How to Save Money with DIY Canvas Prints

Colorful Canvas Print (Via Mae Chevrette)

We have become a nation of photographers. Armed with our camera phones as we are at all times, we tend to take pictures of anything and at any time. It could be a lovely sunset, a stark urbanscape, a stunningly beautiful single rose, a baby’s adorably quizzical expression, interesting graffiti… anything really. When you capture a super shot, it doesn’t need to remain in your camera. You can create canvas prints easily and inexpensively right in your own home. These special images can become your wall art or can transform into a thoughtful gift.

You could order photo canvas prints online; there are services that will do this for you either with their own stock pictures or your photographs. But you can do this at home without much difficulty. You can create professional looking canvas prints using your trusty home printer and a few craft supplies.

In this DIY tutorial, we tell you how to. You can create a series of canvases – the five best pictures of your child growing up or the most spectacular images from your exotic holiday for instance. Or you can create a jigsaw/grid out of one image to create wall art of larger dimensions - here you print out one part of the image on each separate canvas and then put them all up in way that creates a whole picture.

What You Need for Your Canvas Printing

• Pieces of canvas (you could get just the canvas which you can frame or have mounted, or you can get ready mounted canvas boards)
• Printing paper
• Paint brushes
• Scissors or craft knife
• Mod Podge (All-in-one glue and sealer; dries clear, is non toxic and is easy to clean up)

Sourcing Supplies to Create Cheap Canvas Prints

You can source supplies to create your DIY canvas wall art quite cheaply from places such as the Dollar Store or the Dollar Tree; any place that sells low-cost art and craft supplies. You could source Mod Podge, canvas sheets and other craft supplies quite cheaply online as well; Amazon tends to have a selection of highly economical options.

For cheap printing paper and ink cartridges you need look no further than TomatoInk.com. Whether you have an Epson, HP, Brother, Canon, Dell or practically any other brand of printer; you will find some of the most economical compatible ink cartridges here. Search by brand or by printer model number to find the right match. You could save up to 80% on your purchases and you also have the option of buying earth friendly remanufactured cartridges.

How to Create Your Own Canvas Prints

The first thing is to select your images with care. The images should be large enough and be of a resolution to facilitate prints of the size you need. You can edit images, sharpen colors and contrast, add interesting filters and even transform color images into monochrome or sepia.

Transfer Image onto Canvas (Via: BHG)

If you plan to do a grid or jigsaw of printed canvases to create one larger image, use image tiling or splitting software (you can specify the number of images you want) such as Rasterbator or any other wall art generator.

Take your photo printouts using your printer’s best quality print setting. Use border-less printing if that option is available in your printer, so you don’t need to cut and trim your image. Ensure that the canvas surface is clean and smooth; if not use a bit of sandpaper to smooth it out. Now using a brush, apply a coating of Mod Podge to the canvas surface and then overlay this with your image printout. Smooth the surface with a spatula or similar flat implement. Wait for this to dry and then if there are any overlapping bits of paper of the sides of your canvas, trim them. Now position your canvas wall art where everyone can admire it!

If you’d like to share with us any of your own DIY canvas printing projects – photos or ideas, we’d love to hear from you. Check out our on Facebook or Twitter to keep track of the best deals in printer ink and toner cartridges. Also, consider signing up for our newsletter where you can regular discounts to print more canvas prints at home!