Photo Canvases are fun and I would love to give new ones to my family every year with the boys pictures. Unfortunately that can get expensive even if you find a great deal. Making my own photo canvas gifts have been on my crafty to-do list for a while. It’s one of those projects that sounds easy but I always worried is much harder than it looks. I was so wrong! Making your own DIY photo canvas is a project everyone can do!

I ordered  a few blank canvases from Consumer Crafts a few months ago and after my initial success with this project, I went out and picked up a few more from Michael’s (with a coupon of course)!

You also need Mod Podge, acrylic paint and foam brushes, some of which you might already have if you craft a little. And don’t forget the photo. 😉 I love to take advantage of the free Walgreens 8X10 offers that pop up throughout the year. Or you can print at home if you have that capability, I have a B&W Laser printer so I have to rely on printing elsewhere.

Start by painting the side edge of the canvas any color you like. I stuck with black to make it easy. You also want to paint a little bit around the top edge of the canvas as well. That way once you trim the photo a little bit to fit on the canvas, no white will stick out along the edge of the picture.

When trimming the picture you want to carefully trim the picture so that it fits on top of the canvas without any of the photo hanging over the edge. This is where a paper-cutter would be handy. I am terrible at cutting straight lines!

ONCE THE PAINT IS DRY… Notice I yelled that part, then you can move on to the next step. Don’t rush it, I tried and had black streaks in my Mod Podge.

Cover the top and sides of the canvas with Mod Podge (using a different foam brush). Then carefully place the photo on the canvas. The Mod Podge is the “glue” that will hold it in place. Let the photo sit a few minutes then carefully paint the top of the photo with Mod Podge using long straight strokes.

For those of you that’ve never used Mod Podge before don’t worry that it brushes on white, it will dry clear. The Mod Podge creates a fun textured look to the photo canvas.

If you are looking to spice up your DIY photo canvas project, consider embellishing the photo in PicMonkey.com before printing.  This is a picture I cropped, converted to black & white and then added text too. There are lots of fun options to use at PicMonkey.

Again this project is really easy and is much cheaper than ordering them through a company! It’s a great homemade gift idea for friends and family!

Do you give homemade gifts?