3 No-Brainer Holiday Gift Ideas They'll Cherish for Years to Come

Thank you to CanvasPop for providing a square photo canvas print for this feature and for hosting a holiday giveaway for 3G2S readers.  All opinions expressed are my own. 

The other day, I was looking through our photo albums for pictures my daughter could take to school for a show-and-tell type thing and I realized how few photos we actually have.  I easily take over a thousand photos a year, but they are all stored on an external hard drive.  Of those 1000+ photos I take each year, almost none of them are of my husband and me.  This made me realize that the only photos we have hanging in our home of the two of us are our wedding portrait and one or two others from before we were married (15 years ago).

When I had the opportunity to have a canvas photo print made, I decided to have one printed using a more recent photo of my husband and myself.  When I opened the box and unwrapped the canvas, such an amazing feeling of sentiment came over me.  I thought to myself what an unbelievable gift this would make for a loved one.  After the initial flood of sentiment passes, they will still cherish this gift as it hangs in their home for years to come.


3 No-Brainer Holiday Gifts Your Loved Ones Will Cherish . . .

1.  Canvas Word Art - With CanvasPop's Word Art Maker, you can combine two very powerful things, the perfect photo and words from your heart, into one work of art.  You can also make typographical art without a photo.  The possibilities are endless, from your favorite quote to an inside joke that will be sure to get a smile.

2.  Mosaic Art on Canvas - Can't decide on just one photo or looking for an alternative to a photo book?  This option allows you to include many photos in one work of art.  You could simply include your favorite photos or choose a theme.  How about photos of places to which you've traveled together or perhaps chronological photos that highlight your loved one's life?

3.  Classic Large Canvas Print - A high quality photo canvas print looks so amazing compared to a print on paper.  The photo canvas shown below is just printed from a high resolution selfie my husband took of us a couple of years ago.  The canvas art at CanvasPop range in square and rectangular sizes from 8"x10" to 24"x72".  Ours is 20"x20" and was perfect for a wall space next to the window in our bedroom.

This one has a low-profile .75" deep wrap that is perfect for spaces where your wall art could get easily bumped, such as a hallway or a high-traffic area.

This canvas is the first thing I see when I wake up in the morning and it's the perfect way to start the day.  It just makes me feel happy inside every time I look at it.  That's the kind of gift I want to give everyone I love!

Like these gift ideas? Pin this list for later . . . 

Enter to Win a Photo Canvas for the Holidays! (CLOSED)

3G2S readers can click the link above or the button below to enter to win a 16"x24" canvas print (ARV $89) from CanvasPop and to read the official rules.

Contest ends November 30, 2015 at 11:59PM PT. Open to residents of the US, Canada and the European Union.

What picture perfect photo would you like to have printed on canvas? Tell us about it on Facebook!

A Stunning Photo Canvas Portrait of Our Children by Canvas Memoirs

Last year, we had a really difficult time photographing our children for our Holiday cards.  After much frustration all around and about 70 clicks of the camera, we ended up with 2 usable group photos.  One of them turned out to be one of the best photos I have ever seen of our children together.  It was taken by my husband who must have worked his magic on them somehow.  I think only he can make them smile like that in unison.  So, when Canvas Memoirs invited us to try out their services, I knew right away that I wanted to have this group portrait transformed into a photo canvas.

I have to say that, when I unboxed the 20x30" gallery wrapped photo canvas, it took my breath away.  I think if someone had presented this to me as a birthday or Mother's Day gift, I would have been in tears because it was such a stunning representation of our children.

(Click any photo to enlarge)

If you take a look at the photo above, the printing is such high quality that it captured even the smallest freckle on our son's face.

What I was most impressed about with Canvas Memoirs, aside from the print quality, is that an actual person checks your order.  This is something that I have found not to be the case with many photo gift services.  Canvas Memoirs will make recommendations based on your particular photo and product ordered.  For example, since my photo did not have much room around the edges, they recommended that I use a mirror or blurred mirror edge instead of trying to have my photo continue around the sides.  I opted for the blurred mirror edge and am extremely happy with how naturally it blends in on the canvas.  Canvas Memoirs also offers free touch ups and other photo enhancements.

There are currently 27 different size and shape options available on Canvas Memoirs.  Each of those are available as a rolled canvas, a .75" gallery wrapped canvas, or a 1.5" gallery wrapped canvas, which was what I had opted for.

I love this photo canvas so much and can be confident that it will not deteriorate anytime soon because it has been coated to make it waterproof, scratch-resistant, and UV-resistant.  I hope to have this canvas hanging in our home even after our children have grown up and have started families of their own.  I will always cherish it.

To learn more about Canvas Memoirs, visit www.CanvasMemoirs.com.  Currently, you can take advantage of their 50% off promotion and their $14.95 flat rate shipping or free shipping on orders over $150!  The 20"x30" gallery wrapped canvas I received would cost just $58 (not including shipping) with this promotion.  Mother's Day is coming up in just 2 months and then Father's Day right after that.  Personally, I would love a few smaller gallery wrapped canvases that could sit on the shelves currently hanging on my living room wall mixed in with a few of my other favorite things.


Thank you to Canvas Memoirs for providing a complimentary product sample for us to base this review upon and for providing a gift certificate for our contest prize.  All opinions expressed are my own.

Good luck in the drawing!

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Show Off Your Favorite Photos with a MailPix Wrapped Photo Canvas

I have pictures of my children hanging all around our home, including a few large poster prints, but the one photo canvas I have made from a picture I took of my husband and our now nearly 9 year old son when he was just 3 is my absolute favorite.  There is just something about putting a photo on canvas that makes it seem more timeless.

Since I recently took photos of our children for our Holiday cards, I thought the photo of the 3 children together would look beautiful on canvas.  Because I wanted to adhere to spending about $100, I tried the photo out for size on a 20" x 24" MailPix canvas.  As you can see below, if you shoot your photos with a D-SLR that usually takes photos that are less boxy, this size canvas will cut off quite a bit of your photo.

(Click any image to enlarge)

When I tried the photo out on the 20" x 30" canvas, it looked perfect.  However, it was out of my budget, so I decided to use their individual portraits to make a set of 3 8" x 10" canvases.

Using the MailPix software to position and size my photos was extremely easy.  I did find it a bit odd that I could not look at the portrait in a format that was not landscape.  I actually had to tip my laptop sideways to be sure I had each photo centered properly.

Our 3 canvases arrived extremely well-packaged.  All 3 were perfect!  I am extremely happy with how the canvases kept the details, colors, and lighting of my original photos.  These canvases are wrapped around a wooden frame and neatly stapled on the back.

(Click any photo to enlarge)

Below you can see how the image wraps around the sides of the frame and around to the back.  That is why it is so important to follow the guidelines when positioning your photo during the ordering process.

Since my husband had just moved into a new office, he was so proud to hang these three canvas portraits on his wall.  I had always pictured them hung three across, but he chose to hang them vertically, which fits the space much better.  He said that everyone at work made remarks about how great the portraits look.  It is hard to believe that they only cost $35 each to make.

MailPix offers 6 different sizes in photos on canvas.  In addition to these, they also offer other photo gifts, such as photo books, ornaments, calendars, bags, glass cutting boards, jigsaw puzzles, fleece blankets, and much more.  Right in time for the Holiday, when you register on MailPix, you receive 100 4" x 6" prints for free!  After you register, be sure to stop by the MailPix Deals page to see what special promotions are currently being offered!

Thank you to MailPix for providing complimentary product samples for us to base this review upon and for providing an additional product for our contest prize.

A Note to 3G2S Readers:  In the spirit of the Holidays, you can earn an extra entry by liking the non-profit food pantry that I have identified as needing some fans on Facebook.
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Good luck in the drawing!