Have you ever wondered if the stuff people post on Pinterest is true? Well I have, and I test them all so that you don’t have to, ’cause ain’t nobody got time for that.  Click here to check out all of the pins I haven taken on. You might be surprised by some of the results!

I am back with another riveting episode of Pinbusters.  The Boy and I have vowed to DIY as many Christmas gifts as possible this year.  The goal is not necessarily to save money, since we will still have to buy supplies, but to give more meaningful and thoughtful gifts. Therefore, many of the pins we will be busting are dry runs for Operation DIY Xmas.  If you are a friend, family member, or just plain hoping to be surprised by a gift from us, stop reading.

OK, now that we have established that we will not be giving you a gift (you are still reading, aren’t you??), let’s do this.  I was intrigued by the many pins showing various methods for transferring a photo printed on plain ole computer paper to canvas.  I had a tiny little spare canvas left over from a prior project, so I thought it would be perfect for this test.  I browsed my Facebook photos, picked a cute one, and printed it out on my laser jet printer (many of the sites say to print using laser jet, but I have no idea if it is a requirement, and an ink jet won’t work … another test for another day, I suppose!).  Here are the supplies needed:

First step:  Coat canvas with the highly acclaimed miracle craft material – Mod Podge! (Isn’t this just gel medium? No? What am I missing here?)

Place photograph, image side down, on the canvas.  Push down and rub the paper all over to ensure good contact and adhesion.  This was easy for me since my canvas was so tiny, but on a larger canvas people recommend using a tool of some sort.  Also, you could paint the canvas prior to this step if you want.

Let dry for several hours.  I let it dry for about 24 hours, just because I was busy, but I am sure overnight would be more than sufficient.  I then used the spray bottle (a/k/a The Dog’s worst enemy and “Bad Girl!” deterrent mechanism.  Seriously, she hates this thing, and it is the only “punishment” that works on her.  I once used it to spray down The Boy’s hair during an at-home haircut, and she must have been reeling at how bad he had been to deserve such treatment) … where was I?

Oh yes, spray the paper.  I had it on jet instead of mist, so I got it really damp, but it didn’t seem to matter.  Then I started rubbing until the paper started peeling and rolling off.  It wasn’t very difficult, and the results were pretty awesome.  I was pleasantly surprised!

So cute!

The Boy said we both had double chins in the picture. This is my “retract your statement immediately or die” face.

We then attempted to take a photo of us, with the canvas held up to our faces.  I tried first, and then The Boy took over, furiously snapping photos like a paparazzi, but we both failed miserably, and here is the series of photos that resulted:

Take 1.

Take 2.

Take 3.

Take 4.

Take 5.

Take 6. Yikes.

Enjoy, ya’ll.