Canvas Photos

Do you remember that boring wall that I have decided to change into a Pinterest Wall?  Well, here is another project for that wall.  This is one of the easier Pins I have tried.

Canvas Photos are everywhere!  You can order them online from places like Walgreens and Shutterfly or you can even make your own thanks to Pinterest.

 

 DIY Canvas Photos 

 DIY Canvas Photos

DIY Canvas Photos

I told you... they are everywhere!!  Those are just a few of the popular DIY Canvas Photo Pins floating around on Pinterest.  After reading through a couple of the tutorials I knew this would be a good project.  I did my own variation which used the basic elements of most of the posts I read.

First, gather your supplies.

You are going to need canvases, prints that match the size of your canvases, mod podge, paint, ribbon, and a staple gun (not pictured).  

Now, I know that is a giant pack of canvases and you are probably thinking it cost me a fortune, but I got all 7 of those 12" X 12" canvases for $10!!  I was shopping in Michael's and saw them on sale for $19.99 and while I was waiting in line I looked up Michael's coupons on my iphone and they scanned a 50% off coupon right from my phone!  My only complaint is that they are a little thinner than the more expensive canvases, but from the front they look just the same.

I store most of my photos on Walgreens.com and that is where I make my photo books and order my prints.  I did not see an option for a 12" X 12" prints on there so I just did a google search to find a place that I could order from.  

This is where I got mine made:  Scrapping Simply 

I chose a photo of Maddox from his newborn shot since we didn't really have any of those on display downstairs.  I also chose a photo of Olive from our maternity shoot last summer and I just cropped the humans out.

The first thing I did was use some brown acrylic paint to cover the edges of each canvas.  

At first I was disappointed because I was expecting a much darker brown.  I was just about to do another coat, but decided I liked it after all.  It almost looks like a wood grain and practically matches the stain I used on my Framed Letters. 

I made sure to spill a little bit over onto the front of the canvas in case that part showed under the photo.  

I used an upside down plastic basket to keep the canvas from touching the newspaper below.  I knew that if it was touching and dried that way that it would end up stuck to the newspaper.

It doesn't take acrylic paint that long to dry at all (especially such a thin layer).  I let the canvases dry for about 30 minutes before using some Mod Podge to glue on the photos.

Before I used the Mod Podge to seal the picture down I flipped the canvas over, pressed it down as hard as I could, and let it sit another 30 minutes to make sure it was stuck on really well and that there were no bubbles under the photo.

After that I covered the tops of the photos and the painted edges with a lot of Mod Podge and use a sponge brush to make it even.

I light them dry overnight using the same method of the upside down baskets.

The next day I attached the ribbons to hang them with.  I cut four 24" ribbons. I placed the ribbons at the top corners of the canvases at a slight angle.  I used three heavy duty staples on each ribbon.

Then I put the canvases side by side and tried my best to make matching knots at equal heights.

Then I placed a tiny nail in the wall where I wanted each one to hang.  I covered the nail with the knot and tied a bow.  If you do it right you will not even be able to see the nail.

And that's it!!  It really is a simple project and besides the canvas and the prints you will probably just be using things you already have at home to complete it.

You can see both finished canvases hanging when I finally reveal my Pinterest Wall!