Inexpensive DIY Canvas Art & Free Picture Downloads

Once again I’ve been trying to brainstorm art and wall decor ideas for the sitting room!

As my husband and I have searched for art that we loved for the blank wall in the sitting room we noticed that we were both drawn to architectural photos and prints. My husband suggested that instead of buying the art, we hang photo canvases of some of the beautiful places we visited when we lived in Italy years ago.

{duh!}

I priced ordering stretched canvas and it was just not going to work for my frugal ways, so of course we had to come up with our own DIY version!

I ordered six canvas prints from ArtsCow for $16 each.  They were 16 by 20 and not stretched, the pictures extended to the end of the canvas and it came rolled up. When they arrived we headed to the hardware store to buy MDF-it was less than $10 a sheet.

Once home my husband cut the mdf into 14.5 by 18.5 pieces (so I would have extra canvas around the borders to wrap it.) While he was hard at work I assembled the rest of the supplies-spray adhesive and what else, a hot glue gun! (By the way, we did this project the same day as changing the color of our grout and his mdf cutting session more than made up for the lack of assistance on the grout project!)

To wrap the canvas around the mdf I laid my canvas face down on a piece of foam (to protect from the front of the canvas) and sprayed my wood with adhesive and laid it on top.  Be careful for overspray with the adhesive-it’s crazy sticky if you get it on anything you don’t intend to!

After double checking the wood was centered on the canvas  I used hot glue to attach one side of the canvas to the wood.  Next I moved to the OPPOSITE side and hot glued it as well, being sure to pull the canvas tightly over the wood. Then moving on do the same to the rest of the sides, folding over in the corners.  (When starting to glue the last two sides I started on the corners then glued the middle section to avoid wrinkles)

Done.  Pat yourself on the back and hang that art!

Or you can put the art up on the wall of the room you made it for and realize you don’t like it there after all.  Like some people might have done.

And set it on the mudroom picture ledge instead.

Do you want to make some prints like this for yourself? Just click here to download the picture of the Duomo in Florence and here to download the picture of the back of the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris.