tile in water and scrub it clean to get all the dust off. Let dry.

2. Paint a layer of ITS solution over the tile. Let dry.

3. Size your image so it is slightly smaller than the tile. Remember that the image will appear as a mirror image on the tile. Copy the image onto ITS paper using a commercial copy machine or print it on a laser printer. Use the color setting even if your image is black and white. Cut out the image. If the background of your image is dark, you may want to tear the edges for a softer look.

4. Paint an even layer of ITS solution on the tile. (The layer of ITS should be thin enough to still be transparent, but thick enough so there are no bare spots.) Place the image face down on the tile, being careful to center the image.

5. Press the image on the tile, working from the middle out toward the edges. Smooth the image firmly, pressing out any air bubbles. Turn the tile over on a flat, sturdy surface and press on the back of the tile to help the image make full contact with the tile. If there are still air bubbles, you can use a barely damp sponge to help smooth them out, or prick with a pin or point of a blade and press them flat.

6. Heat set the tile by placing the tile in a pre-heated 325 degreee oven for 30 minutes. After removing from the oven, it is important to let the piece cool thoroughly before the next step.

7. Soak the tile in water for a few minutes. Use your fingers to remove the paper, carefully rolling off layers of paper, working from the center out.

8. When you’ve removed most of the paper, use a 3M Wet/Dry 1200-grit blue abrasive sheet under running water to remove the remaining fiber. The fiber is removed when there is no longer a white film covering the image.

9. Paint a layer of ITS Matte or Gloss Sealer over the image. Wait 30 minutes, then bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes to heat set. Let cool.

10. To make a coaster, stick felt chair pads on the back of the tile, or glue on a square of felt so the tile won’t scratch furniture.

Next blog: Troubleshooting

Tune in to Jewel School

What's better than taking classes from Sherri Haab? When they're free! Sherri will be appearing on Jewelry TV's Jewel School on Thursday, August 11 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. While promoting some exclusive kits on the show, she will demonstrate both metal etching and ITS image transfer. These are examples of the projects she will be teaching you to make.

You will also want to check out the kits that will be sold on the program at a great price. The metal etching kit contains everything you need to etch, along with a bonus of all of the jewelry findings for several pieces of jewelry and a selection of transferable images designed for the copper shapes in the kit.

The ITS kit contains all the materials and findings you need to make a charm bracelet and matching necklace, a full sheet of images ready to transfer and five blank sheets of ITS paper to use for your own personal images.

Don't miss out on this opportunity to see Sherri in action and learn some exciting new skills. BUT WAIT! Of course they will be offering some special deals during the course of the show, so tune in!

Rings & Things Blogs on ITS

Cindy at the Rings & Things blog made this amazing Alice in Wonderland bracelet and teahouse pendant using Sherri's ITS image transfer solution. Besides the great example of an ITS project, her blog has a great how-to (with photos!) on a different method for using ITS solution.


She uses an iron to heat-set the image and has some other tips that will help you have great results with your image transfer projects.

Cindy also shows how she uses ITS to seal inks onto metal, like on this peacock pendant and bee hairpin. She uses alcohol inks on metal, then sets the ink with ITS to make it permanent.

You can also mix ITS with the alcohol ink to create a permanent "paint" that won't wash or rub off. Either method requires heat-setting, which you can do in the oven, following the directions on the ITS package.

New ITS video and Contest

Are you curious about image transfer with Sherri's ITS products? Sherri and her crew have just finished a new video showing the process. Watch it here.

To celebrate the launch of the video, we're having a contest with great prizes from the Sherri Haab Shop. Show us what you've done with ITS. Send your photos to chelle@sherrihaab.com and we'll post them in our ITS album on facebook. Sherri will choose her three favorites, and the artists will receive prizes. All submissions should be received by Saturday, June 25th.

Artist Spotlight - Keith Lo Bue

While in Sydney, I met artist Keith Lo Bue. He attended my workshops at the Eclectic Studio where he frequently teaches. He also teaches in the U.S., and I have seen him at various retreats in the past, but I've never had the pleasure of talking to him about his art.


I love that he calls his art blog "Stuffsmith," because that's what he does--he makes all kinds of mixed media art out of stuff. These are all pictures of his work. You can see more at his blog here.


The electroplating really inspired him. I can't wait to see how he incorporates plating into his work.


Here is a blog post where he details the steps for electroforming a starfish. He then makes a ring with the copper starfish by cold connecting it to a broken teacup. How clever is that?


Keith's mixed media jewelry classes are very popular abroad and in the United States. If you can't catch him in person, he also sells e-books and DVDs on his website here.

Workshops in Australia

While in Australia, I taught a two-day workshop on electroforming and plating. I enjoyed the group and their enthusiasm. I especially appreciated their good humor when our copper plating solution was lacking the necessary acid needed for successful plating on the first day of class. It's not like I can travel with that stuff, so I'm at the mercy of local sources. I lost a bit of sleep that night trying to figure out how to rescue the pieces.

Luckily, Keith Lo Bue, a well-known jewelry artist and teacher came to the rescue. He was attending the class, and just happened to have some hydrochloric acid at home, which he brought in for day two. It worked great, and we were able to finish quite a few pieces. Then we proceeded to plate several of the pieces with gold, silver and nickel using prepared plating solutions. Check out the results in the photo above.

On the second day of the workshop, we etched on copper and then applied images on nickel silver. Then we riveted the pieces together to make mixed-media bracelets. I was so busy, I forgot to take pictures, but the projects were based on my sample shown in this photo.

Roz from Oz

After leaving New Zealand, I headed south to teach at the Eclectic Studio in Sydney, Australia. Roz Eberhard-Swan operates the studio, which offers jewelry-making classes in metal clay, polymer clay, resin and beadwork, just to name a few. On my first day in Australia, Roz arranged for me to take a boat tour of Sydney Harbor. The morning was perfect - clear and sunny.

In the afternoon, I walked along Pitt Street to check out the shops. Since it was Fall in the Land Down Under, so all of the new winter fashion lines were displayed. Surprisingly, I only bought one shirt, which was a good thing due to my impending luggage weight restriction to deal with on the flight home.


Since it was Easter weekend, the busiest shop downtown was Haigh's Chocolates. There was a long line just to get in the store. I checked back at the end of the day, and the line was shorter, so I stopped in. The chocolates were OK, but not much different from any other fancy chocolate shop, although none made it home to the family. Oops.

I still think places like See's Candies, headquartered in California, and Mrs. Cavanaugh's, made right here in Utah offer some of the best dipped chocolates to be found anywhere in the world, and I've done my best to sample chocolates in as many places as possible!


My one free day alone in the city was one I will always remember. Sydney is a place I will definitely visit again.