How to transfer ink to canvas...

A while ago my husband challenged me to come up with something sufficiently manly enough to put in his office. I'll be the first to admit I lean towards the hearts and flowers when it comes to craft. So I put my thinking cap on and decided on making him a print.

I was inspired by Elsie over at A Beautiful Mess with her tutorial on making your own canvas portrait. As you can see from the photo (although it looks fainter on here than in real life), the method I used gave a 'distressed' look. I did consider going over it with a bit of paint but I (and more importantly hubby) liked the canvas in it's natural state.

This is such a simple d.i.y. - just remember to print your quote backwards, otherwise you'll need a mirror on standby :)

What you need:

Blank canvas
Standard paper
Sponge
Water

1) Print out your quote backwards. It will vary on each computer but I have Windows 2010. On that, click onto 'print', then 'printer properties' and then 'print layout' and select the mirror option.

2) Position your paper over the canvas. soak your sponge and press onto the paper. Make sure you press down rather than wipe as this will tear the paper. Don't be afraid to really soak the paper and apply pressure. Gradually work your way down over all the text.

The paper might crease up slightly when wet. This is okay, I didn't notice any real detriment to the final outcome. You can gently try to pull out the creases if you wish, it's far more important to not rip the paper though.

3) Leave for 15-30 minutes to allow the ink to transfer onto the canvas. Gently peel the paper away and leave the canvas to dry...or be impatient like me and use a hairdryer.

I really like the statement of black ink on white canvas...I think I might be filling our new home with favourite quotes using this method :)

Update: I decided to paint over the text as it had faded after the sun got it's bright shining rays on it...I posted about the process here if you wanted to see the updated version!