Inkjet Printing on Canvas from the Dollar Store

I have been wanting to buy printable canvas for awhile but because it is so expensive I have put off making this purchase. Then I had a brainwave: could I use my inkjet printer to print on a dollar store canvas? To my great delight, the answer is yes!

Not only did my experiment work, but this was also a really easy project. A pre-mounted canvas comes with everything you need, the frame and a pre-folded and pre-cut canvas. If nothing else, this project was VERY cost effective. This canvas was only $1.25! Yes, you read that correctly, the total cost of this project was $1.25!!

Here’s the proof:

To begin:

• Gently remove the canvas from the wood frame. Use pliers to lift the staples.

• Once the canvas is removed, iron the canvas.

In the factory, the corners of the canvas were cut at a diagonal to avoid bulkiness. For printing, the corners will now have to remade with cardstock.

• On the reverse side of the canvas, tape cardstock to the bottom corners to create right angles.
• Add an extra two inches of cardstock to the top of the canvas.
• Load the canvas into the printer and select the appropriate paper size.
• Once printed, the canvas should look something like this:

• Allow the print to dry overnight to avoid smudging.
• The next day, use an heavy-duty stapler to reattach the canvas to the wood frame.

Here are a couple of tips:

• When selecting a pre-mounted canvas, purchase one with dimensions that your printer is capable of printing. Don’t forget to include the measurements of the canvas that wraps around the frame.
• Always print a test page to ensure that the design is centred. To do this, cut a piece of paper the same size as the canvas (including the addition of the cardstock). I also set my ink quality to draft.
• My canvas was not sized to a standard paper size but for my printer this didn’t matter. I clicked continue when my printer notified me of the odd dimensions and my print turned out great. Depending on your printer, you may have to adapt a bit if your printer won’t accept an odd sized paper. If this is the case, add more cardstock around the edges of the canvas.
• Keep the cardstock corners for future printed canvas projects.

That’s it! The project is complete. I plan to hang my pink canvas in my craft room.

Here’s another idea! A photo of the beach at our cabin was placed behind This is our Happy Place phrase. Consider using your own photo to create a personalized canvas.

Here is a variation of this project. The phrase was printed on patterned paper and then mounted in a white frame.

Now for the exciting part, you can receive this printable for FREE just for subscribing to my blog! Upon your subscription, you will receive a welcome newsletter with This is my/our Happy Place files attached. Just think of all the great places that you can hang this fun phrase. Or perhaps you would prefer to give away a printed canvas as a gift. Everyone would be SO impressed with your craftiness

There is a total of four files included with the subscription:

• This is my Happy Place in pink with a dark pink star
• This is our Happy Place in mint green with a dark mint green star
• This is my Happy Place with no background
• This is our Happy Place with no background

Thanks for checking out my post and have a great day!

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