Simple DIY Canvas Frame From Lattice Wood and Moulding

Lindsey
by Lindsey
14 Materials
$20
2 Hours
Medium

This post is sponsored by Blue Ridge Tools. As always, all opinions are my own. Canvas art has become an easy and affordable way to display all sorts of pictures. Canvas art with a wood frame can be affordable too! DIY canvas frames are even better. Personally, I love taking family photos and having them made into canvas prints. Since you can do this with any photo, gone are the days of buying your own art (for the most part at least). That being said, there is something about a framed picture that really "elevates" it and gives it a more professional look. Let me show you how to frame canvas art with wood.

The BEFORE

The first thing you need is a regular old canvas; an already mounted one. Mine is from Walgreen. They do a really good job! They add four simple wood pieces to mount the canvas around. This is key because I will be using those wood pieces to nail our new wood frame into.Aren't my babies cute, LOL. Gosh it seems like ages ago that we took this picture. It's crazy how quick time flies. What's that saying, "the days are long, but the years are short." How true...I loved the look of the canvas, but it still looked a little plain for my taste. I knew that adding a simple wood frame would really make it stand out.

The tools

Here are the main materials that you will need with some new tools I just got from Blue Ridge Tools. You can find all these at Target!Let me first preface this by saying I believe that the best way to make angled cuts is with a miter saw. That being said, unless you do a lot of wood working you probably don't have a miter saw. I want to show you an alternative way to make your own DIY wood frame for a canvas.

Glue the moulding together

  1.  After you gather your materials, start by adding a little glue to the moulding. Make sure to clamp or secure the moulding to the lattice wood and let it sit at least a few hours.

Before I go any further, know that you don't have to add the moulding. You could just add the lattice wood.

You see the picture above? The lattice wood does make a nice border by itself. Making the wood cuts with both pieces of wood together does add another element of difficulty, but it's still fairly simple.

Above is what it looked like after both pieces are glued together.

I like the way the moulding wraps around the canvas. I think it gives it that extra "finished" look.

Measure and mark

2) After the pieces are glued together, lay them on the canvas and mark where the edge of the canvas is.

You can see how I've drawn marks where the cuts need to be made.

Measure the angle cuts

3) Sit the wood in the miter box exactly how it will sit on the canvas. This is important to get the angle cuts right.4) Use a straight edge to mark the wood at a 45 degree angle. Make sure to mark alternating 45 degree angles for each side of the wood.

Secure the wood

5) Next clamp the wood in the miter box.

Cut the wood

6) With one hand holding the miter box, use the other hand to cut through the angled marks. It's helpful to have two people for this, but not necessary.

Angle cuts are tricky, so don't get discouraged if you need to redo a piece. Trust me, it takes practice.

Once you've cut two pieces of wood, make sure they fit together nicely. They won't be perfect, but it needs to be close.

Pre assemble the frame

7) After you've made all the cuts, lay the wood on the canvas and make sure they fit.

Paint or stain the wood

8) Next comes the fun part; painting or staining the frame. I chose to stain the wood. This picture has a lot of light colors, so I wanted to add a little contrast with a wood stain.

Nail the frame to the canvas

9) Next grab the hammer (or a nail gun if you have one). Hammer a nail in each side of each piece of wood. I used eight nails.

Apply wood filler

10) Grab the wood filler and apply the wood filler to the nail holes and the corners if needed.If you hammered the nails, you likely won't have nail holes. That's ok, as long as they aren't too visible.

Wipe away the excess wood filler and touch up

11) Wipe away the excess wood filler before it dries.12) Let it dry and then use your paint or stain to touch up the wood filler.Side note; it's harder to match and cover up wood filler with wood stain than it is paint. If you have a lot of putty to cover up, I would suggest painting the frame and not staining it.You ready to see my newly framed canvas?

The finished product!

I’m so pleased with how my new canvas frame turned out! With just a few simple tools, you too can create a lovely wood frame around any canvas!Lindsey

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Lindsey
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  2 questions
  • Pat Pat on May 18, 2020

    how do you get the picture on the canvas?

  • Flower Power Flower Power on May 20, 2020

    I have no idea what moulding you used and what you glued together. What tools are you using in Step 7, the 1st and 2nd frame? Is a nail gun a tool I should have in my tool box? I have only a hammer plus other simple tools.

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