Wall of Shame No More

You probably know that you can upload an image and have it printed on canvas. Did you know that you can choose to print on canvas that isn't then stretched on a frame and it's considerably less expensive? I'll show you how I used rolled Uprinting canvas prints to put an end to my wall of shame.

What's a wall of shame? Well, there are a number of neglected corners in our home. We moved over the summer of 2010 and in addition to sorting and unpacking, we replaced 75% of the flooring, the entire kitchen, the bulk of two bathrooms and created a backyard where there wasn't one. A combination of contractor cooperation and DIY all while my husband was away for a year knocked me out. Know what's sadder than a neglected corner? A neglected MIDDLE. In the middle of my kitchen these two Ikea frames have been hanging for over a year. I knew I wanted this size and this style... and could not make up my mind about what to put in them. So there they've sat. That's my version of a wall of shame. Or was. (First-world drama here, obviously.)

My Dad came for a visit and actually laughed out loud. "Nice art, BZ." Employing my childhood nickname did not soften the blow. Hmph. He who no longer has small Curious Georges running around has forgotten that these frames are far safer on the wall than sitting somewhere waiting to be hung.

Before Christmas I decided to tape K's holiday artwork to the front. 'Cause I could. So much fancier, right?

And now that it's summer... maybe it's time for the holiday art to be put away? You think?

Just as I had decided I really needed to deal with this problem, I got an e-mail asking whether I'd like to try UPrinting. The timing could not have been better. I had decided that I'd need to do some sort of large-format print myself, since I needed horizontal art and nearly everything I'd found online that I liked was vertical.

I got to work creating my 16 x 20 files. I used Illustrator, but you could create images a million different ways. I made simple overlapping silhouettes of flatware, and a sentiment I loved. "If we feed you - we do love you." It applies to our children, our dogs, and our visitors. I chose Blackout for the font and did my arranging, saved the files as PDFs and hopped over to UPrinting to upload my files and create my rolled canvases. You'll find them under "Canvas Prints" in the left-hand menu.

UPrinting provided one for me to review and I bought the second (and paid for the shipping) with my fingers crossed that I'd be happy with the results. So glad I did.

Here's what I uploaded.

Because I knew I'd be wrapping these around a board to drop into my frames, I chose to add a 2" border all the way around the print. There's no extra charge to add it. If you wanted to take advantage of the fact that the rolled canvas is less than half the cost of a wrapped canvas and DIY the wrap yourself on a craft store canvas using a staple gun, you'd also need this 2" of room to do that.

After I uploaded my PDFs, the colors that appeared on screen changed a bit, and I was a little nervous that the print colors might be way different. Turned out my worrying was for nothing, because the colors in the finished product were perfect. Here're my canvases fresh out of the mailing tube.

I was/am really impressed with the quality of the canvas and the print. The colors are bright, clear and smooth. Nothing about them, even with close inspection, says "a digital printer printed me".

So to put my canvases to use, I took my frames apart. I put the original mat and glass aside and used the sturdy backing board from the frame to wrap my canvas around.

If you're using an open-back frame that doesn't come with a backing board you can use, I'd suggest these canvas boards. You can get them at most craft/art supply stores for a few dollars a piece.

I laid my canvas print down on my cleaned-just-for-this-special-occasion kitchen countertop and lined my backing board up on the center. To get your canvas nice and smooth on the front, start by carefully but firmly pulling it taut in the center in one direction and taping it with a sturdy tape like duck tape. Then do the center in the other direction. You've got to use strong tape. Masking or gift wrap tape will give up faster than a four year old trying to tie shoelaces. Start in the center and work out to the corners. Starting with the corners will lead to wrinkles.

Trim the bulky corners a bit.

And that's all there is to it. Slide them into the frames and hang them on the wall.

I'm sooooo happy that this wall is finally bright and happy. And now you know that if I feed you... I love you!

Questions? Shoot. Thoughts? Share 'em.

I wrote this post as part of a paid campaign with Uprinting and Blueprint Social. The opinions in this post are my own.

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