Photos onto Canvas Gift Idea

It is getting so close to Christmas!!!

I love to make presents that are homemade and meaningful.  Today I want to share a gift I gave to my husband over a year ago….It was perfect for his office at work!  (please note I would have hung it WITHOUT the picture hanger showing….it’s his office he can hang it how he wants….)

What husband doesn’t like to have pictures of his cute kids!?!

Please keep in mind most of the pictures are TERRIBLE, I was not blogging at the time.  I took them in a room with no natural light and the glare form the ceiling light, and flash, is awful.

With that said, and ignoring my crappy photography skills, the idea is what we are going for people….

I am sure most of you have seen the idea to mod podge your pictures onto canvas.  Well on a tight budget I couldn’t afford to buy canvas for each of my kids, with six it gets a little pricy.

Instead I went to Hobby Lobby and found a 20×16 2 pack of canvas for only $7.99 and then I used a 40% off coupon, sa-weet!

I printed off pictures of each kid, all the same size, onto everyday photo paper.  (It is very important to use photo paper) I went for a sepia/vintage look and literally just cropped photos of each kid from random pictures on my computer.

For the canvas, I painted it in brown paint (I just used craft paint), and then to add some texture I grabbed an old tooth brush and dipped it in a tan paint.  Then I used my thumb, sliding it across the bristles of the tooth brush, to flick the tan paint onto the canvas.  Can you see how it looks speckled…

Then I cut the saying on scrapbook paper with my Cricut, and I Mod Podge everything onto the canvas!

Super easy right!

Well after I finished I decided I didn’t like the photo I had used for my second boy…

So I found another one, that was better, and printed it off.

Then I just mod podge it right over the other picture.

That’s better, but wait, not really…. do you see how that picture looks a little faded?  Well I had run out of photo paper and tried to use card stock….it did not work!  The ink started coming off on the paint brush.  Use photo paper…trust me.

I ended up going to get more photo paper and printed and mod podge over that photo, AGAIN.  It stands it a little higher than the others now, but not too noticeably.

This would be a great gift for Christmas!  You could mod podge anything you wanted and make a fun collage for a friend, parent, sibling, or teacher.

One idea would be to do an event, say you went to see a play.  You could do a smaller canvas and mod podge pictures you took at the event…maybe some from the playbill, use the title of the play from the playbill it’s self….My playbills always end up in a drawer or box somewhere, why not use it?

Or do a canvas featuring a trip, or family reunion, or all the grandkids in action shots, heck mod podge on a tree an put all your family faces in the branches….The ideas are endless!

You don’t even need canvas, grab a long piece of wood and make a photo collage!

It’s a super simple, super cheap, and super meaningful gift!

I would love it if you pinned this to share with others!

Mindi

I will be linking to these parties.