Midnight Garden Transfer Iron Orchid Designs

I  used the new Iron Orchid Designs Midnight Garden Decor Transfer on this vintage chest. I first base coated the dresser with Dixie Belle Yankee Blue Chalk Mineral Paint. It’s a deep periwinkle blue. Then I applied Dixie Belle Top Coat in satin. 

When using a transfer it’s important to find the best composition of the design on your piece. Just putting it on where it fits might not be the most balanced overall. Look at the edges see if there is a natural point to start and stop your transfer. Does it end too short of the edge? Sometimes you will need to add to  the layout with an additional transfer. If it’s wider than the area you can cut the transfer and save it for other projects. 

On the dresser my transfer fit best just on the drawer front areas, starting at the bottom to make a border effect. I cut the transfer apart to the size that I needed to adhere each drawer. I knew my dresser would have a break between the drawers where the rail across the chest goes. You still see the entire design even with the space. Once I had the layout set I taped my transfer with a few small strips of painters tape to keep it in place. Then I use the rubbing stick included with the transfer to apply gentle to medium pressure and rub the transfer off the backing paper into my drawer fronts. When working with edges and grooves you can use your finger to run along and press into indentations. After the transfer is on I run my hand gently over to make sure all edges are sticking. You can gently run a sanding block over to distress if you’d like. I then sealed with an additional cost to satin top coat.