Anyway....my husband, Jeff, has been in his current office for years now, but still has nothing on his walls. We recently visited the Netherlands with his family, and he thought having some photos of the trip would be a good addition to those bare walls. But alas, no full time job for me, which means it's time to get creative, messy, and economical....my favorite combination.
We've all seen tons tutorials on Pinterest of how to create your own photo canvas using Mod Podge and artists canvases. I have used this method several ways with clipboards or magnet boards and scrap paper. Knowing the miracle of this amazing medium, I figured I could attack this project with confidence. But please, do not be nervous if this is your first attempt at using Mod Podge and photos. It's truly beginner level stuff, and super hard to mess up.
Materials:
Mod Podge (matte finish)
black acrylic paint (or your color of choice)
foam brushes (I used 3 large and 3 small, because I'm lazy)
photo prints (lab prints, not from your printer)
stretched artists canvases (as many as you need, and sizes to match your photos)
fine grit sandpaper (very optional)
You will need true photos, as in lab printed photos. I knew I wanted to do a 3 x 3 arrangement for Jeff using 9 8x8 canvases, so I printed my photos through Shutterfly. I chose 8x8 prints, and they were $2.99 each, but with a coupon and free shipping, it was worth it, and turned out beautifully. I have heard that Costco, Sam's Club, and some of the pharmacies have lower prices for their prints, but they don't have the 8x8's that I needed. With my tutorial, the finish of your photos doesn't really matter...the Mod Podge will be the final layer, so your prints can be glossy or matte. If you decide to not add the Mod Podge layer over the photo, the photo finish is up to you. I think matte looks best, but it's personal choice.
I ordered my canvases from Amazon, because, well, that's where I get everything. And I mean everything. They were perfect for what I needed, an 8x8 10 pack for $34.97. Some have used coupons at Michaels and gotten great deals on their canvas purchases. I am perfectly happy with mine. I've heard crafters attempting this project complain about their canvases having staples on the sides, but mine were on the back side where they'll never be seen. Yay, Amazon!
I did give my photos a tiny trim before I began. I knew that I wanted the edges of the canvas to be seamless, so I trimmed the photos down by 1/16-1/8th of an inch where needed so that it fit perfectly on the canvas. I did 9 of these canvases at once, so I trimmed everything before I began.
Next, I painted the edges of the canvases using the smaller foam brush and the black acrylic paint. I chose black since this arrangement was going to be hung in an office, although adding some color could be fun if doing this for your home. I went up around the top and a bit on the back so that I won't have any white showing in the final product. Although, I paint again in a future step, so if you miss a spot, so worries.
With the larger foam brush, I slathered on a good layer of the matte Mod Podge onto the top of the canvas. It wasn't drippy thick, but thick enough that the print would adhere well. And before it had a chance to dry (which happens pretty quickly)...
...the print was placed onto the canvas. It's pretty forgiving, and I had a chance to smoosh and wiggle the photo in place to the point where I felt comfortable that it was on good and tight. I just used my fingers and the weight of the canvas to get the bubbles out, but I've heard others use credit cards, etc, to get that print down with no bubbles. If you come back a little later on and see that there are bubbles, no problem. This happened to me on 2 of the 9, so I just peeled up a corner, flattened the bubbles out, and pasted the corner back down. Like I said, Mod Podge is very forgiving. Oh, and my messy fingers smeared the goop onto the print more times than not. Do not freak about this, it will never be noticed in the final step if you do my complete tutorial.
So that's what it looked like about 15 min after gluing the print down. Now, most tutorials stop here at this step. And you are very welcome to draw this project to a close here as well. It will look great with the regular print showing. But I had something a little different in mind. I wanted more of a texture on my photo, and remember those seamless edges I spoke of before? Well, that's where my sandpaper came in handy.
I just sanded the edges lightly at a 45 degree angle, and a bit more so on the 4 corners. This turned the edges white, but this gets fixed in the next step. The sandpapered edges create that seamless transition that I wanted. I have used this method in my scrapbooking and other projects, so I held my breath and took a risk.
And I'm really glad I did. I liked the way it turned out...once I painted the edges again in black...
I took the small foam brush, dipping the tip in the black paint, and dragging the brush along the edges I had sanded. This kept the edges smooth, but took away the bright white the sanding left behind. I really like it, it kinda gave it a tiny bit of a frame. I made the edge messy on purpose, but that's just my thing. I think that using painters tape on the print to keep the edges straight would have worked perfectly.
So, here's the part that might be scary for someone that isn't familiar with Mod Podge. Fear not! Trust in me and your medium. :) I spread a thin, even layer of Mod Podge with the large brush. I brushed the layer with even strokes, keeping the lines as straight as I could. Don't over work the glue though, it will get goopy. (Yes, that's a word.) Make sure to get the sides of the canvas on this step as well so that the final finish will be even all over.
And that's what it looks like dry! See? Told ya. :)
Those are the lines the glue makes. I've used a foam roller before, and that leaves a smoother, but slightly bumpy finish that's pretty fun. But I was going for a canvas-y look. So...
yep, another layer going the other direction. This layer is the same thickness as the first, just in the opposite direction so that the final result is the cross-hatch. (This second layer is not necessary. Get creative and make any pattern in the Mod Podge that speaks to you!)
Here's a close-up of the final pattern the two layers made once dried. And from the front, perfectly clear and beautiful...
I love how this project turned out! Jeff's birthday present is now done, and in a very economical way. (Which is really his real present. ;)
