Tutorial - Easy Artwork for your Wall

I had a tutorial in ScrapGirl's newsletter and so I thought I would share it here as well.

Tutorial: Displaying your Photos or Layouts on Canvas

Tutorial created using Photoshop CS2 with Windows XP

Since we are still trying to put my husband through graduate school, I try to find the cheapest ways to decorate my home. I love the look of artwork on a plain canvas rather than frames. It has a clean, simple, and classy feel. You can get photos printed on canvas but these are way out of my price range. I also change my mind too often and wanted to create a versatile way of displaying some of my photos or layouts.

I went and purchased some 8x8 canvases from the local crafts store, and took my 40% coupon so I could get them as cheap as possible. I bought six of them so that I could hang them up in two sets of three. Odd number arrangements tend to look better than an even number.

Here are the steps to create your own canvas artwork.

1. Crop your picture to 8x8 inches (or the size of your canvas) in your photo editing program.

They sell canvases in numerous sizes but I chose to go with 8x8 so that I could print it out at home rather than paying some one to print it larger.

2. Print your photos out on photo paper. Here I used glossy, but I have also used matte photo paper. Either works great, it all depends on which kind of finish you want on your artwork.

3. Take your canvases and paint the edges with a black acrylic paint. You will want to paint over the edges and a little bit on the front part of the canvas so if you have any gaps with your photo the black behind it makes it less obvious.

You might need to paint a couple of layers to get a solid black all the way around. If you prefer white you could leave the canvas as it is. For my project it seemed more finished with a black edging.

4. Take your photos and trim off any excess paper.

5. Your photos are now ready to adhere to the canvases.

6. Put double sided adhesive along the edges of your photo.

The first time I did this I used just an adhesive runner, but it didn’t stick as well. The pictures kept falling off. This time I used a double sided photo tape that seems to be stickier, and added a few strips in the middle of my photo as well as the edges in hopes that it will stick better.

I considered using my Xyron to put adhesive over the whole thing would work great, but I wanted it to be temporary and easily removable. I was afraid a solid layer of adhesive might make it very difficult to remove.

If you do want them to be stuck permanently you could easily use something like a Xyron adhesive, or modpodge.

7. You now want to carefully line up one corner of your picture and slowly lay it down on your canvas lining up the other edges. If your photo hangs over a bit on one side, that’s ok. Simply turn it over and with an X-acto knife trim off the excess.

8. Follow the same process for your other canvases.

You now have some artwork ready to hang.

There are also lots of other ways to use this technique for decor.

Simply print out your favorite coordinating scrapbook papers and adhere them to the canvases for abstract art.

Print your favorite layouts and showcase them as well.

Pick holiday themed photos to create holiday artwork. I did this for Halloween and hung up some great photos of pumpkins, cobwebs, skeletons, etc. They can easily be swapped out for the next holiday.

Photos by Shalae Tippetts

Tutorial Written by Shalae Tippetts