DIY Photo Canvases

There seems to be quite a few projects going on around here. My new curtains are here and I'm fighting with the hardware to get them hung... My husband made part one of the new beds for the boys and plans to finish the second bed tomorrow. Then there's the regular stuff I don't choose to blog about--making bread, doing laundry, sorting clothes for my growing boys and going through baby clothes--only 9 weeks left!

So while all of the above is going on, how about a pre-blog crafty/decor post? Even better, here's a link to a Throwback Thursday party where you can see other bloggers pre-blogging projects!

I've also linked up to Get Your Craft On at Today's Creative Blog.

Since I always seem to have a back story, here's the picture first.

Now the story: I was looking for inexpensive art for my condo back in the day when I was a Young Urban Professional. Yes, I was a yuppy along with the best of them! I had just spent Christmas in Paris (go here for a fun story about that trip) and the week after in London, so I had tons of great pictures. I noticed some art in a pastor-friend's office and knew right away I'd found my inexpensive art project! (That pastor later did the pre-marital counseling for my husband and me. He signed papers at our wedding, his little girl was our flower girl... Sadly he was killed instantaneously while riding his bike a year or two later. I have homemade art on my walls that reminds me of him and how fragile life can be. And yet I was grumpy at my kids this morning...)

Back to the art!

I waited for a sale and a coupon at Michael's and bought six large canvasses.

I printed my favorite six shots from my trip on 8 x 10 photo paper.

I had just helped a good friend paint her house, so I knew she had this amazing brown paint from Eddie Bauer (this was 6 or 7 years ago now, so I don't remember what it was!).

I rolled the paint on the canvas then stuck my picture down where I wanted it while the paint was still very wet. I was worried that the photo paper would bubble, but it didn't!

When the brown paint dried, I used black on the edges and around the picture to act as a frame within a frame. (My friend's art in his office was bright yellow with red accents and used pictures from a calendar!)

Last, I used stickers to spell out the name of the place where I took the picture. 

I love my inexpensive, personalized art! It's been on the walls of three homes now. Hope you enjoyed it too!