More likely than not when you move into a new home or are looking to redesign a room you land on one theme. In this day and age you can hop on Amazon and find a piece of artwork or home decor that will match your ideal room design, but if you are looking to get really creative and have a piece of art worth that is truly unique, remarkable and a conversation piece you should consider looking at the US Patent and Trademark Office.

U.S. Patent and Trademark “Art”

All of the images and information that is included on the USPTO website is public domain and anyone has the right to copy and print these images.

In a way these flashbacks of history are little works of art in themselves.

Choose your Artwork

If you already have a specific image in mind, try and look the image up in Google search. If the patent was processed before 1971 there will be an assigned patent number. This number will be included on the images and you can look the exact patent up through the websites “View Full-Page Images” option.

If you do not have a specific image in mind but do have a theme you can use the websites advanced search to look up patents by topic.

Get your Image Ready for Print

After you have chosen your image the next step in the process is to prepare the image for print. These images are smaller than what you would want for your typical print and will need to have a bit (or a lot) of editing done to bring them up to quality for a large sized print. Keep in mind some images will simply be too small to print a quality picture.

This step in the process may require a bit (or a lot) of help from someone who is familiar with the capabilities of Photoshop.

If you do not have a Adobe or another premium photo editor GIMP is a great free photo editing software that you can download straight to your desktop.

If you would like to skip this step entirely, you can also find some patent images that have already been enhanced for print through a quick online search.

Prepare Your Desired Mounting Surface

Once you have the chosen spot in your home for your picture and you know the size of canvas you are wanting, it is time to prepare your mounting surface. The fabric poster will fit to any flat surface.

Here are a few suggestions.

Floating Finished Wood Shadow Box

This box doesn’t need to be fancy because it will be covered with your printed picture. The only thing you want to make sure of is that you have a flat surface for areas you want to attach your picture, so make sure you are using finished wood. If you plan on wrapping your design to the back to the canvas, make sure that you have flat sides as well.

If you choose to design your own shadow box, materials needed will depend on the size of canvas that you are using, but the design is simple.

If you are purchasing the shadow box, we suggest Amazon. They have low cost boxes available that usually qualify for free shipping as well. The next step is to choose the hardware that will best fit the box you have designed or chosen.

If you would like your design to have more of a ‘floating’ appearance you should use this design. If you are wanting to have your canvas wrapped, make sure that you take consideration to this when creating (or buying) your box to make sure there is enough room on each side to wrap.

Floating Finished Wood

If you would like a more simple form for applying your fabric poster you can simple use a piece of flat plywood (finished) that is cut the exact size of your canvas. Just be sure they you use appropriate hardware on the back of the wood that will not press through to the other side.

Order Your Print

If you are quite savvy you could transfer the print on your own, but if you are needing some creative help our best advice is to use Snapbox.com. They have a peel and stick fabric posters that go as large as 36″ x 54″ and are easy to apply to any flat surface.

Simply hop on their website, upload your image that you have chosen and order your print! The prices that they charge are fair for the canvas size.

Apply Your Fabric Poster to Your Desired Backing

Once you have received your print it is time to mount it to your desired backing. If you have chosen the floating box for your design you will need to make sure you place the canvas directly centered with even amounts of excess for each side. Begin by measuring out your poster to verify directly where you need to choose as a starting point for placement.

Choose one corner to begin placing your design. Much like placing a sticker you want to make sure that you work your fabric to be placed neatly and flat on your canvas. It may help to use some sort of a flattened tool (credit card will work fine) to make sure you are working out any bubbles as you place your design.

We hoped that you have enjoyed this read and that it has sparked your creativity!

If you would like more information on Snapbox’s Fabric posters, visit their website here.