Canvas Factory

Marriage to an oil painter, means living in an art gallery with an ever changing stream of paintings to display on our walls.

You can see more of Steve's work at Steve Cook Studio.

I was hesitant at first when I was approached by Canvas Factory for a collaboration and Giveaway. 

Steve has never done prints of his paintings - as his "manager", I have always felt that when a painting is purchased, the owner shouldn't see it in other homes or businesses. 

Yet there have been paintings, such as "Old, But Not Forgotten, that sold and I wish we still owned a copy.

We thought this would be a great opportunity to try a print and chose to have Canvas Factory make a print of a recent painting, Full Moon Over Avalon - a wonderful memory of a family reunion on Catalina Island last fall.

We couldn't be happier with the result - a smaller version and remarkably similar in color.

The Canvas Factory website is super easy to navigate and I love that you can choose between canvas, acrylic or metal.

 I wonder how this favorite pic of our grandson would look on metal?

Uploading a pic was simple - and believe me, I have used some sites where uploading a pic was not intuitive and I gave up in frustration.

I chose the Gallery Wrap because that is often what Steve does with paintings - he doesn't frame paintings that are for sale so he continues the painting around the edges for hanging in our home.

The turn around with Canvas Factory was quite speedy - I placed my order on March 10 and received the print on March 15.

The print is sitting in the guest room ready for me to package and send to my cousin Vicki who spent all her summers on Catalina Island.

Canvas Factory will give away 1 photo print of your choice - all you have to do to enter is leave a comment - USA and Canada residents only for the Giveaway.

I will assign each comment a number and use Random. Org generate a random integer. 

The winner will be announced on the blog on April 1.

...   ...   ...   ...   ...   ...   ...   ...   ...

I was provided a print of my choice to write the review - all opinions about the product are my own.

and the winner is ...

I had a very productive week and it's too bad that I didn't know the winner of the Giveaway because I had plenty of time to make the table runner.

I tackled the pile of fabric in my sewing cabinet and finally made things I had been planning to make for ages.

4 pillow covers made from dish towels now adorn the guest room bed.

6 stockings made from scraps are all ready for November 27 when I begin decorating the house for Christmas.

These embroidered hearts are quick to make when I am sitting by the fire watching a movie.

Scraps from Steve's canvas stretching were given stripes and sewn into stars - the plan is to make a bunch of different sizes and hang them on the garden ladder.

My sewing basket is packed with projects and ready to grab whenever I have some spare time.

Today I will be busy making the table runner for Lucky 13 who is the winner of my table runner Giveaway.

Lucky 13 happens to be Diane of Lavender Dreams.

Diane gave me creative license to use whatever words I want and I must say, I love all the ideas people suggested.

I'll be branching out in what I stencil on future projects.

Thanks to all who left comments on the Giveaway - it's amazing what a few kind words can do!

I'm Busy Being Creative

I have too much "stuff" so for the month of November, I am challenging myself to 30 Days of Creativity with the goal in mind of using up lots of supplies.

In cleaning the garage, I came across a stack of plain white tea towels I ordered from Amazon last year and I can't for the life of me remember why.

I stenciled two of the towels and will hang them in the kitchen when it finally gets painted next week.

I have way too much paper on hand so I used a little to make a Thanksgiving banner for the mantel.

I painted a Welcome sign on an old cabinet door

and used a scrap of wood from the wood pile for this Christmas sign.

I have been making wire wreaths

and trying (unsuccessfully so far) to write words.

My sewing cabinet is overflowing (way too embarrassing to show) so I am making Christmas decorations to use up fabric.

I don't really need any more banners or stockings so I did a Giveaway on Instagram.

I announced the winner on Saturday and was incredibly touched by the response.

As I drove into Los Angeles yesterday, I thought about the winner's reaction and decided that I need to do a Giveaway on the blog too.

If you are interested, leave a comment on what colors and words you would like for your runner.

It's Day 9 of my Creativity Challenge so I need to get away from the computer and make something.

and the winners are . . .

It is October 1st and time to announce the winners of my Passing On the Blog Love Giveaway.

I said I would draw 3 names, but there were 69 comments so I generated 5 names.

I doubt if anyone knows their number so let me introduce you to the winners.

#21 is Cynthia of Cynthia lee Designs who requested the word BLESSED.

#56 is Helen of Helen Philipps who asked for the word HOME.

#39 is Susan of As Long As You Have A Garden who likes the word THRIVE.

#14 is Jane of Blondie's Journals who also asked for the HOME.

# 48, Cathy of My 1929 Charmer, did not ask for a specific word, but she did say she has never received a blog gift so I am thrilled to be sending her a banner.

My creative space is once again organized so I was able to begin the little flags this morning, but I need colors and sizes from the winners before I finish up.

Thanks for all the sweet comments from everyone and keep your eyes out for another giveaway in the next few weeks.

I made this 10" wreath the other day and had so much fun playing with wire and writing words, that I will be making some Christmas ornaments to give away.

Meanwhile, enjoy the lovely month of October.