Showing posts with label paint. Show all posts
Showing posts with label paint. Show all posts

Thursday, October 8, 2015

How to Put a Photo on a Canvas

This is a fun little trick to cheaply make canvas prints. In short, you just mod podge any photo to a canvas and paint the edges. Here are detailed instructions for you. 

Materials:
Canvas
High Quality Photo Print (You don't want ink that will smear or bleed)
Mod Podge
Brushes
Scissors or paper cutter
Paint

You can purchase the design you see in the photos in my Etsy Shop: https://www.etsy.com/shop/ShameronStudios




Start by trimming the photo to fit to canvas. You should use a canvas and photo that are the same size, but the canvas edged are slightly rounded and you don't want the photo to stick out past where the canvas rounds. You may need to trim about a 1/8"-1/4" off each side.


Next, paint the edge black (or any color that looks good with your photo). 


You don't need to go very far toward the center of the canvas because the photo will cover it.


You will probably need 2 coats to get it nice and solid.


Once the paint is dry, evenly spread a layer of Mod Podge on the canvas.


Working quickly, paint a layer of Mod Podge on the back of the photo.


Quickly line up the photo on the canvas and lay it down from one side to the other (the like peeling it off in reverse) to prevent bubbles. You may need to lift it and re-center it to get it just right and you might be able to slide it around a little to get it even.


After the photo is centered on the canvas, apply a thin layer of Mod Podge around the edged of the photo. This will help it blend into the canvas.


Because my photo had a very defined edge, I applied the Mod Podge up to the line. If you're using almost any other photo, you can paint it all over the photo in nice sweeping motions to give it the brush texture of a painting. Or just blend it into the edges. You may also want to add another coat of paint on the edges and feather it over the edges of the painting to make it blend into the photo.


The finished product!!! You can find this design available for Instant Download 


Tuesday, August 7, 2012

Thumb Print Tree Guestbook

This is a simple a fun guestbook for any wedding or event. I made one for my wedding and I thought I'd share how it's made.

Materials:
Watercolor Paper - 16"x20" work well and is a suitable framing size for a party of 100+ people. 11"x14" is good for about 50+, and 8"x10" is good for parties of 20+
Pencil
Pen - you'll need one that won't bleed if you want to paint over it with watercolors
Watercolor Paints - If desired
Frame - sized to match the paper
Ink Pads
Extra Pens
Hand Towelettes 

On a piece of watercolor paper, draw a simple tree. You may want to start by sketching lightly with a pencil and once you have a tree you like, draw over it with pen. Short sketchy lines give the tree a nice texture. If desired, you can draw your initials in the tree. You can stop at this point or use watercolor paints to color in the tree. 



It works best if you frame the image without the glass in front of it. I put the glass behind the image in the frame to keep it safe. Get 2 different shades of green stamp pads to use for the leaves. Michael's or Joann's will have a variety of colors. You may choose 2 standard green leaf color or you may want to use different 

colors such as brown, orange and yellow for an autumn look or pink and purple for a spring, floral look. Purple and pink might be cute for a girl's baby shower. Blue and green would look cute for a boy's baby shower. 

If this is for a wedding, the bride and groom should "sign" it prior to the wedding so they get a front and center spot. I choose to have mu husband and I stamp it right it the middle with red and blue ink(the colors of our wedding) and then draw little beaks, eyes, feet, a veil and a top hat  make them look like bride and groom birds. 

Make sure to get hand towelettes for people to clean off their fingers and have a basket or trash near by for the disposal of those. Amazon is a great place to buy the individually wrapped ones. Be sure to have a couple pens for people to sign with as well. After the wedding, place it behind the glass and enjoy it forever. I arranged mine in the center of a collage of wedding photos.

If your tree isn't turning out how you want, you can buy one from me on etsy