MIrror Images

Within all of the crazy quilt journals I've been working on this year, I have incorporated different reflective and mirror elements.

This piece will have the most literal usage of a mirror to date.

I didn't know how I was going to do it but I had been planning to hang a mirror in Mrs. Rose's room with my 8th grade reflection within it.

Below I've cut out two paper pictures of me to see which size might work best.  Paper is much too thick and the mirror reflects the back side of the paper which is distracting.

I went straight from school to volunteer and was always wearing my school uniform.  Finding pictures of me in uniform from 8th grade wasn't very easy.  

I still had my old Eighth Grade yearbook and found this Student Council picture of me seated.  It was the only one within the whole book that would work.

Originally I had envisioned a profile of me looking into the room but I couldn't find any actual pics to represent that.  Since I often sat in a visitor's chair when visiting Mrs. Rose, a seated position of me might actually be better.

To transfer the picture image to the mirror, I thought I might try something similar to the rub-on transfers sold for scrapbooking.

Believe it or not, there is actually a company that sells special paper that goes through your inkjet printer to make your own rub-on transfers.  I bought mine from Texascraft here.

The paper comes with an adhesive tack with which you coat the cut-out images once you've printed them on the special paper.

I printed out images in various levels of opacity and cut out more than I needed, expecting there will be lots of flubs when I go to rub the images on the mirror.

One of the negative reviews for this method was that the images don't come out crisp and perfect.  That will actually be OK with me since I want the image to be transparent and dreamlike...like a memory.

I wore gloves to coat all the images with the adhesive and worked outside where there is plenty of ventilation.

I set the coated images on non-stick parchment paper to dry.  I coated some images more heavily than others and I'm curious to find out how they behave when I go to rub them on.

Below you can see where the adhesive soaked through the paper.  I'm not sure if that's a bad thing or not...

Unfortunately, they have to cure overnight so we won't know if this idea will work until tomorrow.  

I know.   I'm sure you're on the edge of your seat ;-}

To be continued...