The Sticker-Letter Canvas

This type of canvas art is probably the easiest because you don't have to make your own stencils, just go to the nearest craft store and buy a few packs of scrap booking letters!

I used one of my recycled canvases that I spray painted white. Then I found the quote that I wanted to use. I chose John 13:7 because throughout school and the other stresses in life it is a daily reminder to hold onto the fact that God has your back.

When selecting your quote I suggest tallying the amount of each letter you need so you know exactly how many packs of sticker letters to buy (I got away with three). Color or texture of the stickers do not matter because they are just stencils!

After that I stuck the stickers to the canvas, using a ruler and pencil to draw straight lines as a guide. I chose to place the stickers aligned to the left because it looks clean and I didn't have to worry about words being off-centered.

I used the same gift card technique that I used for my world atlas painting. The first paints I used were gray acrylic paint and white acrylic paint. I squeezed some paint out straight on the canvas and spread it around using an old gift card. Unfortunately the first time I did this I did not pay attention to the stickers and noticed some shifted, so after the gray dried I repositioned some of the stickers and painted over it with a red-pink color. It actually worked and gave the painting more dimension.

After the top coat dried I peeled the letters off under a light. Using the light I could see exactly where the stickers were, and since the paint was thick I outlined them with an exacto-knife and peeled the stickers off.

Once all the stickers are peeled off you get your final product!

The Basic Stencil Canvas

I designed this canvas using the basic stencil technique.

I already went through how to develop your own stencils from the internet, now I will tell you exactly what I did to accomplish this look.

First I painted one of my recycled canvases with a mixture of different green acrylic paints and white acrylic paint that I had. I actually squirted the paints directly onto the canvas in random areas and then used an old gift card to spread the paint around. The gift card technique gives the paint a nice imperfect texture that presents raised areas and bumps, perfect for my world atlas. I let the paint dry.

I then decided to make my world atlas mission themed. I am a Christian and world outreach is one of my passions so I wrote all over the base green color in a black sharpie pen verses about reaching out to the world. You can do the same with quotes or phrases.

What makes it really cool is that the picture has more meaning to you and is customized with your handwriting.

I attached my stencils to the canvas using pieces of painters tape folded over to make both sides sticky and I sponged on some dark gray paint with an old painters sponge I had. Then, before it dried, i lifted the stencils off with tweezers and threw them out.

Let it dry and there you have it, I nice customized picture of whatever you want.