Paper to Canvas

About 16-1/2 years ago, shortly after dear daughter was born, my sister presented me with the poem "A Hundred Years From Now..." in a bright yellow frame. I cherish that gift and read the poem often.

Then a few weeks ago I was making a purchase at a local shop and my items were delicately wrapped in gorgeous printed tissue paper. Me, being a bit of a crafty hoarder, held onto the paper because I just knew there was more life left in it than merely transporting my new trinkets home safely. How I decided to put that paper with that poem, well I honestly never question myself. Craft projects either work or they don't. This one, in my humble opinion, happens to have turned out pretty sharp looking.

I started with the usual suspects and a few of their friends: both matte and glossy Mod Podge, my Pampered Chef scraper for smoothing things over, a painting sponge, one wet wash cloth, an 11"x14" canvas and a frame to fit around it. I also printed a different copy of the poem to better compliment the tissue paper and frame.

I measured from each edge of the canvas so that my printed transfer would be centered. Speaking of that transfer, it was printed in reverse on standard copy paper with my regular old wireless Canon printer using Microsoft Publisher (my very favorite software for creating the majority of my printed work), so no fancy equipment was required for this project. A thin layer of matte Mod Podge went on the canvas and the transfer was laid down immediately.

I smoothed the paper using my handy little scraper (remember that an old credit card or a plastic knife would work here, too) from the center to the edges to help remove air bubbles. I was not as concerned on this project about the paper laying completely flat because texture adds a little character to the piece, I think.

I let this dry for several hours, and I mean that this time! I actually squeezed in a workout, ran errands, cooked lunch... I really, honestly did not touch it again until the whole thing was dry. And then I wet it again so that the top layer of paper could be peeled away. What this left was a cloudy, mottled, old looking piece of paper. Next came the torn pieces of tissue paper to help frame my poem before the whole piece was covered with a thorough coating of glossy Mod Podge.

 

Framed, hung and loved!!!