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I am great at taking pictures.  Our photographer has been capturing Henry’s moments for the last year and I love snapping some as well.  I take pictures almost every day of the kids on my phone and have managed to get some great shots.  I think to myself all of the time – Hey, this would look great on the wall.  Yet, the photos still sit there.  I am horrible at developing pictures and am constantly reminded by family that they are STILL waiting for updated pictures of the kids.  A few months ago, I sat looking at one of the walls in our house that has a few super adorable pictures of the kids.  Only the pictures are two years old and Henry isn’t in them.  The other problem – we spent a fortune on those pictures.  They are gorgeous and the frames are nice but never again!  I’ve gotten a little smarter since then and I’ve also gotten back in touch with my crafty side so I had a plan.  I wanted to make some do it yourself photo canvases.  One of each of the kids and one of them all together.  I also wanted to make a do it yourself vinyl wall decal to finish off the wall.

Did I mention that this idea has been rolling around in my head for a few months?  I heard about a printer that I could send pictures from my smartphone to and had to check it out. John is tired of hearing me tell him that I’ll order pictures to be developed for his mom and then me never getting around to it.  This may just be the answer.  The  HP Envy 4512 All-in-One Printer/Copier/Scanner
 allows you to print your photos directly from your smartphone to the printer using your home wi-fi.  You can connect up to 5 devices to the printer.  I was really excited about it and couldn’t wait to check it out.

I was so excited to get started on the do it yourself photo canvases and redo the wall because it was in desperate need of an update, preferably before we had company over for a Christmas get together.  I happened to be on the phone with my best friend in Ohio as I was setting up the new printer.  Installing it only took a few minutes, it really was so simple.  The real test though was whether my phone would connect to it.  At first it wasn’t and then I realized that I had to press a button on the screen of the printer that would tell me the password for the printer.  Once I did that, it only took a minute and I was all set to print.

Printing is unbelievably easy.  On your smartphone, find the picture you want.  Click that share button and choose the HP Print Service Plugin {which was already on my phone so I’m guessing it is a default app on my phone}.  You have the option to then choose the number of copies and the size of the paper as well as whether you want color or black and white.  Once you choose your options, press print.  Tada!  That is all there is to it.  It’s so simple.  I had THE HARDEST time trying to decide which pictures I wanted to use for my do it yourself photo canvas project but I finally made my decisions and sent the pictures to print.

Tip:  Make sure your photo paper is facing down or you will get a very creepy and not usable picture.  Oops.

Here is the tutorial for making do it yourself photo canvases and saving yourself tons of money.

Materials needed:

• Mod Podge
• Foam brush
• Canvas
• Photos printed from your  HP Envy 4512 All-in-One Printer/Copier/Scanner
• Extra blank canvas
• Utility knife

Directions:

Gather your photos that you will be using that you have just printed.  I was really worried about how the quality would turn out but I should have known the pictures would look just as good as if I had them developed for me.

Begin your do it yourself canvases by painting a layer of Mod Podge on your canvas.  Press firmly and carefully and place your photo on top of the painted canvas.

Repeat for all canvases you will be using.  Allow to dry, roughly about 20 minutes.

Flip canvas over and use your utility knife to cut any extra photo from around the canvas.  Tip:  Make sure your blade is sharp or you will get tears and the edges won’t look sharp.  

Once dry, apply a thin layer of Mod Podge ON TOP of your photo that you have attached to the canvas in the previous steps.  You want to use long, straight strokes so your do it yourself project doesn’t look like a do it yourself project.  Continue until you have covered the entire photo.

Press the extra blank canvas securely on top of the canvas with the picture.  If your project is larger than the extra canvas, move the extra canvas around until you have  pressed on every part of the canvas.  Now you will notice the canvas look to it.  If it looks smudged, use your foam brush to get rid of some of the excess Mod Podge.

Allow to your do it yourself canvases to dry completely.

Optional:  You can paint the sides of the canvas a different color, like blank,  if you choose.  

I am thrilled with how my do it yourself canvases came out.  I think they look fantastic.  Now, onto the finishing touches.  I hung them up on the wall and got started on my wall decal.  I hate making decisions so choosing the slogan for the wall was really tough.   Once I had it designed, I printed and cut it out and got it hung up as well.  Am I the only one who thinks the hardest part of all of this is getting the pictures to hang straight?

I love my new, updated do it yourself canvas art and am so glad I was able to print out my pictures using the  HP Envy 4512 All-in-One Printer/Copier/Scanner
.  If you are ready to stop losing pictures on your smartphone, pick up one for yourself and start printing today.  No more delaying your projects or photos for family members.  We found ours in the electronics area at Walmart in the printer aisle.  

If you are like me, you are trying to finish projects with small children running around and wanting your attention.  Keep them busy with some FREE printable coloring sheets {that you could print from your phone if you had this printer}.  Choose a gingerbread man coloring sheet or Santa’s sleigh coloring sheet.

What would your first do it yourself project be now that you can print out pictures at home?