Stamps Galore!

I never quite understood the art that is stamp collecting...  It just seemed like a pinot-drinking toff's idea of a hobby.  However, I can see its appeal...  I went into WH Smith (home of your every stationery needs) and found a pack of about 50 collectible stamps - they are so engrossing!  I spent ages pouring over them, my favourite being a wonderful portrait of the ever-gracious, completely dignified Fergie and her poor husband, Prince Andrew.  I knew I had to include these intricate pieces somewhere!  So, here are my experimentations:

Above: Acetone Transfer

This is my new favourite transfer technique!  It's so easy, and everyone has the materials lying around the house to do this!  First, I selected the image I wanted to transfer, and mirrored the image.  Then, I printed it onto plain cartridge paper using an inkjet printer (this part is very important, it HAS to be inkjet to transfer, laser printers just do not work).  Take a piece of material, I used white cotton jersey for this, and lie the image face down onto your material.  Gently rub the back of image with nail varnish remover (NOT acetone-free), and lift the paper to reveal your newly transferred image - TA-DA!

Despite this being my favourite, I don't think I'll use this sample in my final piece.  The image is quite dreamy, which I love, but not for this project.  I want a crisp image on stiffer fabric...

Which brings us to the above image.  This is definitely more what I'm looking for.  This has been printed by sticking canvas to a piece of card using double-sided tape (I know the 'cool' thing to use now is Freezer Paper, but it's American and didn't have time to order it online - what's wrong with good, old fashioned double-sided tape anyway?!)  The canvas was cut to match the size of the card (A4), and fed directly through my inkjet printer.  So simple, yet so effective.

My stamp quilt!  The stamps I found in WH Smith were enlarged, their colours edited, and printed onto canvas using the technique described above.  This is them stitched together, and now I just have to add wadding to the back and get to work on those wavy postage marks.  Can you spot my favourite royal divorcees?