Canvassing Photos!

I've been wanting to post about this for a while now, but had to wait until after Mother's Day to do so (one of the canvasses I did was a present for my Mom).  I found a few different methods of making a canvassed photograph and decided to try them!  They are both fun, and one is much more time consuming than the other but will make a more crisp looking end result. 

Method #1:
Supplies needed:
Mod Podge
A Paintbrush
Crafting Sponge
Paper towels
A towel
Scrapbook paper
Paper cutter or scissors
Photo print
Canvas

If you're wondering where to find canvasses, I went to Ollies and got 8x10 canvasses for less then $2.  11x14 were less than $3 and 13x19 were about $4.  You can get them at craft stores as well but they're a bit more expensive. 

Here's what my supplies look like, together.  Since this picture, I've used up the smaller container of mod podge and went to AC Moore with a 50% off coupon and got a huge thing of it for $9.  Worth it, trust me!

To prep your canvas, put a layer of mod podge on all the sides and top of your canvas.

Let this dry completely, about 20 minutes total.  When it finishes drying, cut the scrapbook paper so it's a bit smaller than the sides.  Also trim your photo at this point, so it's slightly smaller than the size of the canvas.

Apply another layer of mod podge to the sides of the canvas, one at a time, and put another layer of mod podge on the strip of scrapbook paper, then apply to the sides of the canvas. 

After this, apply a layer of mod podge to the back of your photo and carefully apply to the front of the canvas.  Allow this to dry completely, about 20 minutes.  After this, apply a layer of mod podge over the top of the photograph and let this dry completely.  It will appear milky white but will be clear when it dries!  I didn't take a photo of this for some reason.  After this stage, I put the canvas upside down on a towel (not a paper towel, it will stick to the photo) and put books on top of it to dry thoroughly overnight.  The next day, paint the empty spaces on the canvas with black paint for a pretty border.  This is the finished product!

Love this technique!  Now for the second!

Method #2:

This one I tried a few different ways.  I have several printers, one is a more expensive color inkjet printer and another is much less expensive and only prints in black and white.  I usually only print documents on that printer.  That being said.

Supplies needed:
Photographic print on regular paper
mod podge
canvas
artist sponge
spray bottle
paper towels

This one is a faster method, but is more "artsy". 

I didn't "finish" these yet.  You can do the border/edges with scrapbook paper on these, too.  I may do this.  Haven't decided yet. 

Step one: Apply a generous layer of mod podge to your canvas.  Place your paper image (remember to print the image in REVERSE!) face down on the canvas and allow it to dry for several hours or overnight.  I waited overnight with one, several hours for the other two. 

Step two: Put a later of paper towels down on the table/surface you are crafting.  Spray the surface of the canvas with water liberally and rub lightly until the paper starts to crumble away.  Continue doing this until all the paper has come off and the image underneath is visible.  Spray again and lightly brush away excess paper fragments.  Apply another layer of mod podge to the top of the image and let dry.

Here's where the printer problems became visible.  The first image I did turned out like this:

Looks kind of old-timey, which I like.  But the black and white was showing a lot of magenta.  Weird!

So I switched the print settings on my printer to greyscale, and came up with this:

 

Still kind of pink.  Weird!  So I decided to make a print on the cheap printer.  It actually turned out pretty well!  Even though I forgot to reverse the image.  

 

I need to finish the borders on these, as I said.  But I think it's cool to try these new methods and will continue to do so!  Happy crafting!