Looking for a super simple way to make DIY picture frames? These are much cheaper than store-bought frames and can be painted for a pop of color or stained for a farmhouse look. Keep reading to see how I made these colorful DIY picture frames for large canvas art in the nursery!
A huge thanks to DecoArt and Ryobi for sponsoring this project. This post contains affiliate links. See my disclosure policy for more information. Thanks for supporting the brands that support The Small Stuff Counts!
While we were giving my cousin the grand tour during her first visit to our new house recently, she was probably most excited about the large canvas art hanging above Chloe’s crib.
She asked if she’d missed these DIY picture frames on the blog and when I told her I’d only shared them on Instagram so far, I was reminded I needed to write a blog post about them. Not only are they the colorful focal point I’d hoped they’d be, but they are also so incredibly easy to make that I feel like I’m holding out on you by not sharing!
This project gave me a reason to break in my brand new Ryobi miter saw (I’m so darn pumped to finally have my own saw!). I also got a chance to use the happy paint colors I chose a while back to match the color palette from the mood board for this colorful nursery.
Our goal was the make a happy, colorful nursery and these humungous canvases (24×36 inches) add such a fun pop of color to this wall!
How To Make DIY Picture Frames For Large Canvas Art
Supply List
- 1×2 Pine Boards (enough length to attach to all four sides of your canvas)
- Paint (I used DecoArt Maxx Gloxx in Purple Polish, Aqua Waters and Sapphire)
- Ryobi Miter Saw
- Ryobi Sander
- Ryobi Brad Nailer
- Paint Brush
- Measuring Tape
- Pencil
(Btw, you can order items from HomeDepot.com and pick them up in the store the same day. This is a huge time saver, especially when you’re looking for specific project supplies you might otherwise spend a while hunting for in the store.)
1 | Cut The Boards To Size
Cut two 1×2 boards to the length of the side of your canvas (my long sides are 36 inches). Measure the length, mark it with a pencil and make a straight cut with your miter saw.
To cut the boards for the top and bottom, measure the length of the top of your canvas and add on the width of the side boards (since the top and bottom boards hang over the ends of the side boards). My top and bottom boards were 25.5 inches long (24” canvas + .75” left side board + .75” right side board). I made a quick diagram below to show the measurements.
2 | Sand The Boards Smooth
Sand all edges of the boards nice and smooth. I recently invested in this Ryobi Sander and it’s life-changing. Why have I waited to long to buy this?! It’s not very expensive and really beats my past methods of using the little sander attachment on my drill or sanding by hand.
Seriously, if you don’t have a sander and plan to do any kind of building projects, add it to your wish list or go buy one at Home Depot if it’s in your budget.
3 | Paint (Or Stain) The Boards
Now it’s time to paint (or stain) everything! These boards aren’t huge, so the painting will go pretty fast. Paint one side of each board, wait for it to dry and flip it over to paint the reverse side.
I used a basic foam brush and this glossy, colorful DecoArt paint that I’m obsessed with. Also, I used these super handy paint pyramids to hold the boards up off the table. These little pyramids make it possible to paint both sides at once because the tiny tips don’t mess up the wet paint when you flip the boards over.
4 | Nail The Boards To The Canvas
Next up is assembling your DIY picture frames! Attach the boards to your large canvas art with a brad nailer. Just a few small nails on all the edges is enough to secure the boards to the wooden edges of the canvas.
Attach the side pieces first, being sure to line up the edges of the board flush with the canvas. Keep the back of the canvas flush with one edge of the board so the extra board sticks off the front of the canvas to create a frame.
And that’s all there is to making these DIY picture frames! See, they really are pretty simple.
These DIY picture frames are so much more affordable than purchasing frames for large canvas art, plus you can customize them to fit your decor style and the specific size of your canvas. Use this same method to create frames for any size art you make for your home!
The nursery is shaping up to be even prettier than I imagined. And I’m very thankful for the time I’ve put into the room because I’ve been spending a ton of time in here rocking a teething baby lately. That’s definitely not the most fun, but at least I can admire all the pretty details in this room!
I’ll be back in a future post to share the tutorial for how I added book quotes to those large canvases!
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Learn more about decorating and organizing the nursery in these posts:
- DIY Temporary Wallpaper For The Nursery
- Nursery Dresser Organization Ideas
- DIY Labels Using Wooden Gift Tags
- Colorful Nursery Decor For Our Baby Girl
Have a great day!
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