If you’re not looking forward to the mad rush to by Christmas presents this year, you could make life much easier and buy your presents online. Rather than battle the crowds through the shops looking for materialistic things that your friends and family will probably never use and just store away for redistribution next year, why not buy something more personal from the comfort of your own home?

You could give your loved ones a customised present they’ll never forget, without the need for you to leave the house and engage in the mad shopping battles that take place on the streets. By using a canvas printing service you can take any of your own personal photos, whether they’re of you, your family or your friends, and have a unique piece of art printed on canvas. This means that you can have your own art created easily and cheaply, which offers a much more personal touch than anything you could buy in the shops.

It’s easier, cheaper and makes for a more thoughtful Christmas present than the usual items that people give at Christmas.

Most of us would list family photographs among our most treasured and irreplaceable possessions, whether they be traditional prints or digital images. We generally tend to tuck these away safely in an album or folder, to be viewed from time to time. Similarly, most of us have admired the look and feel of real artist canvasses, traditionally framed and hung for all to admire in homes and art galleries.

Through the wonder of modern technology, it is now possible to combine both art forms, capturing the warmth of the photographic image and the texture and visual impact of canvas.

To ensure the highest quality, images submitted are carefully examined and any blemishes or “red eye” are removed prior to the transformation. Images are also cropped to the required size and colours are balanced to ensure maximum print quality. Once prepared, the image is printed onto canvas then stretched using traditional techniques and craftsmanship, allowing the image to be removed, remounted or framed without damaging the canvas.

In addition to choice of size, the purchaser is offered various finishes, designed to enhance the visual impact of the image at no extra cost. How about the stylishness of a black and white finish, the “older photo” appearance of a sepia finish or one of several colour tint finishes that give a different feel entirely to the image? Also on offer is a pop art design in various styles, for those who like their art ultra modern.

So, whether your favourite photos are of holidays, weddings, pets, cars or scenery, this innovative process provides an interesting and lasting alternative to albums and folders by transforming your precious memories into framed works of art.

Photos printed on canvas don’t just have to be photos of your family, or your holidays. Yes pictures of yourself, your family and your friends make great photos to canvas, but you can also turn artwork you’ve made yourself or pictures your children have made into canvas prints.

For example, if you’re a budding artist and have dabbled in water colours, or sketches, you can have the pictures digitally copies and turned into canvas prints. What better way to show off your artistic ability that to transfer your work to canvas and have it displayed proudly in your home, or even given away to friends and family as gifts?

By the same token you can have any pictures that your children have made turned into unique canvas art. Your children love to make their own pictures, and produce paintings in school regularly. You can them transfer those pictures to a computer and have them printed on canvas. This will allow you to make many copies of your children’s artwork and to share them with as many people as you wish.

You may think of canvas prints as something that you hang in your living room, above the sofa, to act as a piece of artwork to impress your friends. However you don’t just have to hang canvas prints in your living room, there are other rooms in the house that would benefit from a canvas print being displayed on the wall.

Here are a few suggestions for different rooms in which you can display photos on canvas.

Bathroom
If you’re lucky enough to have a large bathroom you could make your bathroom look even better with a themed canvas print on the wall. For example you could have a canvas print of a seaside photo or a river cruise picture, to give your bathroom that watery feel.

Bedroom
How about a photo from that safari holiday of a lion on in the wilderness, or a picture of that city break in Barcelona? Romantic photos printed on canvas give your bedroom a special feel.

Dining Room
Your dining room would benefit from a canvas print of a woodland scene or something else that signifies nature.

Experiment with your photos and have them printed on canvas to decorate different rooms in your home.

If you’re thinking of having some photos printed onto canvas to produce original artwork for your home, you might be wondering what sort of photos would make good canvas prints. The truth is that pretty much any types of photos of any subject matter can be printed on canvas, and can be displayed on your wall as art or given as unique, personalised gifts to friends and family.

Here are some suggestions for the kinds of photos that would make great canvas prints for your home.

Holiday pictures
If you’ve been on holiday and have some great photos on the beach, or on safari, or in a bustling European city, these would look great printed on canvas and would act as constant reminders of the great time that you had.

Wedding photos
Pictures of the big day of the bride and groom, or the whole family, would look great on canvas as you’ll remember the joyous occasion whenever you look at them.

Pets
Everyone loves their pets, and takes lots of photos of their favourite pet doing what pets do best. Why not have a picture of your favourite loyal companion printed on canvas and hung on your wall?

There are many different types of photos you can print on canvas, from holiday snaps, photos of your kids or even your own experimental photos if you’re really into photography.

However one type of photograph that would really look good printed on canvas is a wedding picture. Wedding photos are some of the most important photos you’ll ever have taken, and should be treated as such. Most people have a wedding album with their prized wedding pictures, stored safely away in a cupboard or drawer; however photos of that importance should be displayed.

You can print your photos and have them framed for your wall, but having photos printed on canvas is a much better way of displaying your wedding photos.

When photos are printed on canvas they become living works of art with you as the subject matter, making you the muse for the art. The pictures from your big day can become ‘big art’ as they’re displayed on your wall, reminding you of the special wedding day that changed your life forever.

Many of us will have marvelled at the portraits hanging in grand public buildings and stately homes, becoming enchanted with what is effectively a family album. The admiration for such imposing images never fades, nor does the desire to capture and commemorate important family moments.

Although this has been possible for many years without the use of a paintbrush, part of the grandeur of portraits has been lost through photography. However, a canvas print can truly turn your image into a masterpiece and can make a real statement within your home. What’s more, unlike the portraits of old, a canvas print can be produced in under a week and it’s ready to hang in your home for a lifetime.

To ensure perfection is achieved all images submitted for printing onto canvas undergo a series of editing processes, eliminating blemishes, reducing the dreaded red-eye and cropping to fit on the selected canvas.

Flexibility is paramount when printing on canvas, which is evident with the number of options available to the purchaser. Not only are there sixty different size options but images can also be produced using various effects, which can enhance the drama of the piece.

By printing photos on canvas masterpieces of the future are being created and who knows, maybe in years to come there will be people marvelling at your family portraits!

If you’re interested in turning your photos into canvas prints, you don’t necessarily have to have them printed exactly as they are. You can have them altered to create a unique artistic work, styled exactly as you want it. Your photo can become a unique, fresh and exciting piece of art that is custom to you, and looks great in your home.

You can have pop art illustrations on canvas produced from your photos that are genuine art, produced by a skilled graphic artist. You can have the painting done in one of three styles, which will suit your requirements and taste.

For example, you could have an Andy Warhol style screen print image, which shows four pictures in different colours on the one canvas. This is reminiscent of the great master’s work with paintings of people such as Marilyn Monroe and Elvis Presley.

You could also have a painting produced in the comic style of Roy Lichtenstein, or if you prefer a modern art style you could opt for a more illustrative work.

Canvas prints of your photos don’t have to be straight reproductions of your pictures, they can be paintings in a style of your choosing.

There’s a myth that having photos printed on canvas for your home consists solely of production line images bought in a shop; images such as pictures of horses, old portraits or boats. These are the sort of pictures that thousands of people have in their homes and can be bought on any high street from a picture framing shop or even a supermarket.

Canvas prints don’t have to be like this though. You don’t have to have the same pictures that everyone else has in their home. You can stand out from the crowd and have something unique, something nobody else has on their walls. You can print your own photos to canvas!

You need simply to choose your favourite pictures, whether they be of your children, your pets, your holiday snaps or photos of your family; then you can have them printed onto canvas easily and quickly. Pictures printed on canvas last much longer than any photo paper prints, and they look far more impressive when displayed on your wall.

Have your own unique, custom printed art for your home based on your own photographs.

As Christmas approaches thoughts turn towards shopping for presents and sending greetings cards. However, as the credit crunch takes hold on the country, many people can’t afford to pay for expensive presents such as jewellery and games consoles. There is an answer though that will allow you send a great gift, and one that is customised and special for your friends and family.

You could have a photo of you, your family or your children printed on canvas and send them as gifts. This also works as a unique type of Christmas card or greetings card. It’s long been accepted for families to send custom Christmas cards with photos on them, but by printing photos to canvas you’re combining the art of sending custom holiday cards with canvas prints, so they’re Christmas cards and presents rolled into one.

Christmas doesn’t have to be a time of expensive electrical items; it can be a special time of unique personalised gifts for your friends and family.