Are you tired of your photos living only in your camera or on your computer? Or maybe you're looking for an inexpensive way to liven up your walls. Then I have the DIY for you! With just a few simple supplies, you can have your own custom canvas to hang on your wall that captures your favorite moments.
Elsie and Emma, from A Beautiful Mess, put together a very thorough tutorial on how you can transfer an image to stretched canvas for an instant personalized work of art. The supplies list is short — if you're the crafty type, you probably already have them on hand. You'll need gel medium, a laser copy of your image, and the canvas size of your choosing. Unlike photographic paper, the unique texture of the canvas will give your image depth, similar to a painting. With just a little bit of time and patience, you will have transferred the image in reverse to your stretched canvas, for an perfectly imperfect work of art.
If you're interested at trying your hand at this project, head over to A Beautiful Mess for the instructions. The best part of the tutorial is that all the kinks have been worked out for you. You can find the original post here, but they were also kind enough to write up a second post that addresses questions and problems readers were having when they attempted the project. For the follow-up post, click here.
(Images: A Beautiful Mess)
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NIce. I'm trying it this afternoon.
What a lovely idea! I'm definitely going to try it. I've wanted a large triptych above my couch for a while now, but I can't afford a canvas transfer of that size. If this DIY doesn't work for me, I can always use the canvas for something else!
I want to do this on a large-scale canvas with an map I have, the only problem is I have to print it on 8.5"x11" paper using a PDF poster print, so I will have about 9 different pieces to apply for the total image. Should I apply them all at once or apply one, and let it dry and remove the paper before applying the next? I worry about the gel overlapping the edges of the pages and not being able to get the paper off where it bleeds over. I welcome any opinions y'all might have on the matter!
Thanks so much for linking our DIY! I hope your readers enjoy it!
Elsie (A Beautiful Mess)
I think you should try putting them on all at ounce. Though you may want some other opions
Zach, I think you should do 9 different 8.5"x11" canvases and hang them together.
Hmm...nice.
Solution to having the image flipped would be to flip it in Photoshop first, then print it out flipped...so when you transfer it, it will be facing the right way.
Gonna have to try this!
Does it work with color photos?
I did this and it turned out amazing! I tried laser and inkjet printouts, and they both worked really well for me.
When I was an art major, there was another type of marker you could use for these transfers. It worked very well, but it was linked to nerve damage and kidney failure so I wore gloves. Citra Solv Natural Citrus Cleaner also works well, but it can stain if done improperly. Your pictures will smell pleasant though. Modge Podge also works but I HATED it. I hate modge podge. The pen I used was some sort of clear overlay pen that was made by an art markers company. Stuff smelled terrible, and I got a headache a couple of the times I used it.
My best recommendation, from the different uses I've seen of each, is the Citra Solv. I've never used it, but a lot of people I knew used it with a lot of success - and there's less work involved than with Modge Podge.