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DIY Love Canvas for Valentine’s Day

Learn how to make a DIY love canvas that looks great as Valentine’s Day decor, but it’s also perfect for a kids’ room or baby nursery.

Skills Required: Beginner. You’re going to be painting a canvas, cutting out letters from paper, then decoupaging them on top. This is a good beginner Mod Podge project.

DIY love canvases

Roll up your sleeves and get ready to slap some love on a canvas, DIY-style! I’m excited to share these DIY love canvases that are very, very easy to make.

And will have you cutting and pasting your way to some unique wall art.

While the word I use in this project is “love,” it could be any word. I’m going to show you how to cut out letters from scrapbook paper and decoupage them to a canvas.

The results are pretty awesome. It’s just what happens when scrapbook paper meets Mod Podge in a blind date set up by yours truly.

love canvas with mod podge

The nice thing about this project is that you can personalize. However if you use the word “LOVE”, take our free template for a spin—because why torture yourself trying to freehand letters when we’ve done the heavy lifting for you?

I wanted to show you how the canvases would look doing two different colors for the base and two different color palettes of scrapbook paper, so I crafted two different versions.

DIY love canvas wall art

As you can see these would make cute Valentine’s Day decor, just because of the word . . . .but I think they’d look great in kids’ rooms or a nursery. Or anywhere that you want to spread a little love.

Whether you’re a seasoned DIYer or a newcomer to the world of Mod Podge, these love canvases are a fun and easy foray into the craft.

It’s so simple that older children or teens can use this idea to design their own wall art. What could they cut the letters out of besides scrapbook paper? What about magazine pages? Or comic books??

Before you get started, you’re going to need some supplies to make this project. Here’s what you should grab:

  • Square canvas – 12″
  • Scrapbook paper – 4 sheets
  • Acrylic paint
  • Printable template – designed to fit a 12″ x 12″ canvas, but you can shrink and enlarge as you need
  • Mod Podge Satin
  • Scissors
  • Paintbrushes
  • Stencil tape
  • Craft knife and mat (optional)
  • Brayer (optional)

Tips and Thoughts for This Project:

I find it way easier to cut round edges with a craft knife on a self healing mat, like the inside of the “O”.

When you’re smoothing paper down on canvas, it can help to put something flat behind the canvas (like a thin book) to give the canvas rigidity. Canvas is somewhat flexible, and it bends a little if nothing is behind it when you’re pushing down.

If the canvas is going to be in a window or area with a lot of light, consider adding UV sealer on top so the paper doesn’t fade. Mod Podge isn’t UV safe.

DIY love canvases

Get the printable how to card for this project below:

Yield: 1 canvas

DIY Love Canvas

love canvas with mod podge

Create your own canvas with the word "LOVE" on it in scrapbook paper! It's a charming addition to any room in your home.

Prep Time 10 minutes
Active Time 1 hour
Dry Time 2 hours
Total Time 3 hours 10 minutes
Difficulty Easy
Estimated Cost $3

Materials

  • Square canvas - 12"
  • Scrapbook paper - 4 sheets
  • Acrylic paint
  • Printable template
  • Mod Podge Satin
  • Stencil tape

Tools

  • Scissors
  • Paintbrushes
  • Craft knife and mat (optional)
  • Brayer (optional)

Instructions

  1. Lay out your papers and decide which design you would like to use for each letter. Print out the template.Four sheets of scrapbook paper laid out on a table
  2. Cut the template into separate letters. Use the stencil tape to attach the templates to the scrapbook paper. Cut out with scissors, using a craft knife for detail areas.Cutting a letter out of paper using scissors
  3. Paint the canvas using a few coats of acrylic paint. Let dry between coats, then let dry completely.Painting a canvas with light blue acrylic paint
  4. Lay the letters out on top of your canvas, making sure the spacing is where you like it. Honestly, I just eyeballed.Letters LOVE laid out on a canvas
  5. Pick up a letter. Add a medium layer of Mod Podge to the canvas in the area where you are going to apply the letter. You're going to coat the whole canvas so just put it all over the area.Applying Mod Podge to the canvas to apply a letter E
  6. Smooth the letter down into a Mod Podge, using a brayer to help you smooth, if necessary. Brush any excess Mod Podge down smooth and let dry.Smoothing the letter E down in wet Mod Podge
  7. Repeat this process with the remaining letters, then let dry.Smoothing down the letter V on canvas with a brayer
  8. Seal the entire canvas with a coat of Mod Podge. Let dry and repeat. Let dry completely before hanging.Applying Mod Podge on top o fthe letter E on a canvas

Notes

I bought my canvases in a bulk pack of six and had the paper, Mod Podge, and acrylic paint all on hand.

Did You Make This Project?

Please leave a rating or share a photo on Pinterest!


If you enjoyed this canvas idea, let me know in the comments! I’d also love for you to check out these other ideas:

Penny

Friday 29th of July 2022

Great ideas and they look amazing. Thanks for sharing

Andrea

Thursday 6th of February 2014

Love this project! I recently tried this and had problems with paper wrinkling. How do you avoid wrinkles in your paper? Thanks!

Amy

Thursday 6th of February 2014

Hi Andrea! Take a peek at my videos at youtube.com/modpodgerocks - I think they will help!

TidyMom

Sunday 17th of February 2013

so cute and easy!! I love it Anna! Thanks for linking up Amy! I featured this post in my wrap up https://tidymom.net/creative-ideas-to-make/ have a great weekend!

Shauna {The Best Blog Recipes}

Friday 15th of February 2013

Just saw your LOVE canvas over at Skip To My Lou's link party from Monday and thought I'd come over and check out your blog.

Loved the artwork all over your house! Super cute (and I loved the yellow dresser too!).

I'd love for you to stop by my weekend link party and link up a few fun projects! http://thebestblogrecipes.blogspot.com/

Hope to see you there :)

Lauren

Thursday 14th of February 2013

This is adorable! I'm a lover of all things Pottery Barn - and when you can knock it off, it's even better since it's more affordable. I'd be thrilled if you'd link up at this week's Off the Hook!

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