DIY Foam Core Framed Canvas & Sharpie Art

I think it is save to say I love hand script sharpie art. There is something about it, I just love. And in this case, I also love that I came with up with an idea for a DIY Framed Canvas.

They say that necessity is the mother of all invention – well I think the need for instant gratification is the mother of all craft and DIY ideas.

I recently had this idea to create a framed canvas – but there was one problem, I only had a small canvas in my stash and there was so much snow outside, heading to the craft store was a challenge.

So, I did the next best thing – I came up with a way to DIY one – with foam core and leftover trim. Here is how I did it. First, use a ruler and an Exacto knife to cut down a piece of foam core to your desired shape. Use a cutting mat underneath to protect your surface.

Place your trim pieces on the finished piece of foam core and mark off the size with a pencil. I did not use mitered corners, I kept it simple and used butt joints.

Use a miter box to cut your pieces down to size.

Stain or paint your trim pieces to your desired finish. My pieces were scrap and already had stain on one side so I only needed to add stain to the ends and back side (which is visible in the finished product). I considered doing it in black or gold – but went classic this time. Next time though….

Using your computer and printer, print out your desired words and font. My font is Callie Hand and the overall size is 15.5” by 20”. I printed it out one section at a time and then taped it together.

Turn over the back and run a pencil over all the areas there are words.

Turn it back over, tape it in place so it doesn’t move and then slowly trace all of your words.

Remove the paper and there will be a faint tracing of all of your words. Slowly and carefully trace and fill all the lines in with a Sharpie paint pen.

The final step is to use a hot glue gun to attach the trim to the sides of the foam core. I could not get a picture of this because you have to run one line quickly down and then put it in place before any of the glue hardens up – which is hard to get a picture of! I lined up the back of the trim with the sides of the foam core so that it came forward to frame it out more. And you are finished! I love how the framing finishes off the foam core and makes it looks a canvas.