Hybrid Canvas « The Hybrid Chick

Hybrid Canvas

By melwilson Monday April 27, 2009

I have been wanting to do a canvas for a long time now. I knew I wanted something useful, but cute, of course. I just wasn’t sure what that was…until last week! My daughter and I were browsing the local craft store and found these cute little 5×7 canvases. So I picked up a couple for each of us and we went home to create! Her canvas turned into a beautiful watercolor of herself as a princess (she is 6), and mine became hybrid monogrammed door hangers! I’m so pleased with how these turned out that I’m actually gifting one this week at a baby shower.

Here’s the low-down for the pink canvas…

I opened an 8.5×11 blank project in my photo-editing software (I use PSE5). I do this because I know that’s the size of my paper and it helps me gage my space. For the pink project, I used the entire space knowing that I wanted the paper to wrap around my canvas. I used my Dots and Doodles kit for the background paper and the cute label. I knew the front was, of course, 5×7, so I made my label slightly smaller so I knew it would fit. I printed on my Epson Premium Presentation Paper (check out Kelleigh’s great article on paper) and used the borderless printing option on my printer. Since this project printed all together on one piece of paper, I lined up my paper with my canvas, centering the label image and carefully marked around the canvas on the back of the paper with pencil for a guide. I extended my pencil lines and cut out the excess on the corners to allow for easier folding aroung the edges. Then I mod-podged it on. Now, Mod-Podge is like my Crafting Kryptonite…but I managed with a few simple tips. I applied the mod-podge to the canvas and to the back of the paper. Then I used a brayer to smooth it out. I then wait a few minutes and allow it to set before I add the layer of mod-podge to the front of the project. Allow that top layer to dry completely before adding another thin layer. Check out Jill’s Mod-Podge Tips for more.

I love that canvas so much, I decided to try another. This time I used a different technique. I first painted the canvas a coordinating color. This one is a gift for a baby’s room, so I used the nursery colors. I made a paper I knew would match the room and then used the label again from Dots and Doodles and the same ‘L’ (that font is MB Flamingo, by the way) in brown this time. I used a brown paper I made to back the label, so that cutting it out would be easier. I printed them separately and cut them out. I mod-podged the background paper on first using the same technique as before and allowed it to completely dry. I then mod-podged the label on and smoothed it out before applying the top coats. Then I just stapled on some ribbon to the back to use as the hanger.