Simple DIY Canvas Wood Frames

Wall art and canvases can be so expensive so I like to make my own. I save a little money and get exactly what I want so it’s really a win-win! I usually do quotes or sayings on simple stretched canvases that you can pick up from your local craft store for a few bucks. Adding one of these simple wood frames around any canvas art will really help step up your wall art game!

Things You’ll Need

• 1.5” x .75” Pine board
• Saw
• Drill
• Sandpaper
• Wood Glue
• 1.5” Finishing Nails
• Wood Stain or Paint (Optional)

Creating the frame is so easy! I used pine board because pine is very inexpensive and I love the grain it has but you could do this with any type of wood you’d like. You need to start with by cutting down you board into 4 pieces. Two will be the height of the canvas and the other two will be 1.5 inches longer then the width. For instances, the canvas I was framing was 24” by 30” so I cut my pieces 24” and 31.5”. This is so the horizontal pieces are long enough to cover the ends of the vertical boards. I cut these at home with a saw but many home improvement stores will make simple cuts like this for you for a small charge. Just remember to bring your measurements with you!

A big step that I would stress not to skip is pre-drilling your nail holes. The board is so small that putting a nail straight in may split the wood especially if you use a larger nail. I did not drill on the first frame I did and it doesn’t look great. I managed to get a few nails in just fine but I split the wood on a couple. Learn from my mistakes… pre-drill your ends. Haha! I just did two small nails on each corner to help hold it together and I only drilled the ends on the horizontal boards since that was the wood that I had the splitting problem on before.

Next step is to assemble the frame. Apply a small amount of wood glue to the end of the vertical board. Line up your horizontal pre-drilled board on the end and gently nail in your small finishing nails. You will want to make sure the nails you have chosen are long enough to go into the both pieces of wood. If you only get 1” nails, there will only be 1/4” in the second piece of wood and that won’t offer you much stability. Repeat on all 4 corners until the frame is complete. At this point, I like to tape the joints to help keep them tight until the glue dies. I just used some painters tape I had but I’m sure masking tape would work well too.

Allow the frame to sit the recommended drying time on wood glue bottle, then remove the tape and finish with your desired look. I love the light wood so I left mine completely natural. You can really customize the look with a little stain or paint to match the art and your home’s decor. After you frame is all finished, you can place the frame on the canvas. The fit will probably be tight and need some persuasion to fit. This is not a bad thing. If it’s tight on the canvas, I’ve found you don’t need to attach the canvas to the frame because it will just stay put. Not only is this easier and looks nice then having to nail the canvas to the frame, but it makes it easy to change out canvases if you want to switch up your art! If you’re anything like me, things are always changing!

So easy, right?! I’d love to see how your frames turn out if you give this project a go! Feel free to upload a picture of your own wooden frames to my Facebook page. Happy building!