How To Make Stunning Canvas Photos – These Rock!
I love these photos with their vibrant colours, grainy effects and rocking photoshop possibilities. Writing this tutorial was special for me. I put it together with my twin sister, Emma Mill (Binns). Hmm Hmm, I would just like to mention here that I am the eldest by seven minutes (does anybody care?). Emma made a gorgeous canvas photo for my daughter for her birthday and I have been wanting to learn how.
Here is a canvas made by Emma Mill, a photo in a series of her husband surfing. I love this.
Now. join the Binns Twins (cute eh?) to make your first canvas photo…
You will need:
1 canvas (cheap as to buy from any craft store – $4 we paid) 8 inch x 10 inch
At least 50cm white 100% cotton material
1 photo printed out onto photo transfer paper (we used Canon photo transfers)
1 pair scissors
1 iron
1 staple gun (my new favourite weapon of choice, imagine if we carried staple guns instead of a pepper spray, that’d show ‘em)
Step 1
Take the canvas and cut out material to fit it leaving a 3 inch border around the edge.
Step 2
Upload a photo to your computer, resize to fit the canvas or you could leave a little border like we did here.
Print out the photo in black and white or colour.
Iron the print onto the cotton fabric.
When you have ironed it wave it around for minute or two before ripping the back off to make sure it has dried.
Step 3
After a few minutes, peal off the transfer and marvel at the wonders of the computer age!
Step 4
Position the transfer on top of the canvas and make sure that it is correctly centred.
Step 5
Carefully turn the canvas over, holding the cotton transfer in place.
Pull it taut and staple two staples on either side of the frame.
Then staple two more staples at the top and the bottom of the frame.
Step 6
Now I am not going to mess with you, this is not Martha and we can just be human ok – this part is a little fiddly and chances are the back won’t look all that great on your first effort. Don’t worry, people only see the front anyway.
Fold the corners in, like folding a present.
Then staple them down to the frame. Make sure that you are pulling the fabric taut and watch for buckling.
Do this to all four corners.
Step 7
Cut away the extra fabric on the back. Time to tidy it up a little.
Step 8
Staple the edges down into the middle of the frame. This is also a little tricky so just take your time. Don’t be scared it only really rates about a two on the tricky scale.
Ta – Da! Your finished canvas from the back.
Turn it over – and here’s a gorgeous photo of my little nephew, Charile.
Looks wonderful on the mantle piece!
HOT TIP:
You can upload your image to Photoshop and do some way out things to it. It can end up looking like some very cool Popart or a retro pattern. Try all the different filters. I intend to make some really funky ones in the near future.
We hope you enjoy making these,
Emma and Mia
Related posts:
- Tshirt Surgery: How to Make a Dress from a Tshirt and a Singlet The Finish
- How to Make a Felted Christmas Wreath Sunday pos
- Shredded Tshirt Tutorial (Tshirt Surgery) I had a sp
- How to Make a Birdie Advent Calendar Materials
- What a Great Night – Book Launch Photos The book l
Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.
January 16th, 2007 at 4:13 pm
thanks for the tutorial. Now I have something in mind that I want to do. ehehehe…. All i need now is to find a stapler gun.
January 16th, 2007 at 8:32 pm
This is so cool,I love it! I am definitely going to try it! I am a twin, too…youngest by 3 minutes!
January 17th, 2007 at 4:59 pm
oh i love this idea…christmas present ideas are already starting…
January 17th, 2007 at 11:59 pm
Oooooh, this is cool. I can’t wait to try this! I’ve always wanted to have some kind of canvas art on my walls, and now I can – and not pay lots! Thank you for the turorial!
January 18th, 2007 at 12:00 am
argh! I mean “tutorial”. *blush*
January 18th, 2007 at 3:39 am
Great idea for cool personalised presents (and reasonably priced too). Thanks for the tutorial!!!
January 18th, 2007 at 12:04 pm
This is great! Another option is to use fabric sheets that go through your printer or iron freezer paper onto an 8 1/2/ x 11 piece of fabric and run it through your printer.
January 19th, 2007 at 4:38 am
Yeah, we have a tutorial link on this site for using freezer paper, works just as well.
Mia
January 20th, 2007 at 4:05 pm
Did we miss Step 6a – “grow a 3rd hand” ?? weird.
Kidding – this is pretty darn cool. I’m looking through my pictures right now, trying to figure out which ones to do this to.
January 20th, 2007 at 4:43 pm
Ha ha, yeah she didn’t really need me to help but I just couldn’t help but help….
lol
Mia
January 20th, 2007 at 8:37 pm
Hi Mia,
Thanks – the tutorial looks awesome.
Emma
January 24th, 2007 at 8:22 am
I just had to say what a great tutorial this is! I totally expected the print-on-canvas technique, but this iron-on variation opens some other creative doors.
Love love love the site too!
Keep it up!
nniiccoollee
January 25th, 2007 at 7:40 pm
As soon as the weather warms up a tad I’m off to my supply store to get the materials to give this a try.
March 15th, 2007 at 6:42 pm
oh my god another awesome tutorial! Have to try this one too
*runs off to get supplies*
*running back to computer to finish comment*
Thanks heaps!
Eve
July 14th, 2008 at 4:54 am
oh what a great idea, I have a box of canvases as I do painting. I think this would be a great idea for my daughters for christmas. A family photo. thanks so much.
July 16th, 2008 at 10:43 am
i really like this project! im fifteen so i used it as a 4-H fair project. ill let you know how i do! Thanks! =]
July 19th, 2008 at 9:43 am
This is amazing! I’m always trying to find something different to do for gifts and people love pictures of my girls. I want to try doing it on black fabric with the dark transfer sheets. I wonder how well it would work?
October 11th, 2008 at 12:14 am
[...] Create your own canvas photo. [...]
November 27th, 2008 at 2:29 pm
[...] Canvas Photos: These make interesting photo blocks on canvas that can then be displayed on shelves or wherever you like. Use your printer to print out photos on the canvas, then staple onto a wood frame. Posted on One Hour Craft. [...]
December 10th, 2008 at 8:40 am
I wonder if you could iron the photo transfer directly onto the canvas? Has anyone tried that?
March 5th, 2009 at 9:26 pm
ok im completely stupid when it comes to this stuff I always mess it up yeah I’m a guy I admit it. Anyways I find these canvas movie posters at the local blockbuster here and they cost so much. I was wondering exactly how would you go about making a poster into a canvas. Could you use a poster you buy from the store and what do you use to iron the picture onto the cloth. Like I said completely lost to this whole thing could you send me an email and help me out I’d love to put some of my posters on canvas and hang them in my den area.
March 8th, 2009 at 10:02 pm
Well I am thinking off the top of my head. I think the only way to do it would be to take a high quality photograph of the poster and have it made into a canvas at a print shop or to do it this way. I don’t know any other way of making a poster into a canvas. Ideas Anyone else?
March 20th, 2009 at 11:53 am
How do you go about it if you want something larger than what your home printer can print. Can you print larger than say legal size paper at copy places using your own photo paper?
March 25th, 2009 at 4:45 pm
Yes I think so. Go and see your local copy place. They can do really amazing things with paper. Of course if you can’t be bothered making this yourself just get your photo and take it to a print shop and get it printed straight onto the canvas!
April 6th, 2009 at 9:08 pm
Canvas photo’s do rock. Thanks for the great tutorial, should be super helpful.
April 8th, 2009 at 8:19 pm
thanks i’m excited to try this!
April 19th, 2009 at 1:00 pm
thanks for posting this pls thank you i am trying to create canvas with my photos i have the xerox printer is that good with the kind of paper you use for the above? Pls email or post a comment here i really need help I want to create nice looking finish work
May 21st, 2009 at 11:55 pm
THanks for the love, glad you like ‘em. Mia
May 23rd, 2009 at 11:33 am
I wonder if you could iron the photo transfer right on the canvas? Any ideas?
June 18th, 2009 at 12:29 pm
I work for a canvas printing company and have to say fair play for your effort. Looks good!
June 24th, 2009 at 10:09 am
I saw something similar to this on tv…once the canvas was completed some type of stain was brushed over the image to give it a sephia tone. Any ideas on the type of stain to use or the process? It even gave it a “brush painted” look which was pretty cool.
June 29th, 2009 at 3:16 am
That sounds great! Thanks for the tip.
Mia
July 9th, 2009 at 2:32 pm
Could you use spray adhisive to “glue” the picture to the canvas (to keep it straight, and then staple?