DIY Canvas

  This project has been on my to do list for quite awhile (like almost 4 years ago when we got married) & I've finally gotten around to it. Of course I did a lot of research trying to find the cheapest way, or cheapest place & decided to take the plunge & just do it myself. 

   If you look close they arent as great as what a place or company would've done for me, but as much as I like to change & re-do, I didnt want to spend hundreds of dollars on this & not like the way it turned out. 

    So, on with the show!!! 

First what I did was measure above our bed to determine the size I wanted. I also knew I wanted them to be square, so that eliminated several places from doing them because they only offer standard sizes like 8x10, 16x20, etc.. 

  So....here's the area above the bed where the canvas will go... I someday will repaint our bedroom, only reason being where the previous nail holes where you can see the spots & it makes me crazy!! But right now Im not about to move that bed out of here, so, I have to live with it for now :(

  Then I went to Hobby Lobby & bought 2- 18 x 18 square canvas. 

   $13.99 a piece & they were 50% off! 

Then I ordered 20 x 20 (bigger so I could wrap them around the edges) prints from Shutterfly. They were $10 a piece. Ive seen some easy DIY canvas where you can paint the edges, but I wanted the wrap around look. 

   

  To apply the picture to the canvas, I just laid the picture up-side down, laid the canvas on top of it to get an idea of the position of it & then cover the whole canvas in Modpodge (I used a foam brush.) Dont be stingy with the modpodge either! You'll want a good amount. Then position the picture where you want it & press down good on the back side (so you dont get any fingerprints or anything on the actual picture) 

   I also taped the back of mine to give it some reinforcement. 

Just duct tape! 

    Doesn't have to be pretty... You wont see it anyway :) 

    Now the scary part!! I've done this with photos over wood before, but for some reason it was scarier on a canvas! 

    Turn over to the front part of the canvas & smear modpodge all over the front of your picture, not only will it help adhere to the canvas it will also give it a more matte look. 

    After I smeared modpodge all over the front of my picture I took a scrap piece of fabric I had & laid it over the top of the canvas & pressed down. Then remove & hang!! Voila! Done! 

Here's a closeup... 

You can see how it gave it more texture, sorry I didnt get a before shot of this. But it just looked like a smooth picture. You dont have to do the modpodge on the front either if you like the smooth look. 

And the side view... 

And of course the finished project.... 

I still need to get something to go in the middle, I have a glass vase wall hanging thing I have in mind... Its on the to do list :)

 So the total project was lets see... $13.99 + the pics were $10/piece... Each canvas was $17.00/piece & a few materials I already had at home. Not bad compared to several I found that were $75 a piece & like I said, they dont have near the quality as if a professional were to do them, but Im happy with them :)