I started by grabbing a photo of my son against a plain background. I used my phone. For this project, the resolution should be fine. I then resized on my computer.
I printed the photo on Avery transfer paper for dark fabrics. It looks like this:
I printed the photo on Avery transfer paper for dark fabrics. It looks like this:
I then cut around the edges of my son's photo. For this one, I wanted to do a "praying at the Kotel" type scene. To make the "kotel", I bound a piece of Stitch Witchery to a fabric scrap in a neutral color.
I then took my scrap and blocked out a scene, cutting the "kotel" piece to fit the cloth cover and laid out the basic scene with my son "praying" in front of it. If you are starting from scratch, the cover is just another fabric scrap folded to cover the book and hot glued on the inside flaps to hold it in place. (An example can be found here: http://www.twotwentyone.net/2013/07/fabric-covered-books/)
Next, following the instructions for the Stitch Witchery and then the photo transfer, I fused them both to the fabric cover (the ironing instructions vary - make sure you follow the ones for your fabric).
At this point, I added detailing with fabric markers to make the fabric scrap look like the bricks of the Kotel and heat set with my iron one last time.
I finished it off with fabric paint to seal down the edges, add a little more detailing and add a name. Voila! The final product:
I have created similar covers in the past, using the same technique.