DIY Canvas Prints
I really like photos printed on canvas, but they’re quite expensive even though prices had been more affordable these days. I think canvas prints make excellent Christmas gifts, especially for the grandparents. This year I decided to make my own canvas prints so I can generously give each set of grandparents five canvas prints of the recent portraits Evers took. I came across an excellent DIY canvas tutorial that explained the steps very clearly. Thanks to pinterest.com! By the way, the craft section of Pinterest can by quite addicting.
I sent my husband to Michael’s Arts & Crafts (because I refuse to leave my tower) to get plain 8″x10″ canvasses, which were about $1 per canvas (in bulk) after 50% off coupon. I already have Mod Podge, paint, and other supplies. We printed 8″x10″ portraits at Costco for $1.49 each. All in all, the cost was $2.49 per canvas. Yay!
I deviated from the tutorial a bit. Instead of adding paper strips to the sides of the canvas, I painted them black. I tried the paper strips technique using other prints and even though they turned out fine, I found that they were easier to mess up. I really didn’t want to risk messing up these pretty portraits so thanks to my husband’s suggestion, I painted the sides black.
After the sides are completely dry, I spread Mod Podge evenly over the canvas and mount the photo onto it. After this is dried, I spread another layer of Mod Podge over the photo itself. I must admit that it was a bit nerve wracking doing that because it looked like I just messed up the print due to its milk streaks on the photo. But! It dried clear so all was good.
Here is a close-up of the finished product. The dried, clear streaks resemble that of a true canvas print.
All five prints finished!
My husband installed a saw tooth type of picture hanger on the back of each one for hanging. Now they’re all wrapped and ready to be presented to the grandparents.




























