Canvas On Demand Premium Thick Wrap Canvas + Coloring Canvas Review #mycanvasondemand

I received this free to facilitate this review.

Canvas On Demand makes it easy to turn your photography or art into something more. They have canvases, prints, and personalized gifts that could make your home one of a kind and unique. The ordering process is so simple too. Canvas On Demand has some wonderful ideas for some fabulous gifts this holiday season!

Their premium wrapped canvases are conveyed to be top quality. These offer a ridged, warp-resistant construction, 1.25"thick wrap, an enclosed back, pre-installed hardware, and an extended 2 year warranty. There are 25 different sizes to choose from too. Learn more here.

What I Thought:
I got to pick out a 16x20 Premium Thick Wrap Canvas and a 16x20 or 16x16 Coloring Canvas. I got to personalize the 16x20 Premium Thick Wrap Canvas with one of my own photography pictures. I picked a picture of my horses grazing in our field with a rainbow overhead that I took in April of last year. I thought that this photo would make a lovely art piece for my wall. I selected the Floral Wolf 16x16 Premium Thick Wrap Canvas with White canvas edge. It is a black and white line art of a wolf made out of leaves, branches, flowers and mushrooms. Here are some FAQ about the Coloring Canvases.

Step 1: Upload Your Image

The ordering process was very straightforward. You click the link that I have below to build a 16x20 Premium Thick Wrap Canvas. Then you click on the Order a 16x20 Premium Canvas button and select your photograph or art to Upload Your Image.

Step 2: Edit Your Item

Then after you select your image and upload it you can Edit Your Item. You can choose different options on this page like: orientation, color effects, edge, size shape. I chose the color blur edge, but there are image, black, and white edges also available.

Step 3 & 4: Choose if you would like a Professional Review or Touch-ups done for extra cost.

After this page you have the option of having a professional review and a retouching & enhancement if needed for extra cost...I did not select these options.

Step 5: Add anything else to your cart you would like, make sure options are correct.

I was also ordering a Coloring Canvas, so I chose out of the many to select and picked out my absolute favorite, the Floral Wolf by Aron Gadd. This suited my love of forest flora and fauna. I love how intricate it is. It will be a fantastic addition to my wall when I am done coloring it. I selected the correct size 16x16, white canvas edge, and I only wanted one. Canvas On Demand recommends BIC Mark-It Permanent Markers in a Fine Point tip which can also be purchased with the Coloring Canvas you choose or separately at an extra cost if you don't have your own set of good markers for coloring on canvas. Then I added that too to my cart.

Step 6: Make sure everything looks good in the Shopping Cart and order.

I looked everything over and made sure that my Shopping Cart looked good then proceeded to Checkout.

You will get an email with your order number, status, and information.

You will put in your shipping and billing information, and email so they can send you an email when they have your order number and tracking information when they ship your package.

With flash you can see the enclosed back of the canvases and the pre-installed hardware.

My package took a little over a week to get to me. The box arrived safely on my doorstep. Both canvases were wrapped really well for the travel to my home.

Look how dark the Canvas On Demand print came out from the original.

When I opened the box up and looked at my photograph that they made into a Premium Thick Wrap Canvas I was surprised and a very disappointed at how dark the colors were. The colors looked washed out, too dark, and the definition is not there with the detail anymore. I wish the colors were brighter and more defined on the canvas. I will have to put a spot light on this to get it to pop like the original does.

Floral Wolf not colored on my wall.

The Coloring Canvas was also sloppily wrapped around the frame so the corners stuck out as well. I love the print of the wolf and I can't wait to color it, but I wish that it was wrapped better. These were not museum quality by any means. Maybe though you will have better luck than me.

Sloppy wrapped corners of the Coloring Canvas.

BUY IT
Save 60% off Premium Gallery Wrap Canvases, Coloring Canvases, & more from Canvas On Demand with code USFAM! #mycanvasondemand

DISCLOSURE/DISCLAIMER: I received this product for free to facilitate this review. My thoughts are mine and my family's own opinion and have not been altered by anyone else. I did not receive any other compensation for doing this review.

Get Outdoors and #DiscoverTheForest

We love getting outside and sharing the great outdoors with friends and family. My favorite pastimes for outdoor activities in the summer are hiking, backpacking, nature walking, camping, tree climbing, rock climbing, biking, horseback riding, swimming, boating, canoeing, kayaking, sailing, fishing, picnicking, barbecuing, foraging, hunting, and gathering, wildcrafting, harvesting crops, farming, and gardening. Any one of these activities lets my family, friends and I get fresh air and get back to nature. We have a "naturehood" nearby us called Dibblee Beach. This beach with Columbia River access is just a short walk from our home. We love to go there and relax and play. We also have Lake Sacajawea Park across the river from us in Longview Washington. We enjoy spending time there to picnic, BBQ, or have our kids play on the playgrounds that surround the scenic lake.

Nature is closer than you think. Every neighborhood has a #Naturehood, urban forest areas and parks that are just a short-drive away, making it easy for families to unplug from the daily routine and reconnect with nature. These urban forests offer many of the same benefits as national forests, but they're right in the neighborhood. Beyond the swings, slides and clearings, there are trails, trees, wildlife and water just waiting for the urban dweller. To find a neighborhood park or green space near you, visit DiscoverTheForest.org.

Research has shown that children who play outside have lower stress levels and more active imaginations, become fitter and leaner, develop stronger immune systems and are more likely to become environmentally conscious in the future. Kids need to discover the wonders of nature, make memories with their families and friends outdoors, and develop an interest in the environment by creating a lifelong relationship with it. Spending time together outdoors helps enrich family life.

DiscoverTheForest.org features an interactive map tool that enables users to search for nearby forests and parks, and filter by zip code and desired activities. Free outdoor activities are also available for download and printing, which you can take the next time you visit.

SOCIAL • CORNER
Website - DiscoverTheForest.org
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/discovertheforest
Twitter - https://twitter.com/discoverforest
Pinterest - https://www.pinterest.com/discoverforest/
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/discovertheforest/

DISCLOSURE/DISCLAIMER: I'm participating in a group initiative with Homestead Bloggers Network about the importance of getting outdoors with your family. My thoughts are mine and my family's own opinion and have not been altered by anyone else. I did not receive any compensation for doing this post. My name is going into a drawing for a $50 Amazon Gift Card.

Homeschool Legacy Forest for the Trees Once-a-Week Unit Study Review

My children and I had the privilege of testing out Homeschool Legacy Forest for the Trees free for this review to use in conjunction with my own homeschool curriculum. This is a Schoolhouse Review Crew Review. All opinions expressed are my own or those of my family.

Forest for the Trees is a once a week unit study by Homeschool Legacy. This is a 4 week study that is geared towards second through twelfth graders. It has an option to use this to help your child earn a badge in Boy Scouts or American Heritage Girls or a project record in 4H, if your child is involved with any of those. I was given the option to get this in digital or physical format. I chose the physical format.

Fig Tree that we recently replanted.

Unit studies provide us with an in depth view of a certain focused theme and has us do many different subjects surrounding it. For example; with this Forest for the Trees unit study we were doing science projects, math, history, reading, etc. As a homeschooling family we love unit studies!  It gets us away from some of the more mundane work we sometimes have to do in our schooling at home and gives us a chance to dive into some hands on studies. A lot of time unit studies also let us get out in the field to learn.

Measuring trees and tree stumps & counting rings.

Now that the weather is getting nicer my family can partake of all of God's glorious creations even more. We love nature unit studies because it means going outside, exploring, discovering, learning, and breathing in the fresh outdoor air. We try to do nature studies a lot because they are a great break from being cooped up indoors, bookwork and online work. Trees are certainly a very important part of God's creations and with Forest for the Trees Once-a-Week Unit Study we got to learn a lot more about them. Forest for the Trees definitely gave us the motivation to get outside and learn about the surrounding local trees that we have here in Oregon, Washington, and right in our own backyard!

Forest for the Trees art project: tree bark rubbings.

Forest for the Trees is a fun, creative, hands-on study about trees. It has a total of 4 weeks of study: Week 1 is Tree Identification, Week 2 is Tree Anatomy, Week 3 is What Trees Give Us, and Week 4 is Forests and Forestry. In every section this unit study has a list of reading and video choices along with some required reading that helped with the unit. These are listed by their Dewey Decimal number as well so the can be easily found in the library. Daily activities include independent reading and family read-aloud from required books. Forest for the Trees also has once-a-week activities that include: family devotionals, science experiments, outdoor nature studies, reading assignments, art, field trips, history, life skills, language, vocabulary, research assignments, math, physical, etc. I liked that the unit studies from Homeschool Legacy are Christian based and have scripture devotionals in them too. At the end of each weekly lesson there is a section called Stump Your Dad Trivia with a interesting question and answer fact.

My boys and firewood from local trees they stacked into a fort.

This particular study of the trees had us save and document what we found in a notebook, a tree nature journal of sorts. We were told to gather specimens and/or sketch or photograph different parts of multiple trees around us. With the tree identification guide books they listed for us to use we could identify the particular tree we were looking at by the characteristics of the specimens and information we gathered. All the art, history, math, research, language, vocabulary and science experiment findings were also put in the notebook. We had fun adding to it little by little and piecing it all together.

Teela helping with the Transpiration science experiment to show that tree leaves breathe.

We did a lot of fun stuff while we learned about trees. My kids loved the science experiments the best! The science experiments were all very easy to set up and do. We learned about deciduous, coniferous, botany, dendrology, osmosis, transpiration, condensation, photosynthesis, chlorophyll, symbiosis, germination, etc. For art we drew a tree and parts of trees, did tree bark rubbings, and took photographs to document trees and yummy apple recipes we made. We also measured the girth of trees and learned about counting tree rings to see how old they are. We climbed trees too. In the first week we learned all about tree identification and used the field guide quite a lot to try and identify trees in our area taking a lot of samples and specimens home to add to our notebook. The second week we learned all about parts of the tree and did a lot of art and science experiments. In the third week we learned about the many things trees give us like food, paper, rubber, and wood. In the last week we learned about deforestation in the forests and the Giant Sequoia Redwoods.

We are in love with the Homeschool Legacy's Once-a-Week Unit Studies now that we have tried Forest for the Trees out for ourselves. We learned so much and had a lot of fun doing it. We hope to be able to try more of them out in the future for our homeschooling with unit studies.

BUY IT
Forest for the Trees is available for $14 using the Grab-and-Go (PDF) option or $18.95 for the paperback copy.

Unit Studies by Homeschool Legacy

 

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Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/homeschoollegacy?fref=ts
Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/hslegacy
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Read other reviews for Homeschool Legacy...

The Okee Dokee Brothers Through The Woods An Appalachian Adventure Album Review

We received this product free to facilitate this review. Affiliate links may be in this post. Thank you for supporting this blog.

The Okee Dokee Brothers, Justin Lansing and Joe Mailander, are wonderful outdoors men and Americana folk musicians. The duo are at it again with a new album and adventure. This new album is called Through The Woods, An Appalachian Adventure and it is their second Adventure Album. This album, just like the last one, has a DVD along with the CD and field journal that shares footage of their journey in the part of the USA they are trekking in.

In this album The Okee Dokee Brothers spent a month hiking, camping, backpacking, filming, and making music (This whole CD and DVD!) on location through the Appalachian Trail. They met some neat people along the way that shared their stories and music with them while they took a small breather from exploring the outdoors and creating their own songs. This album is a wonderful compilation of 15 original tracks from The Okee Dokee Brothers with songs that feature guest artists as well as emulating the traditional old-time Appalachian music with their sounds and styles. This album features an array of instruments such as fiddlesticks, pots, pans, auto-harp, bones, clogs, mouth bow, gut-string banjo, washboard, jaw harp, mountain dulcimer, fiddle, hambone, bass harmonica and whistling.

My favorite part of the DVD: The Okee Dokee Brothers with wild ponies :)

See the Trailer for the Through The Woods DVD here...



The Okee Dokee Brother's last album, Can You Canoe?, won a GRAMMY for best children's music album in the 55th GRAMMY Awards! It was well deserved because it is a fantastic album. I also believe Through The Woods is really good and deserves the highest of accolades.

Track Listing on the CD:

1. Through The Woods: The title track to this CD, a great song about going on an adventure with friends through the woods.
2. Big Rock Candy Mountain (with Hubby Jenkins-Carolina Chocolate Drops on bones and mandolin): A fun upbeat banjo/mandolin pickin' song about a made-up place called Candy Mountain.
3. Jamboree: A great dancing song about a jamboree. I love the lyrics to this one...so perfect!
4. Evergreen: I love this song about trees. It has sweet lyrical poetry and sings the beauty of the forest.
5. Walking With Spring (with Cathy Fink, on mountain dulcimer): This song is a perfect song to go hiking with and reminds us to slow down and enjoy the scenery and beauty around us.
6. Out of Tune: This is a fun song about how it is sometimes better to live life a little bit out of tune.
7. Black Bear Mama (with David Holt-Doc Watson/O Brother, Where Art Thou? on gut-string banjo and mouth bow): Great song about a Black Bear Mama and has a fun fast part in the middle.
8. Hillbilly Willy: One of my favorites on this CD about a hillbilly and his silly wife. Fun and upbeat too.
9. Riddle & Rhyme: This is a great rhyming song to slap your knee or clap to.
10. Tiny Little Life: Upbeat fiddle song about a life of simplicity.
11. Ruby Jane: A sweet love song about a farm girl sweetheart.
12. Fiddlestick Joe (with Marcy Marxer on cello banjo): A fun fiddling upbeat dancing song.
13. Lighten Your Load: This song reminds us that it is better to pack light.
14. Echo: A yodeling love song.
15. Baby Mine (with Rosie Newton on fiddle and vocals): This is a sweet lullaby, wonderful to put kids to bed to and a gorgeous end to the CD.

With their beards, flannel shirts, overalls and instruments The Okee Dokee Brothers are sure fun to watch perform on stage as well. You can see when their next show is here. They played at the Mountain Park Recreation Center on May 4th at 7pm in Lake Oswego, Oregon. I was pretty bummed when I couldn't make that performance with my family of 6 this year. Hopefully they'll make it around here again soon.

This album is great to take with you to listen to on a family road trip, around a campfire or even while hiking. It is a wonderful reminder to get outside to experience and explore nature with your family and friends. Through The Woods is wonderful kids music that resonates with adults as well. I love The Okee Dokee Brother's adventure albums because they bring back so many good memories of the great outdoors when I was a child and remembering helps me recreate wonderful memories with my own kids. The messages in all the songs are good and wholesome and The Okee Dokee Brothers feel like Kindred Spirits to me. I can't wait for the next adventure album in this series!

FOLLOW THEM
You can friend them on Facebook or like their page. You can also follow them on Twitter.

BUY IT
Go HERE and you can buy The Okee Dokee Brothers merchandise.



DISCLOSURE/DISCLAIMER: Thanks to Beth Blenz-Cluc​as of Sugar Mountain PR for sending me a free The Okee Dokee Brothers - Through The Woods An Appalachian Adventure Album CD/DVD to listen to and review. My thoughts are mine and my family's own opinion and have not been altered by anyone else. I did not receive any other compensation for doing this review.