How to Do a Distressed Image Transfer on Canvas

It wasn’t that I didn’t like the sage color of my new bathroom.  Green is my favorite, and the shade was really lovely. 

I just didn’t have a thing to match it!   

The bathroom in my old house was red, black, and cream on a canvas of sand-colored walls.  It was a clean and classic look and I loved it, and so transferring all the old decor to the new house just made sense.  

Except that I would have to paint.  And my husband surprised me by actually having an opinion on the subject!  While he doesn’t generally get involved in my decorating unless he’s forced to, he spoke up in defense of the green walls and suggested I keep them.

And so I did!  I love navy blue and knew it would pair well with the green, and so I bought navy-striped ducking and made a shower curtain and cafe curtains for the window.  Then I started looking for the perfect wall decor.  

Which I never found.  But I did come across some vintage seed advertisements on Etsy, and as I love anything vintage, and the colors were so brilliant and beautiful, I knew these prints were what I wanted on my walls! 

But I wanted to do more than merely print and frame them!  I wanted to try an image transfer onto canvas, and I found it to be an easy, fun, and very inexpensive project I am excited to try again!

All you need to do an image transfer yourself are the following materials:

 

What You Need:

• Stretched canvas
• Any image printed on plain printer paper  (If it is an image with words, you’ll need to reverse it, which I’ll explain in a minute.) 
• Matte Mod Podge
• Foam brush
• Soft sponge

1. Find an image you’d like to transfer to canvas and scan or download and print it on regular printer paper to fit your canvas.  Many of the DIYs you will find online recommend using a laser printer instead of an inkjet, but I used our inkjet and was very satisfied with the results.  Apparently images printed with an inkjet tend to rub off more in the transfer process.  If that’s true, it only gave me more of the worn and vintage look I wanted, so I was perfectly happy!  But if are wanting less of a distressed look, you might need to opt for the laser printer.

Keep in mind your image will be flipped as you transfer it.  If your image has no wording, then it likely isn’t a problem.  For images like signs and advertisements, however, you will need to flip your image in an editing program before printing.  Most photo/graphic editing programs have a photo reverse option that flips your image with just one click.   

 

2. Trim around your printed image if necessary.  

 

 

Paint the edges of your canvas if you prefer, but it isn’t necessary.  

3. With a foam brush, “paint” the surface of your image with Mod Podge.  Again, many DIYs will insist you use Mod Podge specifically designed for photo transfers.  While it’s possible it would make the process easier, transfer is very doable with the easy-to-find and less expensive regular Matte Mod Podge. 

 

 

4. Carefully place your image face-down on the canvas, gently smoothing and pressing out wrinkles and air bubbles.  

 

 

5. Let your canvas dry overnight, or for at least 3 – 4 hours.

6. Dampen a sponge and lightly wet the entire back of the image.  You’ll see your image begin to bleed through the paper backing.

 

 

7. Starting then at a corner, very gently begin to rub away the paper backing of the image, working carefully on one small area at a time.  (Rubbing with your fingers on the damp paper is sometimes even better!  With a little practice, you begin to see and feel the spots where more paper needs to be rubbed off!) 

 

 

Some of the image may rub away as well.  That’s okay!  It adds to the distressed look.  Just be gentle.  The image may have a lightly hazy look to it in spots or even all over.  If so, you may need to let the canvas dry for 3o minutes to an hour and then dampen and rub away at the paper a second time.  Again, with a little practice I found myself getting better and better at seeing and removing the excess paper.  

8. Allow your canvas to dry completely.  

9. Coat the entire canvas with a layer of Mod Podge to seal and allow it to dry again.  

 

 

Your canvas is ready to hang!

 

 

This turned out to be exactly what I wanted in my bathroom.  And it was so easy!