DIY: Monogram Damask Canvas

I should subtitle this "The Project That Nearly Killed Me."

Hands down, this was the most intense project we envisioned and executed for the wedding - and here are the final results (I apologize in advance for the crappy photos in this post, and my whole blog - I only own one digital camera, and it's on my iPhone, which is notorious for not having a flash...):


























This canvas is a massive 7 feet wide by 12 feet tall. It's actually 2 smaller canvases (6x7 feet) stuck together since at full size, we couldn't get it out of our house or transport it. This project took weeks of labor - the frames were handmade, canvas was hand stretched, and the design was hand painted. And here's how we did it all:






















Step One was making the two 6 x 7 frames out of wooden slats. I think we used 2x8's - FI would know better - I just pointed to it at Home Depot and said "that." :)


























Step Two was laying the frame onto the canvas fabric. We actually used 109" muslin, which is lightweight and easy to paint. FI used clamps to keep the fabric taught and even.


























Step Three was stapling the fabric to the backs of the frames, keeping an even pressure the entire time so the fabric doesn't bunch or wrinkle.























Step Four was trimming all the excess fabric away - making sure to leave at least an inch after the staples. Painting the canvases will shrink up the fabric a bit, and you don't want the canvas pulling off the staples.


























Step Five was painting the canvases white. We used a base, non-latex water-based white paint right off the shelf from Home Depot. Unfortunately the only area in our house big enough to do this indoors (because who needs grass and leaves stuck in wet paint?) was our living room/dining room space, so it meant taping up plastic over our walls to the ceiling and moving the couch/table/everything...




















Step Six was transferring the design onto the canvases using an overhead projector. Thankfully I work for a college and they let me borrow a nice lightweight one. I made the design in Photoshop, then printed it out on transparencies. This was a tricky step, since the two canvases needed to line up perfectly (or nearly) in the middle.

















Here is a photo of what the bottom canvas looked like after the design was transferred. It's like a huge paint by number!































Step Seven was actually painting the canvases. This was the longest, tedious, most time-consuming step. I'm not going to sugar-coat it: it sucked. Here are some pictures of the painting as it progressed:

































The last step was clamping the canvases together and filling in the middle so everything lined up. Then, painting over any mistakes (and there were some!) over with white paint. And we were done! (Photo at the top is of the finished result, with both canvases together)

We will be assembling the canvas on site, and may pad the top with some foam so it doesn't rub against the wooden paneling in the reception room. We're also going to get some cement blocks to rest against the bottom so the canvas doesn't slide forward.

This was DIY to the extreme. Thankfully, I have a background in stagecraft, so while the project was daunting, it wasn't unfamiliar. I just can't wait to see it all set up!