In love with canvas paper

To me, one of the most fun items in the March KnK kit was the 12x12 piece of self adhesive canvas paper. There are endless possibilities to using this and I simply must have more and more.

I write a tech column for the KnK message board and this month's tech explored lots but not all of the things that you can do with this wonderful product. To mention just a few, you can paint on it as I did for this card, run it through a Sizzix or Cutterbug with a large die and cut it into shapes and even print on the material once it has dried. I used these two small pieces cut with a die and then painted with acrylics, glazes and pearlizer to make this card.



Yes, as much fun as making the card was, what I really love doing is printing photos onto the canvas paper. The texture gives a photo a portrait quality or, in the case of this beach scene, the appearance of a vintage postcard.




The canvas is perfect for reproducing heritage photos. In either case, I increase the contrast of a scanned photo and sharpen it in a photo program on my computer (I use Picasa) before I print onto the canvas. Because the canvas paper is porous,the ink does spread a tiny bit and sharpening the image helps get a clearer print onto the canvas.

I use pastel pencils and often painted on Stickles or inks to enhance the printed photo but only after the print has dried for a couple of hours or even overnight. After I am finished, I seal the print with a spray on acrylic sealer.

I hope you enjoy the canvas paper and all its possibilities as much as I do and have fun playing with this great addition to the March kit.

Jules