Grab a pack of stretched canvases to make this DIY Faux Window Picture Frame Project using a FREE botanical printable.
Let’s make an inexpensive piece of wall decor – rustic wood frames filled with botanical prints on canvas fabric.
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What is a Reverse Canvas?
Well, a reverse canvas is just that: a canvas in reverse. You take a stretches artist’s canvas from the craft store, remove the canvas fabric, stain the wooden frame underneath, then trim the canvas and re-attach it to the back of the wood frame.
It’s a really fun way to make unique DIY wall decor.
For this project, I attached ten canvases together to make a DIY faux window picture frame to display above our living room mantel.
DIY Faux Window Picture Frame
Supplies:
- 10 stretched canvases, 9-inch by 12-inch
- Pen blade or razor blade
- Wood stain, DecoArt Americana Gel Stain in Oak
- Paint brush
- Heavy-duty stapler and staples
- Freezer paper
- Iron
- Pen
- Scissors
- Optional: rotary cutter, mat, and straight edge
- Printer
- Matte UV-resistant clear acrylic coating spray
- 2 thumb tacks
- Hot glue gun and glue sticks
- Twine and command hooks, for hanging
Tutorial – How to make a Reverse Canvas Window Wall Display
Watch this quick video tutorial, and then follow the step-by-step tutorial below:
- Watch the video above before you begin, and let that be your visual guide for this craft.
- Use a penblade or razor blade to remove the canvas fabric from the wooden frames. Carefully work around the staples. If you want a smooth back to the project, remove the staples as well. This can be a bit tricky, so I opted to leave the staples in place.
- Stain the wooden frames. Brush a thin, even coat of the gel stain (or stain of your choosing) onto the front and side edge surfaces of the wood. Wipe away any excess. Set aside to dry.
- Flip all the frames over and lay them together, 5×2. Staple the backs of the frames together, using 3-4 staples along each seam.
- Lay a sheet of freezer paper on top of the canvas fabric, with the bright white side of the canvas facing up. Iron (no steam) the freezer paper to the canvas, until the plastic coating is melted and the two are fused together.
- Lay a sheet of 8.5×11-inch printer paper on top of the canvas. Use a pen to mark L-shaped brackets on the canvas at each corner of the paper. Repeat for the other 9 pieces of canvas.
- Use a rotary cutter (or scissors) to cut each canvas down to 8.5×11-inches, using the pen marks as your guide.
- Print the botanical prints on the canvases – simply run the canvas/freezer paper combo through your printer.
- In a well-ventilated area, spray each piece of fabric with the acrylic coating spray. Let dry.
- Peel the freezer paper off the backs of the canvas pieces.
- Center a canvas piece face-down on the back of one wood frame. Secure the top two corners with thumb tacks. Hot glue the bottom half of the canvas to the wood frame by running a line of hot glue on the wood and smoothing the canvas down over it. Remove the thumb tacks, and hot glue the top half of the canvas. Repeat this process for the other 9 canvas pieces.
- Hot glue 2 loops of doubled-up twine to the back of the picture frames. Hang with removable command hooks.
My finished Faux Window Reverse Canvas Project:
I love how this project turned out. It gives our living room a whole new, cozy vibe. I’m really glad I used the back, unbleached side of the canvas as well. I think the black botanical prints on solid white canvas would have been too stark of a contrast.
DIY Botanical Prints Reverse Canvas
Yield:
1 Faux Window
Grab a pack of stretched canvases to make this DIY Faux Window Picture Frame Project using a FREE botanical printable.
Materials
- 10 stretched canvases, 9-inch by 12-inch
- Pen blade or razor blade
- Wood stain, DecoArt Americana Gel Stain in Oak
- Paint brush
- Heavy-duty stapler and staples
- Freezer paper
- Iron
- Pen
- Scissors
- Optional: rotary cutter, mat, and straight edge
- Printer
- Matte UV-resistant clear acrylic coating spray
- 2 thumb tacks
- Hot glue gun and glue sticks
- Twine and command hooks, for hanging
Instructions
- Watch the video above before you begin, and let that be your visual guide for this craft.
- Use a penblade or razor blade to remove the canvas fabric from the wooden frames. Carefully work around the staples. If you want a smooth back to the project, remove the staples as well. This can be a bit tricky, so I opted to leave the staples in place.
- Stain the wooden frames. Brush a thin, even coat of the gel stain (or stain of your choosing) onto the front and side edge surfaces of the wood. Wipe away any excess. Set aside to dry.
- Flip all the frames over and lay them together, 5×2. Staple the backs of the frames together, using 3-4 staples along each seam.
- Lay a sheet of freezer paper on top of the canvas fabric, with the bright white side of the canvas facing up. Iron (no steam) the freezer paper to the canvas, until the plastic coating is melted and the two are fused together.
- Lay a sheet of 8.5×11-inch printer paper on top of the canvas. Use a pen to mark L-shaped brackets on the canvas at each corner of the paper. Repeat for the other 9 pieces of canvas.
- Use a rotary cutter (or scissors) to cut each canvas down to 8.5×11-inches, using the pen marks as your guide.
- Print the botanical prints on the canvases – simply run the canvas/freezer paper combo through your printer.
- In a well-ventilated area, spray each piece of fabric with the acrylic coating spray. Let dry.
- Peel the freezer paper off the backs of the canvas pieces.
- Center a canvas piece face-down on the back of one wood frame. Secure the top two corners with thumb tacks. Hot glue the bottom half of the canvas to the wood frame by running a line of hot glue on the wood and smoothing the canvas down over it. Remove the thumb tacks, and hot glue the top half of the canvas. Repeat this process for the other 9 canvas pieces.
- Hot glue 2 loops of doubled-up twine to the back of the picture frames. Hang with removable command hooks.
Beautiful! Where do you get the blank canvases?
Mine came from Michaels, but you can usually find the multi-packs at any craft store (Hobby Lobby, Blick, etc.)
This is just beautiful! I Can’t wait to give it a go.