DIY Frame for Canvas Art for under $20

I made a frame for my DIY canvas art on a Friday and my DMs blew up over the entire weekend! There’s not much to it but I’m laying it all out today!

I have a large wall in my kitchen that was screaming for some decor. I did not want something too busy as my kitchen is usually a mess and a busy wall would only make it seem messier and who wants that? LOL. I decided to attempt DIY art. It has gone through a few ‘revisions’ but here is the original landscape painting I created:

A couple months later, I painted over it with this:

Pretty plain right?

I needed it to be more neutral because the landscape I had originally brought out green tones in my wall (ick!). This was much better but it’s…..BLAND. It needed something something and that something was a FRAME.

See what a difference a simple frame makes? Take a look at it on the wall.

This took me no time at all to create! And it cost me around $20. Quick, easy and budget is my kind of DIY.

MATERIALS

1″ moulding (or anything the same depth as your canvas), OR go with a large sheet of pine and cut them down the depth of your canvas)
tiny (pretty) nails and hammer
stain of your choice. I used MinWax in Special Walnut.
rag/cloth

HOW-TO

Measure your canvas. The top of my canvas was 36″. The sides were 24″. The depth is 1″.
Plan out your frame measurements. To keep it simple, the 2 side pieces are going to be the same length as the canvas. The top and bottom pieces will be just a bit longer to cover the ends of the side pieces. When it is all assembled, it should create a 90 degree corner. The wood moulding I used was 1/4″ thick so to accommodate for that I extended the top and bottom pieces by 1/2″.

3. I asked an associate at the store to make the cuts. Double checked before I left to ensure it matched up.

4. I stained it! Super easy. I didn’t use a wood conditioner but it would make the result a lot more event. I didn’t mind it though. It gave it a more natural/rustic touch. Allow stain to dry. I am super impatient so I didn’t wait. I also didn’t go heavy on the stain so it wasn’t that wet.

5. Nail them directly onto the canvas wood! I used some pretty gold nails that made it look like it was a decorative part of the frame.