With our hectic lives and five young children, I often find myself just managing to enjoy (or survive) the moment rather than snapping photos of it. When I do manage to take pictures of all the kids, there’s always someone not looking, picking their nose (usually their own), or trying to walk away.
I’ve realized that these candid moments capture the essence of what life is like right now, so instead of obsessing over the “perfect” family picture, I’m embracing these “beautiful but real life” shots.
One great perk of this new perspective on family photos is that we’ve stopped hiring professional photographers for most occasions, saving money by asking a family member or friend to take the pictures. I figured I could just get prints of my favorite shots and handle any edits myself.
As I explored my options, I fell in love with canvas photo prints available at most photo-printing services, though the prices were quite steep. I was determined to find a cheaper or DIY alternative. Eventually, I stumbled upon a tutorial for making homemade canvas photo prints on Pinterest, but the original article link was broken.
After some trial and error, I discovered a method to create homemade canvas photo prints for under $10 (or even less, depending on size). The idea struck while I was doing a craft project with my kids using Mod Podge, which I had previously used on photos. I decided to try it with photos on a canvas to see if I could achieve a similar look, and it worked perfectly! Since then, I’ve found a few variations and adaptations that also work well.
I purchased the materials to make 12 prints—six 8×10 and six 11×14—to give as Christmas gifts to relatives. By buying in bulk and printing the photos during a sale, I kept costs down, although prices may vary depending on where you live and available discounts. The total cost was $91 for 12 prints, or just $7.58 per print.
I followed the basic instructions below to make the prints shown in the picture but also experimented with a few variations that worked really well. Note that you can also use this project to display a favorite inspirational quote instead of a photo.
Do you have any favorite DIY art projects like this or have you tried something similar? Feel free to share below!
