My Latest Pinterest Project: Canvas Pictures

I have pinned lots of ideas on how to transfer pictures to canvas.  Some required printing the pictures out and mod podging them onto canvas . . . some required you mod podge the picture onto plywood . . . some had you transfer a reverse copy of the picture onto the canvas and then use water to "rub" the paper off leaving the image on the canvas . . . Lots of ideas . . .

Tonight I saw a pin where you used tissue paper to transfer the picture to canvas and    . . . . since I had all the materials needed to do it . . .   I decided to go ahead and try it out!

Here's the original blog post and picture that I saw pinned: 

Sarah's Never-Ending Projects

Definitely check out her blog for specific details of how to do this. 

All I had was the flat canvases.  I think the kind where the canvas is wrapped around a wooden frame would work better, but I only had the flat kind . . . so that's what I used.  I'm not going for perfect here.  I'm just trying to see if it works.

First I found a picture in my computer photo gallery to use.  I decided to do a picture of the boys that my photographer friend, Julianna, took last November, and a picture of Dave's family from last Thanksgiving.

I taped the white tissue paper to a sheet of 8.5 x 11 cardstock.   When I cut the tissue paper, I left a border of 1/2 inch all the way around, and then I taped that down on the back side of the cardstock smoothing out the front of the tissue paper.

I then placed the paper in my printer . . . tissue paper side down . . . cause that's how my printer feeds in to print.  I selected my picture from the gallery and chose the size I wanted and then hit "print."

Be sure to watch the photo as it prints out to make sure nothing gets hung up.  I let the tissue paper picture dry for a minute before handling it.

Then I cut the tissue paper on the sides to release it off the cardstock.

It's very thin and flimsey . . . after all . . . it's just tissue paper!  :D

Then I painted a layer of mod podge on the canvas where I wanted the picture to be.  I used a larger canvas than my picture . . . for some reason . . .

Then I carefully placed the tissue paper picture on the canvas . . . centering it where I wanted it . . . carefully pressing it down . . . working from the center . . . carefully moving outward . . . trying to get out the wrinkles and bubbles . . .

Here is my first attempt - The Ferrell Boys: 

You have to be very careful pressing the photo down or the tissue paper will tear! 

The end result is a picture with that canvas look without the canvas/picture price!

I tried to get a close-up picture to show you the canvas look of the picture but the first picture I took was washed out by the flash:

I took the next close-up picture without the flash, and it was too dark:

Maybe you can see the canvas details in one of those pictures.  I just want to really caution you about how fragile the tissue paper is . . .  Here's the second picture I did:

I was moving the picture trying to get a wrinkle out and it tore!  There was no fixing it, either,  once it was torn. 

I had fun doing this project.  I'm going to make a trip to Walmart to pick up some more canvas . . .  I may even stop by Office Depot and get one of those big prints done . . . like I've seen on pinterest. 

I think I'm going to embellish the canvases and maybe try to hide the torn corner with a ribbon or something . . . We'll see. 

Until next time with . . .  

                     the Ferrell boys and me!