The Painting Libra: Decal Canvas Art How To

Vinyl decals are great if you are renting and can't paint the walls or you just want a bold graphic on the wall with little commitment. I love the clean perfect look of decals, but I hate that some of them can't be reused after you place them on the wall. I wanted a more options if I am going to spend money on something, I want to keep it as long as I want it. I have gotten cheap or the last few years as I get older. Putting it on canvas seems like best idea.

So I purchased a Tattoo Style Swallow decal from Beepart at www.beepart.etsy.com. The decal measures approx. 25" wide by 22" high so I purchased a 24 x 30" canvas from Micheal's (with a 40% off coupon of course!)

I purchase Apple Barrell acrylic paint in Pool Blue for about $3 at Michael's.

I painted the entire canvas with about four coats to make sure the coverage was even.

I let the canvas piece dry overnight to ensure it was completely dry. Beepart provided wonderful illustrated instructions on how to apply the decal that took a bit more time, but well worth it to go step by step. First place your decal on a hard flat surface and run a credit card or squeegee over the decal to ensure it bonds to the transfer paper and helps the application go smoother.

Position your decal in place you want with painters tape. I moved mine around a few times to get it in just the right spot. Using painters tape prevents the blue acrylic paint from lifting.

Take a long strip of painters tape and run it down the middle of your graphic.

It helps keep your large graphic in place as you remove the transfer paper.

Peel back one side of the transfer paper from the white backing. Use scissors to cut away the white backing paper. I suggest you use something to hold down your white backing paper to keep it from flipping over while you apply your decal. I simply used my roll of painters tape.

Working from the middle of the decal outwards smooth out the decal on to the canvas. You can use your squeegee to gently smooth out any bubble or wrinkles. Try not to press too hard since you are not on a hard surface. You can use a couple magazines under the canvas piece to help support of the fabric.

You can then remove the large strip of painters and repeat on the other side. If you don't feel comfortable removing such a large piece of the transfer paper, just do a section at a time. It takes longer, but this way you won't screw up the placement of your decal.

Smooth out the rest of your decal with your hand. Then use your squeegee to gently rub across the entire decal to help it transfer from the paper to your canvas piece. Take your time and go over every inch of the decal. You will see the decal change color slightly as you use your squeegee to help transfer the image.

My image had a lot of little pieces so I went over each and every section as carefully as possible. Then start to peel back the transfer paper. If you see some of the vinyl not adhere to the canvas then put the transfer paper back down firmly on the canvas and use your squeegee to rub the image onto the canvas. Remember to take your time.