Photo Canvas How To

Lately I’ve been battling obsessive computer disorder.  What do I mean by that? Well simply put; I’ve been surfing the net obsessively.  I have a lot of down time in the summer because I’m off from work.  This usually gets me in trouble, so I’ve been trying to keep myself occupied with all the pretty pictures and such.  That’s where this quick little project came in.  It kept me busy enough to take my mind off the strong desire to purchase pleasure myself.  You see folks, here’s how the math works with me: bored>broke, bored=spending, spending=debt + clutter, debt + clutter>paycheck + patience.  It’s very clear to see.  Here's the project I'm talking about. 

 I had seen these little canvas prints on a few blog sites such as here, here, and here.  Check them out I urge you.  These ladies actually do this with love, not out of necessity for the sake of mental health.  All I did was follow their tutorials, half-assed, with my own special twists. 

Here’s what I used:

3-  8x10 canvases ( I had them already but they originally cost $5 for 3.)

3- printed pictures (I used regular copy paper because I didn’t feel like looking around for photo paper. I suck, I know.)

Modge Podge

A foam brush

Scissors

Decorative paper

Black fabric marker (you can use whatever)

Brown acrylic paint (seriously use whatever- coffee grounds- anything really)

Step 1- Coat the entire canvas with Modge Podge and let it dry.  This makes it less porous I think. 

Step 2- Cut the strips of decorative paper that will cover the canvas’ edges.  Also cut the picture to size. 

Step 3-  Re-Modge Podge the edges of the canvas and also the paper strips.  Adhere the strips to the sides and smooth out the bubbles.  Work quickly!  This crap dries fast!

Step 4- Re-Modge Podge the front of the canvas and the back of the picture.  Stick these two together smoothing out bubbles as needed.  Seriously hurry up!  I wasn’t kidding about the drying.

Step 5- Modge the Podge out of the whole thing.  Just brush it all over the darn thing in light, even strokes.  Don’t worry it will dry clear.  Let it all dry for 20 minutes. 

Step 6- Dry rub some brown paint of the exposed edges of the canvas.  Once this has dried go over the edges again with a black fabric paint marker and wipe off as you go.  This gives it an aged look. 

Notice the dark edges around the pictures?  I forgot to take a picture of that part.

That’s it!  These make really nice gifts and my cost was only $5 for the canvases.  All the other materials were things I had around the house.  Here’s an idea; take pictures of friends and family throughout the year and hit them with these around Christmas (or whatever time) as a thoughtful gift!  They don’t have to know how cheap they were to make.  Shhh…. It’s our secret.

Nydia 8)