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08/01/2009 07:29:25 PM · #1 |
Hey guys. I've been playing around with an idea and after a couple of days of trial and error I think I've hit on something worth sharing!
I created all of these gallery wrapped prints myself....
Here's the how-to:
I bought a group of ready-made stretched canvases from the craft store. Keep an eye out, you can catch them on sale pretty often.
My first idea was to use iron-on transfers to adhere images directly to them, but that didn't work at all. So I started experimenting. Finally I hit on something that worked a charm.
I grabbed some old t-shirts, you know, the ones you get free from every event you attend. Yeah, just plain old t-shirts.
I printed an image onto iron-on transfer paper (get good iron-on paper that allows for stretch without distorting the image) and then ironed it onto a white spot on the junk t-shirt. I then cut the image out, leaving a couple of inches all around (you'll need that later to grab onto when you stretch and pull the image). Now, I put the image face down on a hard surface (my desk) and laid a canvas face down on top of it. Using a staple gun, I stretched the fabric arund the ready-made frame. Starting from the center of each side and working toward the corners, I kept the fabric very tight as I threw a zillion staples around the back of each one. When I came to the corners, I took extra care to wrap them very neatly and secure them extra tight on the back with staples.
After the fabric is secured to the back, use scissors to trim away any extra fabric.
And that's it! So simple, yet looks very nice and costs almost nothing compared to the gallery wraps you buy from the print labs.
If you use one of the athletic-quality t-shirts (they are much more densly knitted) you get a finer grain (texture) to your final product. If you use a lesser-quality t-shirt (like a guy's undershirt) you'll see more of the knitted texture.
You can finish the print with a generous coat of glossy varnish spray, or leave it alone - its up to you.
Here are closer looks at a few of the ones I did:
 I did this one twice. She, my daughter, grabbed the first as a gift for her boyfriend.
 I LOVE the colors in this one, printed it on a beige t-shirt.
 Sooooo cute.
 This one is 2 inches thick... that was tricky. Tougher on the corners.
 This one has a healthy coat of glossy varnish giving it a bright shine.
 Well, its Ella! ;)
 This was the first one I finished and drove me to keep going.
I did a few more as gifts for friends. Once the transfer is applied, you'd never ever guess they were just t-shirts. They really have the look and feel of a nice gallery wrap.
Hope you guys like the info and can find a way to put it to use for your own Gallery of Gallery Wraps. Please share the pics!!!!
SC - can you please add this as a tutorial for future use? Thanks.
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08/01/2009 07:49:58 PM · #2 |
Originally posted by idnic:
SC - can you please add this as a tutorial for future use? Thanks. |
Great idea, but I think you'll need to send an administrative ticket directly to Langdon -- we don't have anything to do with posting the tutorials. |
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08/01/2009 08:22:27 PM · #3 |
Originally posted by GeneralE:
Originally posted by idnic:
SC - can you please add this as a tutorial for future use? Thanks. |
Great idea, but I think you'll need to send an administrative ticket directly to Langdon -- we don't have anything to do with posting the tutorials. |
Oooh yeah, thanks, Paul. I forgot how I added my last tutorial. Its been a while. |
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08/01/2009 10:03:36 PM · #4 |
| Probably a lot cheaper than Canvasondemand.com That's for sure. Great work. |
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08/02/2009 02:35:56 AM · #5 |
| I've never done anything with transfers - where do you get the iron-on paper? And do you just print on that with a laser printer? I would think this might also work well with muslin, yes? (Though knit obviously stretches easier than muslin.) I'd love to give it a try! |
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08/02/2009 04:07:48 AM · #6 |
| Those all look great, Cindi! But am I missing something or wouldn't it be easier to just print photos onto printable canvas sheets like this? I've done several canvas prints using that and stretching it over some cheap wooden photo frames. |
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08/02/2009 10:28:42 AM · #7 |
Deb, I'm sure muslin would look nice, as long as you mount it tight it should work. I bought the transfer paper from the nation's largest discount store and from a craft store (different brands). I found the Avery brand (from wal-mart) worked MUCH better than the more expensive craft store brand.
Ken, dunno if its my printer or what, but everytime I've tried printable canvas the prints look like doo doo. They blur and smear. That's why I was looking for an alternative and stumbled on the iron-on idea.
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08/02/2009 01:28:02 PM · #8 |
Originally posted by Melethia:
I've never done anything with transfers - where do you get the iron-on paper? And do you just print on that with a laser printer? |
I think the transfers only work with ink-jet printers -- in a laser printer, the toner is fused/melted into the fibers of the paper and shouldn't come off. Could be somethng newer for lasers I haven't seen though ... Most of the printer companies (Epson, HP) make their own brand of transfer paper. |
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08/02/2009 01:40:04 PM · #9 |
they look good, the only thing i would say is that your corners are fairly bulky.
Message edited by author 2009-08-02 13:40:50. |
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