Follow this step-by-step decoupage tutorial to make oversized DIY Christmas wall art on foam board for under $10, with a thrifted frame.
Updated November 2026
Want big, show-stopping Christmas wall art without the boutique price tag?
This DIY large Christmas wall art uses a simple decoupage technique: you press a vintage Santa print onto black foam board, paint the edges, add a little sparkle and set it in a thrift-store frame.
Mine cost under $10 and looks like something from a vintage market.
If you follow me on Facebook, you know how much I love decoupage crafts. I wanted a statement piece for my living room when I decorated for the Bloggers’ Best Christmas Home Tour.
There was a viral Santa sign at Dollar General that I hunted for all season without luck, so I made my own.
Project snapshot
- Cost: under $10. An 11×17 print was 98 cents at Staples and a 12×18 poster print was just under $8 when I made this. Check current prices.
- Frame size: 16×20
- Skill level: beginner
- Heat setting: 300°F for about 40 seconds with a Cricut EasyPress or a regular iron
- Time: [add your hands-on time and drying time]
- Best spot: a living room statement wall, mantel or entryway
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Supplies for DIY Christmas Wall Art
Table of Contents
- Black Foam Board – check your local dollar store
- Santa image – or any art prints of your choice (download the one I used)
- Mod Podge – I used matte
- Black Paint – I used chalkboard paint
- Box Cutter
- White Glitter Snow
- Snow-Tex
- DecoArt Glamour Dust
- Foam Brush
- Picture Frame – mine is an old thrift store find
- Cricut EasyPress or Iron
Where to Find Free Christmas Art Printables
Start by choosing your image. You can download plenty of art for free, but check each image’s license first so it is public domain or cleared for personal use. Vintage Santas are my favorite.
Here are some of my go-to sources:
- Unsplash
- Pixabay
- National Gallery of Art
- Rawpixel public domain
- Harvard Art Museums
- Smithsonian Open Access
- New York Public Library
- Canva
- The Graphics Fairy (vintage Santa)
Save the file to your computer with a name you will remember.
How to Print Large Christmas Art Cheaply
I uploaded my image to Staples, where an 11×17 print was only 98 cents. Because you are decoupaging, plain copy paper works just fine.
If you plan to frame the print as is, have it printed on cardstock instead. My frame was 16×20, so I chose a 12×18 poster print, which was just under $8.
Step 1: Cut the Foam Board to Size
Cut your black foam board to fit your frame with a box cutter or craft knife. White foam board works too, but I wanted the colors to pop against black.
Step 2: Brush On the Mod Podge
Apply a layer of Mod Podge to the foam board with a foam brush and let it sit for a minute until it gets a little tacky. Put the Mod Podge on the board, not on the image.
Don’t apply the mod podge to the image. It works better to place it directly on the board.
Step 3: Press the Image onto the Board
Lay your image face up and centered on the board. My favorite way to decoupage is the iron-on method because it leaves no wrinkles.
Cover the image with parchment paper and press with a Cricut EasyPress set to 300°F for about 40 seconds. A regular iron works too.
Remove the parchment, check that the image transferred, and go over the edges again if they curl.
Step 4: Paint the Edges
I painted the edges of the image and the board with chalkboard paint so everything blends. Acrylic paint works too.
Pounce the brush lightly along the edges for an even, cohesive coat. Printing your image to cover the entire board is another option, but I wanted to experiment and keep the cost under $10.
Step 5: Add Glitter and Snow
Dab a little Mod Podge on Santa’s hat and cuffs and sprinkle on DecoArt Glamour Dust (I used Dazzling Diamonds). It makes a huge difference.
At the last minute I added a snowy look with Snow-Tex for more texture and dimension.
Step 6: Frame Your Christmas Art
The last step is framing. I love hunting for antique frames at Goodwill and other thrift stores, and you can find great ones for very little.
Look for an ornate, detailed frame to match the vintage style of your print.
I’m thrilled with how it looks next to my letters to Santa station. It looks like decor from a vintage market or boutique.
How to Make Extra Large Christmas Wall Art
My piece is 16×20, but the same method scales up for a bigger statement wall.
- Start with a bigger board. Foam board is commonly sold in sizes larger than 16×20, such as 20×30, so pick the size of your wall space or frame first.
- Print big in one piece. Many print shops can print a poster-size image on regular paper, which is all decoupage needs.
- Or tile it. Split one image across several standard pages with a free poster-printing tool, then decoupage the pages edge to edge, overlapping slightly.
- Make a gallery wall. Frame two or three smaller pieces together for the same big-impact look.
How to Hang Large Christmas Wall Art
Foam board is light, but a frame with glass is not. Match the hardware to the weight of the finished piece:
- Use a picture hook or nail for most framed pieces, set into a stud or a wall anchor for heavy ones.
- Use adhesive strips only for lightweight, unframed pieces, and follow the weight rating on the package.
- Check that it hangs level before you step back and admire it.
More Budget Ways to Make Large Christmas Wall Art
Store-bought oversized Christmas canvas art can run into the hundreds of dollars, so DIY is a smart way to get the look for less. A few other ideas:
- Gift bag art (reader tip). Reader Ruth suggests cutting the front panel from a large Christmas gift bag, choosing the side without the fold crease. Mount it on card, hide the handle holes with a ribbon, glitter or a mat, then frame it. I also shop for gift bags after the holidays when they are cheap.
- Wrapping paper art. Decoupage a favorite wrapping paper onto foam board or a canvas for a quick, colorful piece.
- Thrifted frames. Paint a mismatched frame black or gold so it suits your print.
Want more ideas? Try my Dollar Tree Christmas DIY vintage Santa frame, a busted canvas for Christmas, or add glow with a battery operated picture light.
Large Christmas Wall Art FAQs
Print a free vintage image, decoupage it onto black foam board with Mod Podge, paint the edges, add glitter, and set it in a thrift-store frame. My Santa piece cost under $10.
Foam board, Mod Podge, a printed image and a frame are all you need. Gift bag panels, wrapping paper and canvas also work for budget-friendly pieces.
Use a print shop such as Staples. When I made this, an 11×17 print was 98 cents and a 12×18 poster print was just under $8.
Yes. Cover the image with parchment paper and press at about 300°F for around 40 seconds. Go over the edges again if they curl.
Try The Graphics Fairy, Smithsonian Open Access and the New York Public Library’s public domain collection. Check each image’s license before you print.
Use a larger foam board and print your image poster-size, or tile it across several pages and decoupage the pages edge to edge. Then use a sturdy frame or hang the board on its own.
Use a picture hook or nail into a stud or wall anchor for framed pieces. Use adhesive strips only for lightweight pieces and follow the package weight rating.
Share Your Christmas Wall Art
Pin the image below to save this project for later, and tag me @ourcraftymom on Facebook or Instagram if you try it. It totally makes my day! For more budget-friendly ideas, check out my collection of 51 Dollar Tree Christmas crafts. Happy holidays!
Let me know if you give this beautiful Christmas wall decor a try.
Share it with me on Facebook or Instagram by tagging @ourcraftymom.
It totally makes my day!
For even more budget-friendly ideas, you don’t want to miss this amazing collection of 51 Dollar Tree Christmas Crafts.
Thanks so much for visiting. Happy holidays.
You can find me on social media below:
Ruth
Monday 12th of January 2026
If you don't have the ability to get large prints of images (as prices have gone up a lot over the years) a cheap & easy way to get a nice xmas picture is to use 1 of the sides off xmas gift bags. There are always lots of different images available on gift bags, & most years you'll find some lovely old fashioned/retro father xmas images.. especially in cheaper stores. And they'll come in a range of sizes, so you can make smaller &/or large xmas pictures (if you choose XL gift bags). Carefully cut off the good side of the gift bag, that DOESN'T have that crease mark across the lower part (where the store has folded up the bottom). Then you can frame the image either as is, or with card mounts, or place on card to create a large mount (like you have), & place it in a larger frame, to make the whole thing look more impressive. (You can often find some great frames in charity or thrift shops, & paint the frames of you don't like the colour.) The punch holes where the handles were.. Ideally cut the image below the handle holes, or cover the holes with the picture mount. Or if you need the entire side of the gift bag image, then think of ways to hide the punch holes, like maybe with a ribbon. You can even choose not to hide the holes, & just tie a ribbon through both holes & create a nice bow at the front. Or maybe add glitter or embellishments over the holes (& some extra around them & a few more around the image, to draw less attention to the 1's hiding the handle holes.). If you don't want any embellishments, you can cut off a bit that matches from the narrow side or off the creased side of the gift bag, & either stick it BEHIND the handle holes, or try punching a couple of cirles from the bit you've cut off, & use the punched cirles to FILL-IN the handle holes, using strips of tape on the back of the image to hold them in place. Just try to choose an area the same or similar in colour to where the holes are. It's usually easy enough to hide the punch holes, or at least make them less obvious, & once framed, you'll rarely notice those areas, especially if you've slightly embellished with a little glitter, or even added a ribbon or bow to the top of your frame & draped it over the front. I've used ornate & plane frames to create some great xmas pictures, halloween, mother's day, valentines day, father's day, & bithdays, too.. Some have no mounts, others have white mounts that came with the plane black or white frames. In some, I reused the frames & just switch out the images depending on the season or event. I've also created larger frames made up of collages of lots of small images & old xmas cards (mother's day or birthday cards, or cards from friends too), & put them together, either overlapping, or with nice wrapping paper/s as the background, which worked really well with birthday & xmas cards. I've used left over bits of wrapping papers I really loved, & pieces of wrapping paper from gifts off my sister & best friend, which give added meaning when I look at the collaged frames.. You can add ribbons, or embellishments, hang a bauble/s too, to make it more kitsch. Vintage/retro images & cards work well in reused, retro frames. But can also look great in a simple white or black frame. Really, the world is your oyster.. experiment. I find that the different seasonal events, & the many events we can celebrate throughout the year, can allow us to be creative & include items in our decor, especially those that have meaning to us, that we might not want to display all year round as we don't have enough display space, or they don't fit our taste or decor style, but we can put them out on display at specific times of the year.. It's a nice we to reconnect with memories & the people who may not see often, or that may not be with us any longer. Those little tacky ornaments, cheap reindeer statue, the old cards & letters, the 1 unbroken glass from childhood, kitsch xmas linens, & even that chipped faded old plate, can create wonderful memories of my deceased mum & happier times gone by, when added into my xmas decor..
Michelle James
Monday 12th of January 2026
Thank you so much for your wonderful ideas! I also look for gift bags to use in my decor, especially after the holidays when you can get them cheap. The frames with collages and memorable photos that you make sound just lovely. It is always nice to include loved ones and wonderful memories in our home decor. Wishing you a very Happy New Year!