Make Your Own Canvas Prints | DIY

I love the look of photos being printed on canvas, but I do not love the price! Unless you've got some great coupon, they can range from $40 on up! That's definitely not in our budget for home decor!

After perusing lots of other blogs, it seems the easiest and most cost effective way to achieve a similar look is to do it yourself!

Here ya go!

Materials:

• Photos of your choice in matte print (I used one 11x16 and three 8x10 photos)
• Canvas of the same size (I get mine at Hobby Lobby...two 8x10's for $3.99!!)
• Matte Modge Podge (I prefer matte photos and Modge Podge...I don't like glossy, shiny pictures)
• Black acrylic paint (Hobby Lobby has acrylics ranging from $3.99 on up)
• Two foam paint brushes

Make It!:

• Using your foam brush, paint your canvas with the Modge Podge and 'glue' your photo on top. Make sure you get the corners really well to help prevent your photo from curling. 

• Once the photo is dried to the canvas (or mostly dried), paint over your photo with the Modge Podge. Don't freak out! It's supposed to be milky white on the photo! Trust me, I will dry clear!

• Be careful here and make sure you use long, even strokes. You can put it on fairly thick, but if you see little bubbles, you'll need to smooth those out.
  
• Let that dry...takes about 45 minutes.
  
• Next, using your other foam brush, get a good bit of acrylic paint and paint the sides of the canvas.
  
  
  
  
  
• Using the tip of the brush, make sure you slide it in between any gaps of the canvas and print so that it gets painted and no white is showing.
  
• For an extra 'vintage' look, I like to get just a tiny bit of paint on the brush and tap it on the edge of the photos.

It's really easy, and fun to make. I really like the way the Modge Podge gives a bit of texture to the print. You can see the strokes on it...the prints aren't perfect, which is what I love! I made a bunch to give as Christmas gifts!

Let me know if you try it!

Quick Tip | Make Your Own Foaming Soap

Hand washing is probably one of, if not the most, important ways to keep yourself healthy! The nasty germs are all over and our hands are usually all over everything as well: our phones, the car, grocery carts, changing diapers, touching computers, helping kids in the bathroom, wiping noses, going to the park...
And did you know that pretty much every hand soap you buy has junk in it that you don't need? Like artificial colors? Even the brands that label themselves as 'natural'. It's true. 
Check out this label on a super popular brand. The soap is CLEAR, yet they put in Violet 5. What? And more importantly, WHY??










My friend Jenny over at +Conscientious Confusion Blog posted waaaaay back in the day how to make your own foaming hand soap. I'm just now getting around to making it. 
It's so super easy and much more cost efficient than the stuff you get at the store! My five year old has been helping me make it because it's that easy!
Here's how I did it:

• 1 empty foaming soap bottle (I had these on hand, but I'm sure you could ask some friends for their old ones!)
• Castile soap (I have Dr. Bronner's Peppermint Castile Soap...love this stuff and it's not expensive at all!)
• Distilled/filtered water
• Essential oils (optional - I used Wild Orange this time. Mmm!)

Simply fill your empty soap container about 1/3 full of the castile soap. Fill the rest with water and a few drops of essential oils of your choice. Give it a good shake and you've got natural, nontoxic, inexpensive foaming hand soap!
Have you made your own soaps before?