Easily Frame Any Canvas

Hello friends, this is my first blog post of 2021!! Wow I had one busy busy January and didn't get the chance to pop on here once. I hate being away from the blog...to me it's a my little happy place to write down some creative ideas and share them with you guys in more detail. Today is another simple project that makes a lot of impact with minimal effort. I am sharing how you can add a wooden frame to an art canvas of any size. I'm sure you even have a few art canvases kicken around already, well take a look at them and visualize just how much more gorgeous that piece will look with a pretty frame around it!!

This is so easy, you just need a handful of supplies and a few minutes of your spare time. Let's get into it....

Supplies:

• I used 1" x 2"x 8ft Spruce boards because my frame was 2" deep. Be sure to measure and get the size of wood according to your frame, but the 1x2" will work with most canvases.

• Wood Glue, I like Gorilla Wood Glue

• Hand saw or miter saw

• Stain or paint in the colour of your choosing

• Sand Paper

• Spring Clamps

I decided to give my bedroom a mini makeover with some new DIY throw pillows I made by cutting up an old brown throw blanket, and by painting my shiplap feature wall Benjamin Moore Dark Pewter. Once it was all completed I knew my boat pic would be the prettiest addition against the green wall and add to the warm earthy tones I was going for in here. This is an older piece I found at Home Sense Canada and it's just one of those pieces that I could never get rid of. The soothing scene of the boat on a calm foggy lake just speaks to me and I've had this piece on and off for years above our bed. Only thing is once it was hung up I felt it needed to pop more and I knew making another easy wooden frame would do just that!

Step 1:

I bought my wood from Home Depot. I ended up buying 2 x 8 foot pieces just to be sure I had enough as I forgot to measure my canvas before I went to the store, woops!

I measured the height and the length of my canvas and it was 17" x 37". I knew I was going to need an overhang with the frame edges on the top and bottom of the picture. The actual size of the wood, although it says it's a 1 x 2", it's actually 3/4" x 1 1/2". I don't know why wood measurements are always rounded up?? It really does make things more complicated than it needs to be. So using my miter saw I cut 2 pieces at 17" long, those are for the vertical sides of the canvas and then I added on another 1 1/2" for the length of the top and bottom pieces to account for the over hang on each end. So I ended up cutting 2 pieces at 38 1/2" long.

Now if you don't have a miter saw or power tools just use a good ol' hand saw!! I've used a hand saw for so many projects before I even knew how to use any power tools. Please promise me though if you do use a hand saw that you use it safely. It's so easy to get hurt using a hand saw...you think you can just set your piece of wood loosely down and start sawing don't you?? Well let me be the first to tell you it's not that easy....you MUST clamp down your piece of wood onto a work surface or table first to anchor it securely into place then start cutting. You don't want that thing wiggling around and you trying to hold it down with the other hand, only to have that saw slip and cut you, ouch!!

Please use a clamp with a hand saw!

Step 2:

Alright now that your cuts are done, just give those end edges a quick sand with your sand paper to smooth down any sharp edges. Then you can pick a stain or paint colour to compliment your art and put that on now. I chose the colour Minwax Special Walnut, it's one of my faves! I found one coat of it was enough to get the colour I wanted. I didn't seal it either, I didn't mind the unfinished look.

Step 3:

Once your pieces of wood are all dry, you can now clamp your wood to the sides of your canvas. I placed my art face side down on my work table so the back of the canvas was facing me. All I did was run a long line of glue down the 2" edge of the 17" piece of wood and place it up against the side of my canvas. Make sure it all lines up nicely. Then clamp down your wood to the canvas end to make sure it has even pressure on both sides. Do the other side then finish with the top and bottom pieces and again make sure it all lines up nicely.

After I was done clamping I flipped it over and let is sit resting on the clamps over night. That way if any glue started to ooze or run, it would run towards the back of the frame. By the morning it was dry and I released the clamps off and voila it was done...my newly framed canvas!!

Talk about easy!! Just look at how much better it looks from the before! Now it pops, and has that subtle contrast of the warm wood frame against the white scene to give it that extra something special.

Again here's the before...

And the after!

I just love easy projects with a big impact!! This was definitely one of them. It took me 15 mins in total project work time before I was already letting them set to dry for the night on the clamps.

I should also mention that I have done this to a few other canvases in the past and trust me it holds up great with no pulling away. That Gorilla Glue is the real deal so be sure you get the good stuff here.

Well that's it guys! Hope you enjoyed this easy tutorial today on how you can make a frame to any art canvas! If you do make one please be sure to tag me in it on Instagram. Have a wonderful day guys!

~Dale ~