"Special Daddy" Layered Canvas

Supply List:
1 - 24”x24” deep edge canvas
16 - 4”x 4” regular edge canvases
4 - 12”x12” decorative scrapbook papers (We used the K & Co. “Que Sera Sera Ocean Voyage” collection)
1 - 8oz bottle Americana Satin Enamel Paint, for large canvas. (We used black)
4 - 2oz bottles DecoArt Crafter’s Acrylic paint, in colors that coordinate with the scrapbook paper you selected above. (We used Tan, Bright Red, Tropical Blue and Sun Yellow)
1 - 8oz bottle Satin Mod Podge
1 - 2oz tube Quick Grip Glue
1 - 1” foam brush
1 - 2” foam brush
1 - “Special Daddy” vinyl word sheet
11 - Family photos
Paper trimmer
Ruler
Hanging hardware
Krylon “Preserve It!” photo protectant (optional)*

*Photos printed on a home ink-jet printer must be sprayed with this product to prevent the ink from smearing when you glue the pictures to the canvases. Or, you can have your photos copied, cropped and tinted at the Ben Franklin Imaging Center – using a process that eliminates the need for a photo protectant and leaves your originals intact and available for other projects.

Instructions:
Step 1:
Use a paper trimmer to crop 3 pages of the scrapbook paper into 5”x5” squares, crop 1 page of the scrapbook paper into 4”x4” squares (you will only use 4 of these), crop your photos down to 4”x4” squares

Step 2:
Use the 2” foam brush to paint the 24”x24” canvas with the Americana Satin Enamel paint, set it aside to dry. Rinse the brush out under warm running water, and set it aside for step 6.

Step 3:
Use the 1” foam brush to paint the 4”x4” canvases with the DecoArt Crafter’s Acrylic, painting four canvases in each color and set them aside to dry. Be sure to rinse and dry the brush well between colors.

Step 4:
Cut apart the four parts of the “Special Daddy” vinyl saying. Apply each part of the saying to one of the 4”x4” squares of scrapbook paper you cut in step 1.

Remove the backing paper from the vinyl words and place them sticky-side down onto the paper. Rub over the top layer of transfer paper with a popsicle stick to adhere the words to the paper.

Gently peel away the transfer paper, replacing the transfer paper and rubbing over it again if any letters are not adhering properly to the scrapbook paper.

Step 5:
Now is a good time to design the layout for your 4” canvases. Lay them out on the larger canvas and decide the pattern you will be placing the colors in. Now decide which of the four canvases you will place the words on. Finally decide which canvases you will be placing the 5” squares of scrapbook paper under.

Draw out a quick key to refer to later.

Step 6:
Now you will use the 2” brush and Satin Mod Podge to decoupage the 5” scrapbook paper squares onto the large canvas. They should be spaced 1” from the edge of the large canvas and just a ½” from each other (or 6” from each other if you are skipping a space)

To decoupage properly you first paint a moderate amount of Mod Podge onto the canvas in the area you are going to place the paper (don’t cover the whole canvas with Mod Podge, it will start to dry out before you get all your paper down).

Then paint a moderate amount of Mod Podge onto the back of the 5” square of scrapbook paper. Brush the glue from the center of the square out to the edges (in a star pattern). The paper is going to warp a bit because of the moisture in the glue – applying it in a star pattern will keep the paper from rolling up on itself. Let the paper “rest” for a moment – you will see it start to flatten back out a bit as it “relaxes” – this should prevent the paper from pulling away from the canvas before the glue can dry.

Now you can mate the wet side of the paper to the wet patch of canvas, carefully smoothing from the center of the paper out to the edges to squeeze out any air or excess glue.

Repeat for all 5” paper squares.

Apply a top coat of Mod Podge over the entire canvas once all the paper squares have been applied, but only after the under coat of glue under all the squares has dried. If you paint your top coat on too soon the paper squares may warp and pull away from the canvas, causing air bubbles and peeling edges.

You can check the under coat by laying your hand on top of the last paper square that you glued down – if the paper feels cool, the moisture in the glue is still evaporating through the paper and you must wait to apply the top coat. Once the paper feels room temperature, the glue is dry and it is safe to apply your top coat.

Step 7:
Use the same decoupage technique to apply the 4” paper squares (with the vinyl words already applied) and the photos to the small canvases.

The advice above holds true for when to apply the top coat to these small canvases as well.

Step 8:
When the top coat of Mod Podge is dry on all the canvases, use Quick Grip to glue the small canvases in place (the top coat is dry when the glue is clear and the surface feels room temperature).

Work with the large canvas laying flat on a table top.

Refer to your diagram as you work. (The spacing for the small canvases should be 1 ½ “ from the edge of the large canvas and from each other)

Apply Quick Grip to the back of the small canvas (a large dollop at each corner should suffice) and place it in the center of the 5” paper square (or empty space) on the large canvas.

Leave the canvas flat for at least 12 hours – the Quick Grip needs to cure, so be patient.

Step 9:
Attach hardware to the back of the canvas, hang it up and enjoy!