Listen, I know change is hard. I personally abhor the thought of trying to figure out something new. I thought I'd be real innovative the other night and give a new recipe a run. You know what we had for dinner that night. TAKE OUT! That's right ladies, I rate new learning experiences right up there with shingles. Exploring new fangled products is for them young folks.
I like my tried and tested stand by techniques and tools so imagine my utter dismay when my favorite company of furniture and home décor embellishments announced that they had a new product - IOD Paint Inlays. New, creative, art and vintage inspired; everyone lost their mind with anticipation of the release date and I (literally) sat in bed and let a few tears slip out.
A new product to learn....
Another process to become familiar with....
Another round of anxiety (and binge eating)....
There was no way around it, I was going to have to at least try them.
Now hear me out, I LOVE my IOD Decor Transfers. They are easily my favorite way to transform a project from Well, isn't that nice? to straight up amaze-balls! Easy to use and THERE....ARE....SO....MANY! You like old school advertising? Gotcha covered. Maybe you're into French words? No prob, plenty to choose from. You got a flower fetich? Girl, you know we got that covered. From beetles to bougie, there's an IOD transfer for that.
I just couldn't wrap my head around these new paint inlays. They seemed more complicated, messier, finicky with a limited selection, and honestly, they cost more. I was certain they weren't going to be for me. I've been me for a long time; I know my style and paint inlays weren't it.
....but, being the good IOD stockist that I am, I bought them and thought I better at least get familiar with them so I can answer your questions. Not gonna lie, the first effort, not that great. Thank goodness I had the sense to try it on a project that was inexpensive and it was easy enough to paint over it and start over. A second effort went way better and at the time of this writing I'm in full-blown infatuation.
There are a few differences between transfers and paint inlays that are worth noting, and a paint inlay isn't the right choice for every project, but they do have some flexibilities that transfers don't. Literally, transfers are vinyl and actually adhere to a surface so they need a relatively smooth, flat, stationary surface for the best results - in other words, they have limited flexibility. That means most fabric projects are a no go.
Also, transfers are one sided (I guess that's better than being two-faced - I'm clearly killin' it over here). That means that transfers only show through one side of glass. The backside is a white blob in the shape of your transfer. That's not great if you need two sides.
Paint inlays physically imbed paint into your your project's surface - and not just any paint ladies, this is artist quality paint. It's absolutely lovely. It comes on a parchment type paper so you can wrap it around corners and get it into fine detail work. The paper has a gridlines on it so lining it up and cutting a straight line are a breeze.
It can be applied to glass with a clear medium and it's great for fabric projects using a fabric medium. It's visible on both sides of the glass and the paint is durable on your fabric projects. I'm guessing it should only be applied to fabric projects that you never intend to wash. A throw pillow on the guest bed, textile art, or gifts (nothing says I was thinking of you more than a gift that disintegrates in water, hugs sis).
And the best part, you can use them multiple times. Each impression is a less vibrant than the previous use, but it kinda just adds to the vintage goodness of it all. My favorite is to use an inlay on a dark painted project the first time and then reuse it on a lighter painted project. The dark paint from the first application reactivates during the second application and adds another level of depth. Be still my heart.
The jury is back on this product and the verdict is unanimous. I'm all in! There are more paint inlay selections coming out all the time and added reuses of the sheets make paint inlays a more cost effective method than décor transfers. Don't get me wrong, I love transfers and use them all the time, but I'm using these new fandangle paint inlays a lot too. I guess you can teach an old dog new tricks.