Why You Need to Know About Living Prints

Doesn’t it seem like home decor is soooo trendy right this very second? Perhaps it’s because of Pinterest, maybe it’s just the age I’m at, and quite possibly it could be due to the fact that we’re in the process of buying a new home and moving 400km this summer.  Whatever it is, I’m seeing decor items and ideas everywhere and taking inspiration from them.

I love photos of my family decorating my walls.  I love following new trends (wavy wooden frame collage on my wall – check!) and I’m always keen to see (and then try to replicate) new ideas into my home and photos.  So, when I received an email from Living Prints (based in Alberta, yay western Canada!) and took a quick moment to visit the website I knew within about 60 seconds exactly what I wanted to order and was giddy at the thought of creating something that was perfection for my new home.

Living Prints gives you the ability to create customized artwork using photos or words – or both!  Not only can you create a beautiful canvas of a family photo, but now you can incorporate words onto the canvas (or framed print) as well, turning something rather ordinary into something extraordinary.  Your creation is as unique as the subject and truly once you start looking at the possibilities they seem endless!

When I started browsing the personalized canvas ideas at Living Prints, so many perfect gift giving opportunities came to mind.  Wedding gifts (a photo of the couple with a lyric from their wedding song or verse read at the ceremony), baby showers (maybe a photo of the mom to be in silhouette with a verse from a poem or children’s book written around her belly), family photos and more.

Given the opportunity to review a canvas, I had an idea I couldn’t wait to put in the hands of Living Prints.  A friend had a great family plaque made on a piece of wood and I wanted something similar, but on canvas.  Living Prints took my idea, my color suggestion (grey and yellow is so popular in home decor right now!) and when they sent back my proof I was ecstatic!  And then…I just had to wait for it to arrive.  Fortunately, shipping was very quick so I didn’t have to wait long at all.

Opening the (perfectly wrapped) package, my husband and I were both immediately impressed with the care that was taken in packaging and shipment and then with the overall look and quality of the canvas from Living Prints.  The colors were vibrant, the wording crisp and clear, and the overall sentiment of the canvas came across perfectly.  Here it is!

Gorgeous, right?  I love how the canvas looks like wood but isn’t.  I love how the colors are absolutely perfect and everything I was hoping for.  And I – most of all – love that I have a gorgeous piece of art for my house that honors the most important thing in the world to me, my family.

Ready to design?  The process is actually quite simple!  First visit Living Prints and check out the design gallery and Pinterest page.  Both have great ideas to help inspire you!  Once you have an idea in mind of what you want, simply email Living Prints giving as much detail as possible.  The process is personalized just for you – no filling in a form and submitting your photo and crossing your fingers hoping they get it right!  Your idea is specific just to you and the design process is really a matter of a few emails back and forth discussing what you’re looking for and how you want the final product to look (and of course, the emotion that will come across from it!)  Once you approve a digital proof and pricing, payment is required before the order is processed.  That’s it – at that point you can sit back and wait for your product to arrive by mail to show off to everyone!

(I loved this piece and had to share it, spotted on the Living Prints Facebook page where there’s often canvas giveaways too!):

The Living Prints Prices page really helps explain everything by breaking it down.  Basically, there’s a product fee for the high quality durable, archival (200+years) canvases and then a design fee if text/design is added (the fee will vary but in my case it was $30 for the design).  So, if you look at my product as an example, it’s a 14×30 canvas (which was a custom size not listed, $92) with a design fee of $30 plus shipping.  I am not cringing at the price based on two things; 1) the size of the canvas is huge and having a family photo done of that size itself would be comparable, 2) the personalized nature of the design makes it 100% unique to my family making it a family heirloom in a sense that will hang in our household forever, beyond the rotating family photos that may move or be taken down as the kids grow.  You can, of course, look at smaller sizes, different designs and ideas to find a product and price that suits you best.

I am so so so happy with my canvas from Living Prints and, since we are moving this summer, I have now put it back in it’s original box to protect it during our hectic spring and move.  This, my friends, is the first price of art I will be hanging on our wall in our new home.  I can not wait to find the perfect spot to place it and hang it to officially make our new home our own.

Living Prints has offered my readers the opportunity to win an 18×24 standard canvas plus $20 towards the design fee if applicable and free shipping to a Canadian address!  Total value of this prize is over $115!  To enter to win, just use the Rafflecopter form below (and don’t forget about all the bonus entries!)
a Rafflecopter giveaway