Easy Custom Canvas Art
Me too! I wanted to surprise Mr. DIY with something special for his office for Valentines Day, that tells him just how I feel about him.
This was my inspiration for this project...you can see that it will works for all sorts of applications (nursery, wedding, child's room, etc).
All you need is a great saying.
A painted canvas with a meaningful saying...something unexpected peaking out from the space behind the letters.
Are you ready to make one with me? This is a super easy craft that you can make tonight and present to your hubs in the morning!! I promise. Affiliate links are included for your convenience; you'll find my full disclosure policy here.
You're going to need a canvas...size depends on how long or short your saying will be, some vinyl letters like these I spotted at Walmart (or cut your own if you have a die cut machine), acrylic paint in your choice of color, Mod Podge and 2 foam brushes. All these products are available at Walmart or on Amazon and chances are you already have some of them. Make sure you have your saying already picked out.
You're going to need a canvas...size depends on how long or short your saying will be, some vinyl letters like these I spotted at Walmart (or cut your own if you have a die cut machine), acrylic paint in your choice of color, Mod Podge and 2 foam brushes. All these products are available at Walmart or on Amazon and chances are you already have some of them. Make sure you have your saying already picked out.
Mine is going to say, 'I Still Choose You'.
The first step is to grab some of Mr. Diy's magazines (ones he's already read of course, hehe) and rip out some colorful pages into little pieces. Doesn't matter what shape, just make sure they have some color. OR for a more muted look, you can use sheet music, book pages, or whatever else you choose.
Next is to Mod Podge those pieces onto the canvas, overlapping them so most of the canvas is covered. Never done this before? Just brush a little Mod Podge onto the canvas, lay the piece down (it will stick), and move on to the next. Easy! I like using the little black foam brushes that are .20 cents at Michaels. A few white spots showing are okay. When all your pieces are down, give the entire top a light coat of Mod Podge. Once dry, it creates a protective seal so when we pull off our letters, they won't rip the paper.
After the top is dry (give it 30 minutes), the next step is to lay out the letters. I've cut mine out with my Cricut onto craft vinyl. If you're buying the letters and canvas at the same time, you can get an idea of what size to buy while you're at the store. Lay them out so you're sure they will fit before you start sticking them on.
Once you like the placement, peel the back off and stick them on. Press firmly, rub with something hard like a credit card to burnish the edges. You don't want any paint seeping underneath.
The next step is to paint. Choose a paint that will be the main color of your canvas. I'm going with black, since this is going in Mr. Diy's office and most of his other frames are black Just squeeze a little bit of acrylic paint onto the top, and using a foam brush, spread it out. Don't O.D. on the paint...a little will go a long way!
Here's what it looks like when you're done...Looks pretty bad, right. Don't worry...the magic has yet to happen! While the paint is still wet, use tweezers to peel the letters off and discard them. If some of the paint has bled onto your letters, don't panic. Lightly wet a q-tip and gently blot the paint off. I had to do this in several spots.
Here it is with my letters all pulled off. Isn't it awesome?? What is so cool is that the 'raisin bran' is showing through...my husband's favorite cereal. I chose the ad because it was colorful, but didn't pay much attention to placement so it was a nice bonus that it's exposed - love when you get an unexpected bonus!
Once the paint dried, I took some fine grit sandpaper to mine and lightly sanded the whole thing. What that did is exposed some of the other papers a wee bit , the edges of the canvas, and softened the black a little. Then I coated the whole thing in a final, protective coat of Mod Podge. Here is my completed artwork.
Isn't that the coolest project?? I love how easy it is! I love the texture it has from the magazine clippings, yet nothing is loose. I love how you can customize it for the recipient. Mine is very masculine. But I could see this as a great teacher's gift with the teacher's name in the middle and scrapbook paper of crayons/pencils/books, etc showing through. Or a wonderful baby shower gift with 'You Are My Sunshine' and soft, muted colors or a child's monogram right in the middle and words from a favorite book showing through. The possibilities are really endless!!
And...this would make a wonderful Valentine's gift for that special someone!!
Are you inspired to make one??
What are you waiting for?
bringing beauty to the ordinary,
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Makers Link Party at Upcycled Treasures
Makers Link Party at Upcycled Treasures
What a great tutorial! I've pinning and making one of these for my husband's man porch!
ReplyDelete~ Ashley
Ashley, that's a great idea! So many quotes/sayings you could do! Enjoy the process :)
DeleteSo do you think spray modge lodge would work and small sticker letters like for scrapbooking? Not tiny...but I want mine to say one of 2 things that are ab 8 words...
ReplyDeleteI think it would work. Just make sure before you add the stickers that you give the entire thing a coat of modge podge. It will keep the stickers from ripping off the magazines when you remove them. Good luck!
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