Project: Vintage Style Note Holder

Recently I needed to make several favor gifts for an event I put on.  I had these wooden post it note holders in my stash and decided they would be perfect.  My dad made these holders for me but you can buy them very inexpensively from Cabin Crafters.  Shop your local dollar store for the actual note pads.

Here's how to make your own: 

First I grabbed a lovely vintage graphic from my favorite site, The Graphics Fairy.  I placed the image into PhotoShop and created the layout I wanted.  Then--VERY IMPORTANT--I mirrored the image and printed it out using a laser printer. 

Next I painted the wood note holders using Americana Decor Chalky Finish (Timeless).  While they were drying I "fussy" cut each of my printed images out. 

To transfer, I used the Polycrylic method.  

To do this, simply paint a coat of poly where your image will be placed.   While still wet, brush poly over the reversed side of the image.  Flip the image over onto the wet surface.  Brush another coat of poly on top of your image and smooth out, using your fingers or brush.  You want to make sure that there are no bubbles trapped under the paper image. 

Now let the image dry.  It doesn't take long.  I like to do this in the morning and then come back to it after lunch.  Once dry, you want to wet the paper to reveal the image.  You can use a sponge or spray bottle but get the paper as wet as possible.  Let it sit for about 10 minutes and then wet again.  Take your finger and gently start to rub the paper away from the image.  It may take more water spritzes to remove all the paper.  If some of the transfer comes off, you can leave it as is (giving your piece a true vintage look) or you can touch up with black paint. 

Once I removed the paper, I gave the top of the note holder one more coat of poly.  I did this because I wanted to shade around the image and if I didn't, any remaining paper around the image grabs the paint.  Once that was dry, I used brown acrylic paint to shade the image and around the letters. 

I also shaded around the entire holder bottom, sides, and back.  I then flyspecked the entire piece.  Once everything was dry, I brushed on a final coat of polycrylic. 

Using double sided tape, add a strip to the back of a post it note stack and attach the pad to the holder.

And here it is!  A lovely and practical gift.  

Here's a look at the rest of the holders I made.  

I chose graphics to fit each person's personality.