Our place, as a family – is Long Beach Island in NJ. There is just something about being there that does our souls good. Years ago, we went to a special spot on the northern end and had some pictures taken. Last year, we went back and I attempted to recreate some of the same photos now that the girls were older.

But one picture was a new shot and one that melted me. What is about a picture of the back of my kids walking? And then add their Dad and I am sold.

Sandy took its toll on my parent's beach condo so we just don’t know if we will make there this year, but if not – we still have this sweet reminder.

So I decided to create a painted canvas of the image with Mod Podge Photo Transfer medium.

Step 1:

Gather your materials. You will need Mod Podge photo transfer medium, a blank canvas, a foam brush, your picture printed out from a regular printer (on regular paper, not printer paper), regular Mod Podge in a matte finish, scissors, parchment or wax paper, a small bowl of water, a sponge, craft paint and paint brushes.

Step 2:

Lay out a piece of parchment paper to have an easy surface to work on. Using your foam brush, cover the picture with an even and thick coating of the photo transfer medium. You should just be able to barely see the image through the medium.

Step 3:

Place the image face down on the canvas and smooth out any bumps.

Now, leave it alone for a full 24 hours. Really, no peeking or checking!

Step 4:

Now that you have waited 24 hours, begin removing the paper with water and a sponge. Wet it down and just slowly begin rubbing and removing the paper.

You will begin to see the image appearing. Don’t be in a rush, you want to get all of the paper off.

Step 5:

Once it is dry, using your craft paint begin layering in colors with paint to create your desired image. I chose to fill in the sky and grasses, but left everything else as it was.

Step 6:

Cover your canvas with a heavy coat of Mod Podge (regular) in a matte finish. On the grass areas, I chose to go very heavy and create a textures effect. Wait for it to dry.

And that is it!

I chose to roughly paint the sides as well just to finish it off.

And now we have a constant reminder on our mantel of our favorite place and of quiet times. Just one more attempt on my part to slow things down, even just a little, and capture the moments.

If you would like to see another project using Mod Podge Photo Transfer, you can visit here.

If you are looking for where to purchase the Mod Podge Photo Transfer, you can find it here (contains affiliate links):

Plaid Mod Podge CS12652 2-Ounce Photo Transfer Medium

Thanks so much for reading!