Have you seen the busted canvas or exploding canvas pins that have gone viral on Pinterest? You can make a stunning busted canvas using recycled Christmas cards, Dollar Tree canvases, cardboard, and some everyday crafting supplies.
You can use printed graphics for this project. However, I love the idea of recycling old Christmas cards. Some of them are so beautiful, they need to be recycled!
This project creates a 3D effect by cutting out sections of a stretched artist’s canvas, revealing a graphic layer beneath.
I’ve seen some of these created using one flat canvas and one stretched canvas. I don’t like that process because the sides don’t look finished. It is possible to add ribbons or decorative items to cover the sides, but I used a chipboard cut slightly smaller than the back of the frame.
Busted Canvas Picture
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Supplies Needed:
- Stretched Canvas
- Chipboard
- X-Acto knife and Metal ruler
- Scissors
- Christmas Card
- Paintbrush
- Matte Mod Podge
- Yellow Ochre
- Alizarin Crimson Acrylic Paint
- Printer
- Scanned or downloaded piano music
- Small Christmas decorative items
Directions:
The Piano Music Print
I scanned this version of Jolly Old St. Nicholas from my Christmas Cameo piano music book. After taking piano lessons for over 10 years and playing for my enjoyment for many more, I have an abundance of piano music. You can download Christmas music at RoseClearfield.com if you don’t have that on hand. Rose has free downloads. You can find other free downloads on Pinterest.
The music I scanned has a white background. It was easy to change the color of the background on PicMonkey. By clicking on ‘Urbane‘ under ‘Effects‘, a darker aged border is created. You can use the ‘Fade‘ slider to lighten or darken the effect.
Note that I also reduced the size of the music to fit the area inside the back of the 5 x 7-inch stretched canvas.
Paint the Canvas
Paint the canvas with acrylic craft paint. First, paint a base coat of yellow ochre onto the canvas. Allow the paint to dry thoroughly between coats.
Then, paint a couple of coats of alizarin crimson on top of the yellow ochre. The warm yellow ochre helps to balance the rich red hues of the alizarin crimson. A base coat creates a foundation that prevents uneven absorption of the red pigment. If you’ve ever painted red paint onto a white canvas, you’ll know what I mean. Without that base coat, it will look very streaky.
Be sure to paint the sides and the canvas that wraps around the back. You’ll want to be sure the paint goes past the area where the chipboard will cover the back.
Gluing the Music Print
Use a flat paintbrush to apply Mod Podge to the back of the canvas. Then, center and lay the piano music print on top of the Mod Podge. Gently press down and smooth out any air bubbles or wrinkles using your fingers.
Then, apply another coat of the Mod Podge on top of the music print. Allow this to dry completely.
Cut the Chipboard
While the Mod Podge dries, cut the chipboard.
Measure and cut the chipboard slightly smaller than the stretched canvas. Use a metal ruler and an X-Acto knife or mat knife to cut the chipboard.
Apply Mod Podge to the back of the Christmas card graphic. Then, center the graphic on the chipboard. Gently press down and smooth out any air bubbles with your fingers.
Cutting the Busted Canvas
I brainstormed this process for a few days before starting this project. All of the busted canvas pictures I saw had crisp edges on the cuts. Wouldn’t you think a busted canvas would be a little more jagged?
Ultimately, I decided to score the canvas with an X-Acto knife, being sure not to cut completely through the canvas. Then, the plan was to cut completely through with a serrated knife. I think it worked pretty well.
So, lay the canvas painted side down on a cutting mat and lightly score a starburst pattern from the center out. I scored four lines, from top to bottom, side to side, and through each cut quarter, creating eight sections.
Then, use the serrated knife to cut through the canvas following the scored lines.
Glue the Chipboard Back
Before gluing the cut sections in place, squeeze Tacky Glue around the outer edges of the chipboard. Then, position it on the back of the stretched canvas. I placed a heavy book on top of this for a few minutes while the glue set.
To Age the Edges or Not
At first, I thought the cut edges were too bright white for my liking. A little bit of Tim Holtz Distress Ink would take care of that. Then, I decided that if I used the ink, the tattered edges wouldn’t show as much. That would defeat my intention. Nevermind…
But, if you have a lighter background, you might want to use distress ink on the edges.
Gluing the Busted Canvas Cuts
After the chipboard back is in place, decide how you want the sections of the busted canvas positioned. You can roll the canvas sections back and attach the ends to the canvas or apply glue to the back and leave the ends facing forward. Use both options if you like! You can see that is exactly what I did.
Decorate the Canvas Edges
After gluing all of the sections in place, add decorative items around the edges. When you have them as you want them, glue them in place. A glue gun will work well for this, but I just used Tacky Glue. You’ll have to hold the Tacky Glue in place for a minute or so, but I’m retired. I have time…
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