Design team member of Alpha Stamps, lover of ephemera and junk.

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Saturday, June 11, 2011

Circus Print Canvas Frame How-To

I fell in love with this 4" by 4" circus tent art print by elgerboart on Etsy, and ordered it last week. It arrived in the mail yesterday, and it's gorgeous! I want to sit it on a table top, but didn't want to just stick it in a boring frame, so I thought I'd mount it on a canvas instead.

I painted a 5" by 5" chunky canvas black, and then lightly painted the front edges with the green, red, and yellow found in the print. Here's one of the advantages to hoarding scrapbook paper: I found some great striped paper with the perfect colors to match the print in my stash. For the sides of the frame, I cut three pieces about 1/4" smaller than the area to be covered, and then edged them with black ink. I glued them down with a little tacky glue, and then gave the entire frame a once over with Mod Podge to seal it and make it a bit shiny. I added a decorative knob (Tim Holtz) on top, and used four bead caps (found in the jewelry section of Michaels) for little feet. I love how this turned out!


The photo is attached to the canvas with clear photo corners. The corners are sticky, but I added a little dab of E6000 glue to the back to assure they won't fall off. I also used a few removable glue dots on the print itself to help keep it from buckling. I like knowing that I can remove the photo and re-frame it if I ever get tired of it displayed this way. Here's a view of the side:

And, I always feel it's important to make the backs of my art pretty, even if it's likely that no one will ever see that part. It just gives things a more finished look. For this canvas, I glued the same striped paper to a piece of shirt cardboard, inked the edges, and then glued it to the back. I've made frames for photos of my family before, and have glued a little surprise there, like a fortune cookie from a Chinese restaurant, which I think is fun. This one I left plain for now.

If I ever find the perfect fortune, I'll add it later. 

These frames make great gifts if you need a little quickie homemade gift idea. I put this one together in a little under two hours this morning. Maybe you should make one for your Dad for Father's Day!

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