I struggled for a long time on how to do our Save-The-Date. For those who don’t know me, I love corny jokes and sayings. I originally thought about getting a picture of us in Santa Clause hats with the saying “Why are we getting married? BeCLAUSE we love each other!” but then before we knew it Christmas was over. So then I got inspired by Pinterest and came up with a way we could work the lake into our picture and not have to worry too much about our appearance. (I’m not good manipulating photos to improve appearance!)

With the help of my sister Katie (#6 in my fam) taking the picture and some playing around in Picasa, here is what we ended up with:

I was pretty pleased with the outcome and it’s something that was easy to do!

I took this photo at our lake house on Nolin Lake on December 3, 2011:

I love this photo. It’s a sunset. (I think I called it a sunrise before) and you can only see it like this in the winter when there are no leaves on the trees.

First I printed it in a poster size and put it in an old window frame that I refinished. We hung it up in our dining room but it didn’t have the effect I was going for.

Then I started searching online for companies who print your photos on canvas. A quick google search turned up BestCanvas.com. (Please continue to read this before you run to check them out, I think I was one of the lucky ones)

They had an advertised special on their website for 40% off any purchase and they had a lot of neat options (one of which I was looking for… to take one photo and split it into 3 canvases).

So I placed my order and paid $220 for 3  20″ x 48″ canvases. (Original price was $339)

A couple days later, I got an email from FedEx saying they had received notification to pick up my order and the estimated arrival date was 4 days later.

5 days later, I still hadn’t received my shipment. So I used the tracking number and found that my package still hadn’t been picked up. Sensing something was wrong, I googled them again along with ‘review’ and suddenly my screen was filled with customer complaints about this company. Many complaints were around Christmas 2011 where customers had placed an order and been told it would be shipped within the week. Several weeks later (and after Christmas, when most were to be used as Christmas presents) the orders still hadn’t been received.

My heart sunk when I read a detailed complaint of one customer who had received a tracking number (as I had) and months later still not received the package. They finally called FedEx who told them that the label had been printed a couple of months ago, but that FedEx had never been called to pick it up. There were also complaints of calling the customer service line only to reach a full voicemail. Some customers had been issued refunds but most customers recommended NOT using the company. A lot of customers noted that this company had changed names several times, probably in order to avoid the bad reviews that were following it.

So I decided to wait a couple more weeks in hopes that my canvases would arrive. (The pricing really couldn’t be beat, most companies wanted that price for canvases that were half the size).

A week after reading bad reviews, MrC got home before I did and called to say that I had received a package in the shape of my canvases!!

I was pretty nervous to open the box (one customer had ordered a Sepia canvas only to receive a black and white) but when I did, I was pleasantly surprised. I even consider them to be good quality* and exactly what I wanted.

MrC hung them up today and to my relief, even HE likes them:

Close-up:

MrC was weary of hanging the photos 1.5″ apart (he assumed we would hang them right next to each other) but I had a vision and he agreed to try it. I like the way it looks when they are hung a distance apart. MrC ended up liking the look as well. (He should know by now to trust my artistic eye!)

*It’s important to note that this photo is from my D3100 camera (a nice camera, but nothing super fancy) and it still turned out pretty darn good. I believe that the print quality is very good. The framing was good but doesn’t exactly sit flush against the wall. They do offer a thicker frame which may have fixed this problem. For my purposes, the framing is fine and I’m completely satisfied with my canvas!

So will I use this company again? Honestly, I’m not sure. I do think it’s deceiving to receive an email saying your item has been scheduled for pickup when in reality, it hasn’t. The price can’t be beat though, so if I’m feeling daring, I’ll probably try them again. I will admit that having $220 hanging there, unsure if I would get what I ordered was pretty stressful.

And no, we STILL don’t have a kitchen table. But MrC and I have both been making random comments about needing one (especially after MrC hit his head on the light you see in the photo) so hopefully we’ll find one soon that we both agree on!

Have you guys had any luck with buying a photo canvas of this size anywhere at a decent price?

I’m taking a cue from Chris at Refining Life and having a Thankful Thursday post. Rhondi at Rose Colored Glasses started the bandwagon and it’s a good day to jump on!

I’m thankful for the new outside chicken coop that Mr. C built.

It means that the chickens can be left alone for short periods of time AND get to go outside. Mr. C knocked out a couple of bricks (with our landlord’s permission) and we put a ramp in so that they now have an inside/outside coop. The posts were put in the ground about 2 feet deep and were filled in with dirt. (No concrete!)

I am also thankful for the deer that show up and make me smile: (This one had twins with her! She loves the apples from the apple tree!)

I’m most thankful because the big windstorm that came through (while we were at the lake!) may have knocked out our electricity, no one and no pet were hurt.

It was from Hurricane Ike (supposedly) and carried 70mph winds with it.

This is the apple tree that got uprooted. The very same apple tree that the deer liked to eat under.

The tree that took out our clothesline.

This was the big one that took out our powerline. (You can sort of see where it snapped the line from the pole) It also landed on Mr. C’s mail jeep. (But again- no damage!)

And I’m thankful for a peaceful place to go on the weekends- our lake house.

I took this picture this past Saturday, Sept 13, 2008 at Nolin Lake in Kentucky.

I hope everyone finds something to be thankful for today!