Personalized Initial Photo Canvas {a tutorial}

This personalized initial photo canvas tutorial is easy and perfect for gifts! Use your child’s photo and turn it into custom inital art!

I am so excited to share this project with you all today–I just love how it turned out and it’s so simple to make! The gifting possibilities, too, are endless…this would be perfect for a baby gift, a family holiday gift, or even a wedding present (just use the couple’s last initial)! So, without further ado, let’s get started!

Materials:
Mod Podge Gloss
foam brush
canvas (I used 8×10)
photo paper

Step 1: The first step is to go into your word processing program (or Photoshop, if you have it), find the font you want to use, and print out the initial of your choice on 8×10 vellum paper. Here’s a screenshot of my image right before printing. As you may be able to see, I used Gil Sans Ultra Bold for my font, 750 pt.

Other fonts that would work well for this project are Berlin Sans and Impact, both of which came with my Microsoft Word Program. Basically, you just want a heavy, chunky font. Print out your letter on vellum (use a light gray color for printing, instead of black), and cut your letter out.

Step 2: Print your photo out onto cardstock or photo paper. Take your vellum letter and position it over your photo, moving it around until you are happy with the placement (the portion of the image that shows through the vellum is what will be displayed on the canvas.

Step 3: Cut out your initial. You may be able to do this with scissors, or you may need to use an x-acto knife and mat to get a clean cut.

Step 4: Take your initial and apply a layer of Mod Podge to the back. Position onto your canvas and press firmly. Let dry completely.

Step 5: Apply three thin coats of Mod Podge to seal. This is one project where multiple thin coats are preferable to fewer thick coats. Let dry completely between coats.

And there you have it! There are so many amazing ways to customize and be creative with this project, everything from using a black and white photo to painting the canvases a bright, bold color before applying the initial.

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Thanks for reading all about how to DIY a photo canvas! Have a crafty day!