DIY Canvas Picture

Project No. 1

I decided to try something that's been pretty popular on Pinterest for the past month or so. Basically it's a picture that is displayed on a canvas frame.  I've seen them in real life where the picture is printed right onto the canvas itself, but those projects from Shutterfly and other usually cost around $150 and up.  I don't have that money to just through around so doing something for $25 is much more attractive. 

Getting Started

To get started  I went to Michael's craft store and got all the supplies that were listed on the link from Pinterest.  Here's a break down of the costs

• 5' 7' canvas $2.99 (40% discount)
• Mod Podge $8.99 (16 oz)
• Foam Brush .99 (2 in. brush)
• Paint $1.50 (2x total at .69 ea

Step 1

You want to make sure that your picture and the canvas are the same size. Computers should have printing sizes that are very close to the size of the canvas but if they aren't then trim the picture a bit so that it will fit on the canvas.  

Step 2

Applying the mod podge was easy and straight forward.  Feel free to just dip the brush into the jar of sticky goodness and apply it straight onto the canvas.  I was worried it would dry extremely fast, but since the canvas wasn't very big I didn't have any problems at all.  

Step 3

Putting the picture on the canvas we RETARDED!  I thought that if I align the top of the picture with the canvas then everything would line up automatically...wrong.  I should have lined both side and top but hey, this was just a practice round.  Make sure that you get the side and the top aligned with the picture and canvas and slowly lower the rest of the picture onto the canvas.  You will want to press the picture onto the canvas, but I would recommend that you start from the middle and work your way towards the edges. 

Step 4

After the picture has dried onto the canvas (I let mine sit for 15 minutes) you can paint the sides of the canvas any color your heart desires. If beige is your thing, go for it.  If it's azure, the sky is the limit.  If it's red, let your heart bleed itself dry. Use the same foam brush to apply the paint and have it.  I held onto the inside of the canvas so that I could get to all sides then used the straight edge make sure that all lines were straight (with the picture) and even coated throughout.  

Review

Overall, the project is pretty simple.  The biggest challenge that I faced was the actual printing of the material (they recommend using tissue paper but I would say.....better off printing one from Walgreens etc) so that it looked good and professional.  This example has just a normal color print but I will try again this weekend with a glossy black and white and another attempt with different types of paper.  Well worth your time for a fun date, family project or snowed-in activity!