Upgrade Bare Walls with DIY Canvas Art (It's Made from Wrapping Paper!)

Raise your hand if you’re guilty of hanging art on your walls that is too small. Or not hanging any art at all. (Hand raised. Head hung in shame.) Until recently, I had two prints hanging in my master bedroom that I knew were totally the WRONG size for the wall, but I was too lazy to do anything about it. That all changed when I got a dash of inspiration out of nowhere and created some large-scale DIY Canvas Art for the space with my secret decorating and DIY weapon – luxe wrapping paper!

I’ve used wrapping paper on other projects (like these Upgraded IKEA Bookshelves and this Trash to Treasure Table), and its versatility never ceases to amaze me! This time I turned it into pretty DIY wall art, and I’m convinced that anyone (yes, anyone!) can make pretty DIY wall art for their homes with this trick!

Supplies Needed to Make DIY Canvas Art with Wrapping Paper

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Canvas panels (I used 12″ x 24″ panels)
Luxe wrapping paper (this is the print I used. Make sure to use a heavyweight wrapping paper for less chance of wrinkling and tearing)
Mod Podge in finish of your choice (I used matte)
Foam brushes
Optional: brayer
Scissors
Acrylic paints in colors of your choice (I used this color, this color, and this color)
Liquid gold leaf
Artist’s paint brushes
Double-sided permanent tape
Optional – For Wooden Frames (follow this tutorial, which requires 1″x2″ pieces of lumber, hand saw, brad nailer, 3/4″ corner braces, and wood stain)

How to Make DIY Canvas Art with Wrapping Paper

Aaaah I’m so excited to show you how to make your own large-scale art! You’ll feel like an artist when all is said and done – I just know it!

I began by cutting my wrapping paper slightly larger than the portion of the canvas that I was covering. Then I applied a thin layer of Mod Podge to the canvas, and pressed the wrapping paper onto the canvas – removing air bubbles as I went. I used a brayer to help with this part, but if you don’t have one, it’s not totally necessary (just helpful!).

While the Mod Podge was drying, I painted the empty part of the canvas in this color, which is a pretty navy blue. I left a little gap between the wrapping paper portion of the canvas and the blue paint because I knew I’d be painting that part of the canvas gold.

Once the paint dried, I used gold acrylic paint to add a border between the navy paint and the wrapping paper.

Once all of the paint was dry, I flipped the canvas over and attached the wrapping paper to the sides and back with double-sided permanent tape.

Then I put a thin layer of Mod Podge on top of the wrapping paper for extra adhesion and protection. You probably don’t have to do this – especially if you like the texture of the wrapping paper as-is – but I wanted to make sure these pieces of art are durable!

After about 20 minutes when the Mod Podge was dry, I added random brushstrokes of a different shade of navy blue paint to the top of the canvas. Then I added gold leaf streaks to the gold painted portion of the canvas. These little touches added some dimension and made things look less flat!

Once everything dried, I built canvas frames by following this tutorial. These frames went together really easily and gave my DIY Canvas Art such a finished look!

Can you believe how easy it is to make your own art with wrapping paper?

There’s really no reason NOT to have pretty walls with art this easy and inexpensive! (I’m typing that so I remember it – trust me, I have some walls that need help!)