What you will need: Your iPhone, Photoshop or Photoshop Elements and Canvas Press

Difficulty: eh…a little Photoshop knowledge helps and a little math (nothing crazy)

iPhones and smartphones are fantastic.  I mean you don’t have to worry about a thing when you leave the house as long as you have your iPhone (except maybe getting mauled by a lion…maybe that’s just me).  But seriously, you have your phone, email, web, navigation and camera all in one amazing device.  Let’s concentrate on that last mention…the camera.  Gone are the days of going to the supermarket to buy one of those cardboard disposable cameras for your upcoming vacation.  Now you have a pretty amazing tool that lets you take awesome photos no matter where you are (grocery store, amusement park, restaurant, bathroom…ok I hope you aren’t taking too many photos in the bathroom) you get the point.

The question then becomes, “I have 400 photos of my kids, family, friends…now what do I do?”  You could hold onto them forever…trapped in your phone only to be seen when you endlessly scroll through your photo library as you try to find that one photo you took of Cher walking through the airport OR you could transform your phone photos into a very unique piece of collage wall art (minus that photo of Cher).  Let’s go through the steps to making your summer vacation photos, birthday party photos, Christmas photos, or even the entire year’s photos into an awesome collage that can serve as art, a photo album, and family history all in one very cool canvas print.

1. The first step is to download all of your iPhone photos to your computer.  Easy enough.

2. Sort through them putting them into separate folders by their orientation: horizontal and vertical.

3. Open Photoshop and create a new file sized to however big you want your photo canvas to be.  We will use 36”x24” as an example. 180dpi is perfect, if it’s only 100 dpi we can work with that too.

Canvas Press iphone photos to canvas. Opening new file in Photoshop.

4. Now you will use your math skills.  You will have to resize your photos to fit evenly into your final 36”x24” image.  For my example I am going to resize all of my horizontal photos to 6”x4” at 180dpi(which will fit 6 photos across my final image).  Perfect fit.  Ok so what do I do about my Vertical photos?  I am going to use my crop tool and crop them all to 4”x4” at 180dpi.  Now I have consistent building blocks for my collage.

Canvas Press iphone photos to canvas cropping the vertical images to 4″x4″ for this project

5. Here is the fun part.  Drag and drop your resized photos into your final 24×36 image and move them around to where you want them (ie chronologically, or whatever looks best…there is no wrong answer).  I like to do mine straight across and kind of chronologically…especially for an entire year of photos.  It helps me relive those memories even more.  Here is what mine looks like so far…I love the patchwork look of this.

Fantastic, now you have an almost complete photo to canvas personal work of art from your otherwise unused iPhone photos.  The last step to transform your photos on canvas is go to the Canvas Press website – www.canvaspress.com and upload your finished image.  For this example you will probably choose either the solid border or mirror border option so you can make sure you see all of those beautiful photos you took with your iphone.

We at Canvas Press are always here to help if you have any questions about this or any other project you may have.  Soon you will have your very own gallery wrapped canvas print hanging in your house.  Take a look at this example.  It is just a tiny bit bigger than 36×24 inches but how cool is that to have as a conversation starter in your house?

A year's worth of iPhone pics transferred to a canvas print with a float frame

image courtesy of house love

Here is a quick tutorial to guide you through our online ordering tool on CanvasPress.com. It covers everything from sizing and cropping on our site, to selecting the right borders for your Gallery Wrap canvas. Click here to order your photo on canvas today…

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Everyone needs a little learning once in a while. So, here’s a quick video tutorial on how to size and crop your images properly when ordering your 1.5″ Gallery Wrap canvas with an Image Border from Canvas Press.

Feel free to post your questions in the Comments section below. Thanks!

Father’s Day is what some of us would refer to as the followup holiday for Mother’s Day. However, at Canvas Press, we like to look at it as a day to celebrate everything different from Mother’s Day.

Instead of celebrating baking cookies, or flowers, or making lovely greeting cards, Father’s Day is a day to celebrate cookouts, fishing, and doing absolutely nothing. Who else is better at shrugging off doing the laundry? Or who is usually guilty for eating the last Girl Scout cookie but still placing the empty cookie box back in the pantry? Or better yet, dads are the best at acting like they had no idea the family dog had an accident in the living room carpet in order to avoid cleaning up the mess.

But before we dump on Dad for his supposed shortcomings when it comes to housework, his fatherly qualities outshine all else. Who’s better at teaching you how to clean out the exhaust port on a Lawn-Boy mower? Dad. Who’s always the first to vanquish even the ugliest of spiders? Dad. And who can develop some of the most unorthodox uses for duct tape? Dad.

So, for this Father’s Day, we challenge you to go beyond the safe zone of getting Dad a new tie. Forget the golf supplies and tacky shirts. Get Dad something that is just for him, maybe even something that Mom would never approve of hanging on the wall. Whether it’s a Gallery Wrap canvas of his favorite longhorn bull, or an Alumiprint of his latest hotrod addiction, Dad deserves a gift that makes him smile every time he walks past it in the man cave.

Dads, this one’s for you. From all of us at Canvas Press, we appreciate all the dads out there keeping it real. Happy Father’s Day!

*photo credit above: courtesy of Dustin Meyer

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Memorial Day is almost upon us. And as usual, businesses are getting prepared to roll out their holiday promotions and sales events. However, sometimes the purpose of a holiday can get lost on us. Let’s be honest, with the flood of advertisements, emails, and pop-up ads, a holiday tends to lose its meaning.

So maybe let’s do a little recap on what Memorial Day is exactly…

Wikipedia defines Memorial Day as “United States federal holiday that honors soldiers and is observed on the last Monday of May (May 30 in 2011). Formerly known as Decoration Day, it commemorates U.S. soldiers who died while in the military service.^[1] First enacted to honor Union and Confederate soldiers following the American Civil War,^[2] it was extended after World War I to honor Americans who have died in all wars.”

It goes on to explain how modern adaptations of the holiday include shopping, sales, and nationally sponsored auto races.

I think we can do better than that.

I’m pretty sure people with family in the armed forces and those who are currently serving would prefer to have Memorial Day mean something more than just shopping and a day at the lake. Perhaps, taking a moment to really contemplate the purpose of such a day would bring out the more human side in us.

Every day, there are people out there working for you. Protecting you. Watching over you. Believing in you. Some have names, some don’t. Some you have met, others you may have yet to meet, or may never meet. Now, think of these people, but think of the ones who have passed. The ones who have fallen. The ones who have retired and died from natural causes. The ones who were killed in the line of duty. No matter what transitioned them into the next life, they all had the same belief. To give you the best life possible as an American. You may not even agree with the armed forces, but these men and women died for you. For your freedom. They gave up the most precious gift God gave them, their life, for you.

We at Canvas Press believe in memories. Maybe that’s why this holiday means more to us than to other businesses. And yes, we will join the ranks with other companies that offer specials and deals in honor of Memorial Day. But we just wanted to make sure you understand why we do it.

So this Memorial Day, as you hit the malls and fire up the grill, we ask you to take a moment to pause and reflect. Think about those that have given their lives so that you may live your’s. They didn’t asked to be honored with grand statues or traffic-stopping parades. Just to be remembered. It’s because of them that Canvas Press is here to wish you a wonderful Memorial Day.

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We had so much fun with our summer photo contest on Facebook and we hope you did too. We’re bringing it back now for a Halloween Photo Contest! Send us your cutest costumes and scariest pictures. Kids, pets, families, even photo art of creepy places like abandoned buildings or cemeteries… Show us your creative side.

Accepting submissions from now until Sunday October 25 at Midnight. It is very important that you follow all of the instructions for submissions or your entry may not be accepted.

• Each entrant may submit only ONE (1) image
• Image must be in .JPG format
• Image should be of good resolution, but no more than 5MB in size
• Only images received through 11:59 pm CST October 25, 2009 will be considered.

Instructions

Email images to info@canvaspress.com with the subject line ”Photo Contest.” Include your name, phone number and a title or caption for the image.

You will receive a confirmation email within 12-16 hours of receipt that your photo has been entered. If you do not receive an email your attachment may not have been received, please try again or contact us for help.

If the winning canvas does not fit as a 16×20 gallery wrap, a canvas of equal or lesser value may be substituted.

The winner will be contacted immediately upon the contest closing time. If the prize is not claimed within 14 days, it will be given to the image with the next highest number of votes.

Starting Monday morning, October 26 the entries will be posted in a gallery on our Facebook Fan Page for voting through Sunday, November 1. The winner will be the image with the most “likes” and that lucky photographer will win a 16×20 canvas gallery wrap of the photo!

In order to vote for an image you must become a fan of Canvas Press on our Facebook page to interact with the photo galleries and tag, comment on or “like” images.

When you’re planning a pet photo for printing on canvas, you’re going to want to make it a special photo. Standard portraits of your dog sitting or even striking a show ring pose will certainly emphasize your dog’s beauty and are a great choice. For many dog owners, though, it’s their pooches personalities that they really want to shine through in a portrait, and less formal poses might be more appropriate for that. Something that can really add to a great portrait of your dog is a costume.

That may sound odd at first, but one of the many joys of having dogs is the fact that they will generally allow you to dress them up in silly costumes. Also, unlike many other pets, e.g. cats, rabbits, and iguanas, to name only a few, dogs actually seem to enjoy playing dress up. Well, some of them enjoy it. Some dogs just put up with it because they know it makes us happy, which is yet another wonderful thing about the canine species. In any case, dogs and costumes just seem to go together the same way kids and costumes do, and when you think of kids and costumes, it’s only natural to think of Halloween.

A Halloween portrait of your dog is a great choice for printing to canvas. If you have children, you can get them in on the act as well, but it’s fine even if your pup is your only ‘kid’. Pictures of dogs in Halloween costumes are almost as common as those of costumed children and a lot of work and creativity can go into these. My friend Bonnie had a Cairn terrier, and what costume idea could be better for a Cairn terrier than Dorothy from ‘The Wizard of Oz’? Bonnie even made her pup tiny red-sequined ‘ruby slippers’ for her paws. ‘Dorothy’ looked kind of lonely, though, so she asked a couple of other dog-owning friends over and before long, ‘Dorothy’ had been joined by a Chow mix ‘Cowardly Lion’, an Airedale ‘Tin Man’ in aluminum foil leggings and a funnel cap, a friendly mutt of a ‘Scarecrow’ and one pug in a Flying Monkey outfit. Once they got everyone settled down, it made a delightful – and very funny – picture. Definitely something worth going up on a wall.

Dog costumes are all the rage and can be bought at most pet stores. Clown costumes are always a hit, especially since most dogs are natural comics, and it’s rare not to see at least one English Bulldog in a pink tutu for Halloween. While you can spend a lot of money on the perfect dog costume, if you’re the least bit creative you can make your own. Ingenuity and a great idea can go a long way in costuming. Witness the Dalmatian I saw at a Halloween dog parade whose owner had turned her into a milk cow with a set of cardboard horns and an ‘udder’ made of pink balloons. One the other end of the scale was a five year old girl in riding togs – jodphurs, boots and jacket, the whole works – leading her ‘steed’: a spotted Great Dane in a saddle and bridle. Now that, I thought, would have made a perfect send-up of the classic ‘equestrian portrait’.

Planning a Halloween portrait of your dog is great fun. If your pooch is on board with wearing a costume, you’re only limited by your imagination. While we can’t dress up your dog for you, if you need help with ideas for your project just call us at (888) 784-5553 or email us from our website www.canvaspress.com and we’ll be glad to help.

-Karen

Yes, the canvas Arrived!!!! It feels like the birth of a baby! I want to share it with everyone and have already shown it to several neighbors. All are awestruck…I love it! I moved into a new home – San Antonio – the first of the year. I love wildflowers so one of the things I planted on my tiny lot was a mix of wildflower seeds. Spring came and plants popped up. Some I could identify, the rest would soon bring surprising colors. The coral colored poppies graced their stems for a day, perhaps more if the wind was settled a bit. To capture the color I grabbed my camera and shot them in early morning light. Putting one of the images on canvas seemed like a great idea. The rest, as they say, is history. It took a couple of conversations to clarify the best use of the images. Then like magic the box arrived yesterday, right on time…I knew when to expect it because of an email communication.

It is so beautiful…several folks thought I painted it because of the canvas!

The Canvas Press Support people I spoke with were very helpful. It is so nice to speak to a customer service person who has the communication skills, a caring attitude, plus the knowledge to help. It was a pleasure doing business with your team. You’ll get more of my business.

Best wishes,
Marilynn

AFFILIATE PROGRAM STATS FROM MAY:
30 Day AOV = $125.53——AVG. Conv = 3.57%——30 Day EPC = $47.06

Canvas Press offers an affiliate marketing program for all Web site owners interested in earning commission by simply placing Canvas Press banners on his or her site. Please email affiliates@CanvasPress.com for more information.

Thanks to everyone that made May another incredible month for Canvas Press! We were once again able to exceed sales targets for the affiliate program. Thanks so much for your help. With Father’s Day, Graduation season etc coming up we are expecting some big orders and conversion rates coming your way. It will be an incredible time to really BOOST your promotions with CanvasPress.com if you want to make some serious money from a quality merchant.

JUNE UPDATES:

COUPONS:
In May we saw some amazing results from the coupons we offered so we decided to extend the popular ones for you but with different codes to keep your pages fresh and visitors excited. Here are the killer coupons for you to promote as we head towards Father’s Day and Garduation season. These discounts will literally have your visitors ready to purchase.
NEW COUPONS
Coupon: 15% off $100+ – Use code thanksdad at checkout – Valid June 1-21

Coupon: 10% off $100+ – Use code summer10 at checkout – Valid June 22-30

Coupon: 25% off any Oil Works purchase – use code oilworks at checkout – Valid June 1-30

Coupon: 10% off any size order – Use code weekendsale at checkout – Valid June 6-7, June 13-14, June 20-21, June 27-28

EXTENDED
Coupon: $20 off $200+ – Use code canvaspress at checkout – Valid June 1-30

PPC MARKETERS:
Every PPC affiliate that has taken on this campaign has been very happy with the results. The average PPC conversion rate is 15-20%.

Also some affiliates are still finding great success for their Canvas Press promotions in the Google Content network. Either which way let me know if you are interested in a killer keyword list to help you get started.

CONTENT:
Original content is available upon request. This will keep your pages fresh and search engine crawlers happy. Not to mention it comes in pretty handy with those writer’s cramps.

COMMON PRINTS THEME:
There’s a new theme emerging right now for CanvasPress that might just catch you off guard:

· Beach Photos

· Oil Works paintings – **check above for a great coupon you can combine with this

· marketing logos & mission statements

· Anything spring related

You will want to include these themes in your promotional efforts. A sample image of each of these themes is available including beach photos, OilWorks before and afters, and fields of wildflowers.

PROGRAM BENEFITS REMINDER:
· Earn between 10%-14% commission per sale!

· 60 Day Tracking Cookie

· Discount and Dollar off coupons

· Auto-Deposit Feature

· Parasite Free

· Open PPC policy- **killer keyword list available

· Dedicated Program Management by Snow Consulting

If at anytime, you have any questions prior to joining or after joining, please feel free to contact us anytime.

We look forward to partnering with you and sending high commission checks!

Randy Norton
affiliates@canvaspress.com
1-250-769-0903
AIM- RandyNorton99 YIM – randynorton49