When thinking of crafty Christmas presents, something personalized that you can easily make for someone is a photo transfer onto canvas. Recently, I’ve gotten into making these and they’ve turned out pretty cool. I’ve even had some of my students make some for pieces to be used in the Museum of Contemporary Arts in San Diego.

To make a photo transfer all you need is:

1. A photo printed onto computer paper
2. A canvas (I usually use a 5X5 canvas)
3. Liquitex Ultra Matte Gel
4. A paint brush
5. Scissors
6. Water color paint or water color pencils
7. Water in a small spray bottle
8. Acrylic paint (for a border on the canvas)
9. Tracing paper (for text)

Directions:

Step 1: Print a photo that you like onto computer paper. Make sure you size it correctly so that it will fit nicely onto your canvas.

Step 2: Using a paint brush, apply a think layer of Liquitex Ultra Matte Gel onto your canvas.

Step 3: Cut out your printed photo and place it face down onto your canvas. Smooth photo out as much as possible and let it sit overnight so it can dry.

Step 4: Using a small spray bottle. spray water onto the photo and gently rub the canvas. Be careful not tear the photo and continue rubbing the photo until the picture is completed revealed. After picture is revealed, let the photo dry for 5-10 minutes.

Step 5: Once photo is dry, you can use watercolor paint or pencils to enhance the colors in your photo. If you feel like you don’t need to add color, just seal the photo in with a thin coat of the Liquitex Ultra Matte Gel.

Step 6: Paint the sides of the canvas with acrylic paint and even paint a border if you like.

Step 7: If you want to add text, print out a quote or any words you would like onto tracing paper then cut out and using Liquitex Matte Gel to glue down.

Here’s are some examples of some photo transfers I have made that I felt turned out pretty nice:

What I love about these photo transfers is that they have a retro feel to them that looks like a drawing out of an old book you might pick up at the library or a vintage book store. Of course the photo transfers are not perfect photo copies of pictures onto a canvas but that’s what make them look different and special. The couple of transfers I have made were created as pieces to place in my condo to help me remember favorite places I have traveled to and when I have more time I’m hoping to create a few more.