Hello lovely readers!  Many of you have asked me questions about the fabulous typography map that you see in our eat-in-kitchen area.  Yeah, I love it too.  Guess what?!   The typography map in my kitchen is a DIY canvas art project and I am about to share the full tutorial with you :)

I fell in L.O.V.E. with this beautiful map canvas sold by Great Big Canvas, but was absolutely not wiling to pay $105.00 for it.  There was just no way.  I knew I could figure out a way to do it for less.  And I did!

Source: Great Big Canvas

So I came up with a solution that I am excited to share with you all today.  I found a poster print, applied it to my own canvas AND GAVE IT REAL CANVAS TEXTURE for only $21.00!  I am in love with how it turned out.  This post contains some affiliate links.  You can read my full disclosure policy here.  

Materials Needed for DIY Canvas Art:

• Any poster print of your choosing {I wound ordering my poster print for only $16.00 because of a great sale.  You can find it at Great Big Canvas–right now it is $29.99, but you can get 40% off with the code GRAND40}
• 1 blank canvas that is the same size as your poster {I got my canvas on sale at Michaels for only $5.00 per canvas, and right now, they are sale for even less–the link will take you directly to the canvases that are on sale as of 9/7/14}
• A second blank canvas {it can be any size}
• Mod Podge, Matte Finish{I prefer matte finish}
• Foam brushes
• Black paint
• Utility knife
• Cutting board

Steps to Create Your Own DIY Canvas Art:

1) Using your foam brush, paint the sides and inner edges of your canvas black.  Any black paint will do.  I used paint that I already had on hand.  Allow the paint to dry.

2) Using your foam brush, cover the top of your canvas with a layer of Mod Podge.

3) Place your poster print on top of the Mod Podge covered surface and flatten and smooth it with your hands to ensure that it adheres nicely without any bubbles.  Allow it to dry.

4) After it dries, you will have to cut off any portion of the poster print that is overhanging your canvas.  Even though both my canvas and poster print were described as 16 x 24 inches, my poster print was a tad larger than my canvas. No big deal.  Flip the canvas over and grab your utility knife and cutting board.  Using the edge of the canvas as your guide, cut off any portion of your poster print that is overhanging the edge of the canvas with your utility knife.

5) Next is the fun part, but you have to have a little faith that this is all going to work out.  You are going to coat your poster print with Mod Podge and then “stamp” that canvas texture right on to your print.  THIS TOTALLY MAKES THIS PROJECT so don’t panic and stop now.  Paint a thin layer of Mod Podge {matte finish} RIGHT OVER THE TOP OF YOUR POSTER PRINT.  Do not be nervous!  I promise, promise, promise you that it will dry clear and will look gorgeous.  Use long, even strokes to smooth your Mod Podge over your poster.  Be gentle with your paint brush.  Don’t coat the Mod Podge too thickly–if your poster print gets too wet, it could cause the ink to smear or the paper to tear.

6) Now, quickly grab a blank canvas and sandwich it ON TOP of your wet photo.  Press the two canvases together.  You want to press firmly enough that the texture will transfer to the canvas, but you don’t need to go overboard because if you press two hard, you could warp your canvas.  Now, peel the blank canvas off and you will be left with that authentic canvas texture.  You know, the texture that makes people spend $105.00 for.  But not YOU.  You are way too thrifty and smart for that!   If you are using a smaller canvas for your stamping {like I did} repeat the “stamping” process until your entire canvas is stamped.

NOTE: This is a quick step.  You want to “stamp” your canvas texture on AND remove the blank canvas while the Mod Podge is still wet.  If you complete this step and  your texture looks more like the Mod Podge was just smushed around, you may have used too much Mod Podge.  Stay calm.  Wipe some of the excess off with your foam brush, smooth out the strokes and try again.  Now, let the Mod Podge dry.

This is how that A.M.A.Z.I.N.G. texture will look once it is dry.  Can you believe it?!

Now you are ready to hang up your beautiful and thrifty DIY canvas art!  I hung mine in my kitchen, which recently received a makeover.  I just love it and especially love that I got exactly what I wanted for a fraction of the cost of the original canvas that inspired my project!

If you enjoyed this post, please pin it for later!

You may want to check out my recent kitchen transformation where this map canvas is hanging!  It’s a total transformation that I accomplished for less than $700 {including that gorgeous herringbone plank wall you see above, which we made for FREE from an old, ugly fence}.

You may also love seeing how I use this same technique to create my own DIY photo canvases.

Thanks for checking out my tutorial.  I hope you will try it soon!  If you do, let me know how your project turns out!

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Thrifty Decor Chick

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