DIY Collage Canvas

I am in the current process of creating Do It Yourself Decorations for my son, Levi's first birthday party. I was up late last night trying to figure out something to do and got distracted with my son's most recent photo session pictures (http://www.alyssamaisanophotography.com/) that I just got printed off.    

I live in a small town now and there is NO craft stores.  It is so sad. We do have the local Walmart and I was able to get all my supplies from there. Here is a list of the items you need.

Matte Modge Podge
A small cheap paintbrush
A sponge or cloth (optional)
Photos
Canvas
Craft Paper for borders
Acrylic Paint

You can use any size of canvas you want. I was just testing this one out so I used an 11 x 14"  and 7 - 4 x 6" photos.
You want to get everything laid out and arranged the way you want it before gluing anything down. I also cut out all the edges from my scrapbook paper and modge podged that on first and let it dry a couple of minutes before moving on.  If you have never used modge podge before I always make a mess because I want that stuff on there good.  So I paint on the modge podge (MP) like a glue on the wrong side of the paper and then place it on the edges.  I make sure it is evened out and then place a coat of MP on the top of the paper and smooth it down with my finger.  You want to make sure to get this the way you want it before it completely dries or you won't be able to move the paper without ripping it.

Time to glue/MP the photos onto the canvas. Put a generous layer on the back of each photo. I placed them on from Left to Right to make sure I didn't have any white space in the inside of the canvas anywhere.  You can cut the pictures if you need to; to make it look aesthetically pleasing. It is ok to have some white space around the border because we are going to be covering that up with the acrylic paint to age/antique it. After you have all the pictures modge podged on the canvas you want to do a pretty thick coat over all of the photos.  It will look milky when it is wet but will dry clear.  You will need to let this dry completely before going to the next step.  Mine took about 10-15 minutes.
The most time consuming part is the last step.  You are going to be antiquing the canvas around the border with the acrylic paint.  I used a dark brown. You can use a cloth, sponge, paintbrush or your finger.  I went with brush and finger. I dabbed on paint on both sides of each edge and thinned it out with my finger.  Around the corners I did multiple coats so none of the photo would show through.  I wanted mine to look different on every corner since a worn piece would not be even anyways.

Thanks- Jennifer

Ready.Set.Blog

Hello All! This is my attempt at a somewhat interesting Blog.  I wanted somewhere where I could express my artistic side.  I feel like I have ADD when it comes to anything relating to crafting or trying out new recipes.  I always have to be doing something new and I get distracted very easily.  Pinterest does not help this crafting addict.  I feel like after I see something at the store that is ridiculously expensive I could make it at home for cheaper or better or Both.  I was up late this evening trying out a DIY canvas collage photo print.  All of the websites I have looked at to get a canvas print of my son have been way too high of a price for this cheap momma.  So after that dries I will be posting my materials, pics & how I did it.  It was pretty fun and only took about 2 hours on my first try.  I am sure that it will take me even less time the next time I do it.
Thanks- Jennifer