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I go CRAZY for Christmas lights.  If we could have year round Christmas light displays then I would be one happy camper.  I know not everyone loves Christmas lights (who are you and why???) so I guess I’ll have to get by with having them once a year.  One way I love to light up the inside of our home with Christmas lights is by making Lighted Christmas Wall Art.

This tutorial will show you how to make a beautiful DIY Lighted Canvas for Christmas!

This post for DIY Lighted Canvas contains affiliate links.

I love the way this lighted picture looks on the mantle along with the Christmas tree when the rest of the house lights are off.  Such a warm and beautiful way to decorate for the Holiday season.

I am always on the lookout for unique and easy DIY Holiday Decor ideas.   This year I wanted to make something that I could display every year.  I made this DIY Lighted Canvas using Sharpies, Christmas lights and a 16X20 white canvas!   I think it turned out gorgeous!  In fact, it’s so gorgeous my sister begged me to give it to her and so I did!   That was one easy Christmas present for her.

To make your own:

First up: gather all your supplies!

What you will need:

• Sharpie permanent markers in the colors of your choice for the letters; Silver Metallic Sharpie marker for the snowflakes (affiliates)
• 16×20 white canvas (affiliate)
• hot glue gun and glue sticks which are optional (affiliates)…see below
• string of 100 clear mini Christmas lights with white wire/strand
• stencil letters (affiliate); I made mine using a craft cutter, but you can buy them also
• metal skewer or ice pick (affiliates)

I love using Sharpies for DIY projects because you can do so much with them.  I cannot imagine trying to make intricate lines like I did on this canvas without them!  Alternatively, you can also use a cutting machine like Cricut or Silhouette to make vinyl letters and seal them on.  I wanted this to be a project that anyone could try, though, and so I made it with a stencil.

I used a stencil to make my letters and traced the stencil lightly with a pencil and then traced and filled everything in with a red permanent marker.  You can find stencils at most Craft Stores and sometimes they even have some pre-cut vinyl letters too.

Then I used a Silver Metallic Sharpie to make snowflakes all over the canvas.  I first made dots where I wanted my lights to go and then made the lines for the snowflakes.  I made sure to make 100 snowflakes since that was how many lights there were on my strand.

Next, I poked holes through the canvas with a sharp skewer.  You can use a skewer, an ice pick or something similar.  Don’t make the hole too big or the lights won’t stay in place.

Then poke the lights through the holes.  I ended up using a little hot glue just around the plastic part of each light to hold them in place.  That’s it and it really is that easy to make.

Since I made this DIY Lighted Canvas in 2013, there have been a number of newer lights that have come to the market.  There are fairy lights that would work for this and any battery operated as well!   I think this would work great with any of the mentioned lights, but you may need to test out the size of the holes and also the number of holes you will need.  

I LOVE LOVE LOVE this Lighted Christmas Canvas!  It makes the most beautiful Christmas Wall Decor.  I’ve also had plenty of requests from friends and family for me to make them one too.  Since my sister has this one now,  I guess I will need to make another one for myself soon too.   I am also thinking that the rest of the wall art in my house needs to be wall art with lights.

Oh the possibilities!  Have you tried this tutorial yet?  Let me know in the comments.