How to print on calico - Winnetou and Old Shatterhand are back!

Another UFO is no longer an unfinished object. I recently did the "Stop and smell the roses" class:

(the original layout)

I knew I wanted to do a cowboy & Indian version of this page:

(my cowbow version)

If you grew up in Germany and you didn't spend the last 50 years under a rock, you know who these fellows are. Winnetou and Old Shatterhand by Karl May are absolute cult figures of the Wild West and if you don't know them, you have truly missed out on something awesome. As kids we used to watch the movies many times and play cowboys and Indians for hours.

My cowboy version still has the feathers... 

 ...but these cool charms from my2angels were just what the doctor ordered to give it some Wild West charm. Here's a cowboy hat and lantern... 

...and a gun:

 Of course I have no photos of our childhood games, so I found a photo of the movie heroes online. I knew the photo needed something to give it the Wild West look and I decided to print it on calico:

 Now, I didn't re-invent the wheel, I'm sure someone has shown how to do this before, but this is quick and easy and looks oh-so-cool!

Step 1: 

Make a little pencil arrow on the top sheet of paper in your home printer's tray to show which side is up and in which direction it goes through the printer. (Sounds dumb, but will make your life so much easier in step 3) 

Print the photo in the size of your choice on plain copy paper. Bigger is better, mine was 5x7".

  Step 2:

Got a good image? Now cover it with a piece of calico that's at least  1" bigger all round and tape it down with packing or masking tape on top of the picture. Make sure none of the tape covers the area of the picture.

Tip: If the calico it crinkled, iron it first!

 Step 3: 

Put the paper back in the paper tray (Use the arrow from step 1 to show you which way! Mine was up-side down) and press print again. Your picture will come out perfectly printed on calico. 

Now trim and fray the edges, sew it onto your layout and you're on your way to be a good cowboy. Yee-haw.

Psst: This is also great for giving photos a vintage look!