Hi Chay, I used to do a lot of canvas mixed medium decopage which is what the picture you mentioned looks to be. And I will be happy to follow up with you later today to explain what you need to do! :c)

Instead of putting Modge Podge on the entire piece to be attached, I would start by doing about 6 inches across the bottom (on the back of poster), then getting it placed on the canvas. Then I would brush on the back of poster and/or canvas and roll the poster into place.

Thank you for that advice! I do have a small piece of canvas and a piece of poster that is the same weight as the one I ordered so I'm going to practice. One question I have is about the edges of the canvas - is it possible to wrap the poster around the edges, or should I paint the edges, because I need to hide the staples that adhere the canvas to the stretcher. The poster is really heavy paper so I don't know if it will wrap - maybe if I score it ... ?This project will probably cost me more in materials and time than it would if I'd just ordered it - LOL. But the Ballard Designs one was HUGE, and I wanted a smaller version.

Hi Chay, Glad to help! I would not wrap the poster around your canvas. If you buy your canvas from a true art store and not Micheals or Joannes, you'll find canvas that is wrapped around the frame so the staples don't show. It's worth the extra money and the difference in cost should not be a deal breaker. Funny you mention painting because when I was writing to you earlier, I had actually written a quip about painting the border, but was afraid it would overwhelm you (as it does many) and took it out.

What I would do is pick out a canvas that's 2 or 3 inches bigger than your print, and wash it out with watercolor paint in a colors that matches some of the greens on the leaves of the pear. Grumbacher paints are very popular, available at most art stores and come in many different colors, colors that might work well are Hookers Green in light and dark hues, Chromium Oxide, or Green Earth. You'll want a couple so you can have some color variation, black is also good to have so you can darken a color if needed (only use the tiniest amount when mixing) they all look like they could be a good match, but you can see all of the colors at www.in2art.com.

You will need a brush which if you go to an art store, the clerk will be able to help you with. Just put a dab of each color on a paper plate and a lot of water on your brush. If you want to practice blending the colors before applying it to the canvas, you can get a pad of canvas paper, again it's not that expensive and worth the cost to learn. I hope this helps but let me know if you have more questions. Have fun with it, when it comes to art, there are no mistakes!

Hi,

Please show us your finished product. I am about to do my first attempt at decoupage on an old wood cabinet. I do not have any artistic ability so I hope it turns out ok.

I can't wait to see your project!

Hi Robynpa, I actually don't have any I can show at the moment because I've yet to unpack it from a cross country move, but if you have questions, I can try to answer them for you. Why don't you post a picture of your piece and tell me what your plans are with it. Are you going to strip it completely? How much are you going to cover with decoupage? Are you interested in antiquing it also? If I don't know how to get the look you want, I can try to help you find a site that can. :c)

Thanks keepingitsimple!

The piece is just an old cheap cabinet that was in our office when we moved in - so it was free. It is small only about 2' tall by 18" wide and deep with a door on the front.

I already sanded and primed and put a coat of SW Ivoire on it. I had the paint left over from a bathroom cabinet that I painted.

My DH is going to pick the pictures to put on it - probably trout and fishing flys or some nature type illustrations. He is a fly fisherman and fly tyer.

I got a book from the library called "New Decoupage" by Durwin Rice and it has some great stuff in it!!

Any helpful hints are surely appreciated!
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Robynpa: What a cute cabinet. So far it's looking great. My ex is a fly fisherman who ties his own flies too...very interesting hobby. Are you going to put the door back on, or leave it off? Either way, I would add a couple of small shelves inside and I would antique it afterwards to help tone down the starkness of the white. Once you get the pictures your husband wants to use, maybe you can scan and post them.

Chay, I've been thinking about you're project as well and would suggest changing the paint type from Watercolor to Acrylic. You'll find them in the same isle as the Watercolor paints and they come in the same colors. They work the same way as the Watercolors do, they just have more bulk to them and will stand out more on the canvas. Also, noticed in your post you mentioned the paper of the poster is heavy, so I wanted to let you know...that heavy paper will show when decoupaged because of it's thickness. That's not a good thing because then the decoupage will be obvious. You may want to consider having it reproduced on a much thinner paper. Any of the copy shops like Kinkos can help you with that.

I'm heading to the store this morning to get some gesso and begin my experimentation. The print has not arrived yet, so I have some time to try things out. Thanks so much for the detailed advice about paint colors - I am an absolute moron about colors. I just painted 3 rooms in my house and drove myself crazy with choosing the colors, but in the end it all turned out great. I think at one point I had about 200 paint chips, I probably could have papered the walls with the chips. The decoupage saga continues ...

Chay,

I have been reading in my decoupage book that if what you want to glue is too thick then you should try to remove some of the backing. I guess it can be bit tricky so it is best to practice with a post card first.

So glad you got the information regarding the paints before buying the watercolors. Yes, pulling colors can be a challenge, I had the same delima with my own painting choices for every room in our house. With art it's different though, there are no mistakes...and if you don't like something, there is an easy fix to tweek it! Good Luck!

Well, this project took a left turn. I decided to frame the poster instead of adhering it to canvas, but I am still going to try a canvas project at some point. I appreciate everyone's advice, I will print out the info for future reference.

When I was experimenting with different adhesives on canvas I tried PPA, Perfect Paper Adhesive which is like thin Mod Podge. I got it at Michael's. I really liked the way it looked when it dried. So I emailed Susan Rothamel, who is the inventor of PPA to see if she had any tips about using it and she was kind enough to reply:

"PPA is pretty fluid as it comes from the bottle. So, occasionally, when using heavier materials such as you propose, I pour it into a shallow cup and allow it to sit for about 1/2 hour. It thickens a bit, making it nicer for heavier paper materials. Personally, since the poster is so large, I would POUR the adhesive onto the canvas surface, then use a credit card to smooth it over the entire placement area, working quickly with a sure hand.
Before applying the PPA to the canvas, and If the poster allows, I would also recommend misting the front and back of the poster with water. As paper fibers relax, they grab the adhesive better and make adhering, a smoother process. As the water evaporates and adhesive dries, the poster is flattened and firmly adhered. I do this with nearly EVERY paper when working in decoupage and some collage techniques. For instance, I adhere old watercolors to canvas and will heavily wet them from behind, mist the front (just so the paint doesn't run) and then adhere them. This provides a 'limp' paper, but the relaxed fibers are much nicer to adhere. I would think that an old poster should be handled gently when wet, but it will adhere just fine with this technique. If wet,it might even be a two-man operation, since the poster is so large."

I hope that helps anyone who might be considering this project. She also has a video on YouTube showing her using PPA.