Amazing Self-Adhesive Cloth

At Vancouver on Canvas we now have an exiting new product for designers and crafters. It is called Removable Adhesive Fabric and it is unlike anything I have ever seen.

This material has the texture and durability of cloth, but has a self-adhesive backing like a sticker. It can be stuck on most surfaces, and even better, can be removed and re-positioned without loosing it's stickiness. It is also water resistant and very flexible, so it can be used to wrap around corners.

Of course, the best thing about this material is that it is receptive to the Giclee process. It can be run though our fine art printers, so we can print it with any image you can imagine in beautiful full colour.

One obvious idea for this material that would be of interest to people designing beautiful interiors is that they could be used to create wall decorations similar to vinyl cuts. It could be a simple and original way to ad interest to many surfaces. One creative customer is planning printing some self-adhesive images and mounting them on old wake-boards for an original display idea.

Businesses could also make good use of this easy advertising solution. We have already had an order a full fridge door sticker, with a beautiful full colour image related to the organization’s philosophy. The great thing about this material is that it can be used to turn any surface into an opportunity for delivering a message.

There are also many smaller projects that could be done with this material. It could be:

---Placed on the front of a light fixture or lamp shade for a personalized back lit image.

---Made into stickers to hand out in gift bags at events.

---Used for decorations on computers and personal electronics.

But my favourite idea comes from my own love of bookbinding. With this material it would be easy to design and create custom cloth book covers – think the old fashioned Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys books, but in cloth! With a little measuring and cropping, and some text, any journal, note book, old, beloved hardback, or hand-bound book project can have custom designed cover art! No gluing required! I for one can't wait to try this, and I am exited to see 

 

 

 

Personalized Greeting Cards Now Available!

Vancouver on Canvas now offers personalized art cards! Printed with our high quality pigment based ink on luxurious cardstock, these cards are great for artists, as well as for weddings, birth announcements, Christmas, birthdays, or just because!

Our new card printing service allows you to upload you own image for the front of the card, and put any text you like on the back. This is a great way to make classic art cards of your paintings, drawings or photos. Art cards are a great way of making your beautiful work accessible to more people. Your customers can use them to send a message to a friend, or keep them to display in their own home.

It is great that the ease of giclee printing means that anyone can use their own photos to to make personalized cards of their own. You can use an engagement photo to create wedding invitations, or wedding photos to create elegant thank you cards. Your guests will appreciate the personal touch as a keepsake of the event. You can also use your own photos to design birth announcement cards, Christmas cards, or invitations for other special events. The possibilities are endless!


Visit Vancouver on canvas and order your custom greeting cards today!

Father's Day

Father's day is just two weeks away, so it's time to get down to the Tie Shoppe and pick up another silk noose, just like we did last year. Or maybe a humorous beer stein or golf club cozy. Wait, does dad even golf? Why are we doing this anyway?

(fathers day coupon code at Vancouveroncanvas.com: LOVEDAD. 15% off until the 19th)

Lets face it, when it comes to days, fathers tend to get the short end of the stick. It has been estimated that at least 4 billion less is spent annually on fathers day than on mother's day. There are many possible reasons for this. It could be that Mother's Day has been around for longer and just gets better hype, maybe our moms are just better at making sure that we don't forget. I could be, though, that the traditional fathers day gifts seem pointless and impersonal, and it is hard to think of good alternatives. Maybe dads are just harder to buy for.

When you think about it, thought, the point of fathers day is not to buy presents, but to show our appreciation for the wonderful role-model, supporter, teacher and general all-round dad that our dad has been to us through the years. The best gift will express this sentiment, and make dad feel like he really is special and important to you, and most of all that he did a good job.

The best gift is something personal and special that has meaning both for the giver and the receiver. This is why photos are so great. Photos are mementos of the people, places and times that we love, and the memories that we share. Both professional and candid photos, when enlarged and printed on canvas, can make beautiful works of art that are at the same time very personal gifts. At Vancouver on canvas, it is our business to turn your photos into canvas art. We would love to help you create a gift for dad this fathers day.

The best and easiest way to do this is by going through the photos on your digital camera, and finding the perfect one to surprise dad with. This could be a photo of the family, of his children, or even of his grand-kids. Something that shows him the results of all the hard work he put into parenting. Upload the photo on our website, place the order and it will be ready for pickup in three days. Another good idea is going through the family album. At Vancouver on Canvas we have had a lot of success with scanning and blowing photos and printing on canvas. Another great thing to do with smaller photos is make a custom collage on canvas. A collage can collect different people across different times. This is a great way to tell a story about how your dad has influenced your life.

And on that note, ever heard the old axiom, “if you want to send a message, write a telegram?” not such a bad idea actually. What is wrong with saying how you feel with actual words? At Vancouver on Canvas we are offering a new design service we are calling “Text Art”. Here is how it works. You send us a text file, and we will make it into a piece of canvas art that can be printed on canvas. There are some examples on this post, but for more check out our facebook page. It can be complex or simple. A message to day, or just your favourite saying of his. There are so many possibilities, there is no excuse for the necktie this year.

New Framing Service

At Vancouver on Canvas, we are experts in creating one of a kind fine art canvas Giclees. We want to give our customers a full range of options when it comes to their giclee prints, so we not only print, we also stretch the canvases and finish them so they are ready to hang. We manufacture our stretcher frames on site, so we are able to customize the finished piece to any size that our customers desire. Since many of the equipment and expertise required to build stretcher frames are the same required to make decorative frames for the finished canvases, we wished to offer our customers the option of custom framing for their canvases and fine art giclees. We are pleased to announce that we have recently upgraded our shop in order to provide our customers with this additional service.

Vancouver on canvas, we are able to create custom frames from a large selection of decorative moldings. The complete selection can be seen either in our showroom or on our website. The frames are grouped into 5 categories, organized by the width of the molding, and are priced accordingly.

One of our most popular frame is our floater frame. Unlike more traditional molding, the floater frame does not have a lip that overlaps the front of the canvas. Instead, the frame is designed to leave a small space between the frame and the canvas, making the image appear to 'float' within the frame. This simple and elegant frame comes in white, black, gold, and espresso. It is especially suited for giclees, and our customers have been very pleased with it.

We can also create custom frames for works on paper, such as photographs, drawings, posters, or fine art prints. In this case we recommended protecting the work with plexiglass, and we offer the UV protective and non-glare as well as standard variety. We offer mat cutting to order, in a wide variety of colours and textures. In the case of fragile paper artwork, framing is a way to protect and display work at the same time. At Vancouver on Canvas, we can help you select the appropriate mat and frame to perfectly set off you image.

Many people purchase unstreched canvas from artists while travelling in foreign countries, as they are much easier to bring home. Bring your souvenirs to Vancouver on Canvas to have them professional prepared to decorate your walls. We can stretch and frame the canvas for you, even if we did not print it. Please see our pricing for custom canvas stretching.

One of the advantages of giclee canvases is that they do not need to be framed. They are finished pieces in themselves, and at Vancouver on canvas we offer a variety of edge selection options for those who would rather have their canvases without frames. However, for those who want an extra little something, we now offer custom framing as an option.

Takayuki Hori: Innovations in Print

Print has always existed at the intersection of technology and art. As new technologies develop, artists make use of them in creative ways to make new kinds of art that convey new or re-imagined ideas and feelings. As printing technology continues to develop, it is not surprise that artists have taken on these innovations to make new and stunning works of art.

Japanese artist Takayuki Hori's new piece “Oritsunagumono” is a perfect example of artist's innovation in using new technologies combined with centuries-old techniques. Oritsunagumono means “things folded and connected” and the piece makes use of origami as well as printing on new material in order to make a stark cometary on the environmental threat to Japan's coastal waterways.

Takayuki Hori prints on transparent paper, so that when his prints are folded the bones come together to make a complete skeleton. The three-dimensional X-ray like image created sometimes includes a small piece of man-made trash that ends up in the paper animal's stomach. In this way, the garbage we throw away can end up hurting or killing wild animals because we do not recognize our place in the overall design.

The origami technique used in this process is an ancient Japanese art form, but the paper and print technology is very new. Paper that has this level of transparency is most likely actually a kind of plastic, but in order for it to be used for origami it must fold like paper.

The printing that has been done in the making of this artwork could have made use of a wide variety of technologies. The detail and precision of design suggests that it was probably digitally rendered and printed using modern ink-jet printing. Ink-jet printers, like the one we use at Vancouver on Canvas can reproduce delicate detail at very high quality.

At Vancouver on Canvas we are always trying to find interesting material to print on to add an extra element to you artwork. Check out our posts on Satin Cloth and Metallic paper and get inspired!

Mother's deay special offer

Stumped about what to ge tmom this mother's day?

Well, to help you decide we would like to offer you a discount of 15% on any canvas or picture frame service we offer at Vancouver on canvas. Use the coupon code "lovemom" at the checkout to receive the discount.

Remeber that at Vancouver on Canvas you are creating a personalized gift. You can upload you mom's favorite photo, something that reminds her of her favorite child, maybe? or just something that you know she will love. We will turn you picture into a beautiful and lasting canvas print.

If you don't have a picture in mind, Visit our gallery of Classic art paintings, or Or images of Vancouer

Mothers day is May 8th, so order now for peace of mind.

don't forget the code "lovemom"!

Gifts for Mom

I am sure that many of use are starting to wonder, and if we are not we should be, what to get for mom this may. The yearly question, what to get for the woman who says she has everything, and all she wants is for her family to be happy, honey. At least that is what my mother always says. But you know, and I know, that at least one part of the family (namely her) would be a little happier if she got a thoughtful gift this year. And, seriously, what is nicer than making your mother happy?

This is not the easiest thing to do, though. Mothers are notorious for telling us that we are girt enough, or that just hearing from us is all the present they need. But perhaps we can take a clue from this to get her something that she really would cherish. What if you could give her a present that would memorialize that happy times, and remind her how wonderful and beautiful her children are? What about those photos of your wedding, her grandchildren, or of you and your brothers and sisters smiling? Who is more likely to appreciate a beautiful print of these special moments in life than the woman who watched you grow up and helped you along the way?

Another gift that would make her happy is a picture of her with her own children. Help her to remember that no matter how far the family has spread over the city or over the world, you share a bond that will always bring you back together. I reminder of those happy moments, whether they where years ago or only yesterday, will have special significance to her for years to come.

It might be nice even to make a collage of the most favorite pictures in the family album. You can even add a special message. This collage can be printed on fine art paper or stretched on canvas, and it will become a valuable piece of family history. At Vancouver on Canvas we can design and print collages for you, all you need to do is provide the photographs.

Speaking of family history, Do you have any old photographs of Mom from before she had kids, or when she herself was a kid. You could plan a great surprise for her by having some of these photos scanned and restored, and printed on canvas ready to hang on her wall. What better way to show your mother that you love her as a person, and not just as a mother, than to remind her of her own past, and all of the experiences she has had that have brought her to this point.