Canvas Factory Giveaway!

This is a sponsored post for which I have been compensated with a free product sample and a giveaway prize for my readers in exchange for a product review. All opinions are my own.

Calling all professional photographers, amateur photographers and those in between! We all love to take pictures and capture our favorite memories on camera, however, do those moments just stay on your camera card and social media sites? Or do you print them to display and share with family and friends?

For myself, nothing beats having real photographs around my home to view and relive that memory. Plus, photographs make great gifts! That is why I was delighted with a 16" x 20" product sample offered to me from Canvas Factory AND one to giveaway to my readers!

I am working on a new gallery wall for my freshly painted bedroom and was excited to order a canvas print for the wall. No heavy, bulky frames to deal with, and they look great mixed with other textured signs and frames. For the print, I chose one of my children on a recent family vacation to Pikes Peak, Colorado. All four of my kids were looking at the camera, the background was beautiful, and it was a memorable day of our trip. 

The Canvas Factory makes creating and ordering your prints a cinch. Simply click the "Get Started" button and choose what material and layout you would like. I did the single print but would like to order the split image for my daughters' bedrooms next time. Upload your photograph, even directly from Facebook or Instagram if you choose. However, I would personally use a JPEG like I did to ensure a quality photo. If you are unsure of the print you want or have any questions, just click on the Live Support Chat for help.

Once your photo is uploaded you select which wrap you want for your canvas. The options are gallery-where the print continues around the sides or mirrored-where the images mirror onto the sides. I first chose gallery but a message popped up that I would have blank space on my canvas edges so I went with the mirrored effect and love it. (You can see that in the picture below.) Lastly, you can choose to add text and colored effects if you would like. I didn't add either for my canvas this time.

I was provided with timely emails on the status of my order and received my well packaged canvas about a week later.  My favorite part about this canvas print is the quality. The picture is clear, the colors are vibrant and accurate. The corners are smooth and there is a nice backing with two sturdy hanging clips. A canvas print I had previously ordered from another company didn't come with an enclosed backing. I am very happy with my canvas and cannot wait to get my gallery wall started!

Now the fun part. Leave me a comment describing your favorite photograph, one that brings a smile to your face every time you look at it - one you would love to see on your very own Canvas Factory print. I'll randomly choose one winner on Monday, May 14th, 2018 and announce it here. Open to residents of the United States and Canada only. If you reside in Canada please use this link to Canvas Factory.

Thank you for stopping by and good luck!!

For more of my party ideas, home decorating, favorite recipes, twin activities x 2, and all things

"Mrs.Party Planner" please check me out on facebook and "like" the page. New blog posts will appear in your news feed.You can also follow me on www.bloglovin.com, on Instagram and Pinterest

Seafood Boil

The lobster dish from Market Street inspired this seafood boil

It had been awhile since I last hosted a seafood boil, and I was anxious to have another. A couple of wonderful families invited us to their Greek Easter celebrations complete with lamb on the spit, LOTS of traditional Greek food, and egg hunts for the kids so I thought this would be a great way to reciprocate.

First, the table. I covered it with white drawing paper (you could also use butcher paper) which fit perfectly width wise so I didn't need to cut it. I added the red and white checkered table cloth from the Dollar Tree, my favorite seashell sand and candle display from Pottery Barn, and paper towel. At each place setting there was a personal bucket for shells lined with super cute state of Texas paper I found at Paper Affair (here in Dallas). The bucket also contained a plastic lobster bib, crackers, a wet nap, silverware, and a mini bottle of white wine.

The guys loved it and did a great job helping drain those heavy buckets of seafood greatness!

Now that we moved south, I don't have all the delicious New England seafood at my fingertips. A majority of the seafood here comes from the Gulf and is Cajun inspired. Catfish, crayfish, and po'boys are what you will find on a typical seafood menu instead of Haddock, Cod, Maine lobster, and king crab legs. I'm not thrilled about it but I have tried them. I have also found the places that fly in seafood from Maine around here! The Oceanaire Seafood Room, Cousins Maine Lobster Food Truck, The keeper, Seabreeze, and Pappadeaux Seafood Kitchen are a few of my favorites.

For this boil, I used Dungeness crab from Costco in place of lobster and was very happy with the results! They were sweet and delicious. In fact, he's almost too cute to eat...almost!

In addition to the Dungeness crab, I added large shrimp, clams, andouille sausage, red potatoes, corn, and onion. For the seasoning I use a combination of Old Bay and Old Bay Hot, butter, garlic, red pepper flakes and black pepper. For garnish I set out lemons, melted butter, and cocktail sauce.

Over the years I found that cooking a seafood boil for a large crowd on your stove is easier when you cook the corn and potatoes separately from the meat. I use the exact same seasoning combination and then just mix them all together when everything is dumped out onto the table. You could use multiple pots but be careful not to overcook the crab and clams if you have a couple pots going at the same time. If you are making a boil for 4-6 adults you could easily use one large pot.

The fun part of a seafood boil is that you cover the table and pour out the food for everyone to enjoy with their hands. However, the temps here were in the mid-90's that evening and the husbands were kind enough to let the wives enjoy a relaxing dinner while they watched the kids in the pool first. Because of that I choose to pour the boil out on cookie sheets and keep in our air conditioned, fly free kitchen.

 

In addition to the seafood I served fresh bread, traditional Greek salad and watermelon. Hamburgers, chips, and dessert of cheesecake and ice cream were also available.

I would say this seafood boil another success from all the empty plates and smiles! It left my husband begging for another so I'm already planning for this coming summer!

One of the best things about a seafood boil besides being delicious and easy to make is that you can prepare it anyway you want. Add  only shrimp, potatoes, sausage, corn and seasoning. Make it a crayfish boil. Or go all out and load it up with lobster, king crab legs, and clams. Serve it on newspaper and picnic tables or fancy plates indoors. Enjoy it at the lake or your own backyard. It's a fun meal to share with family and friends while catering it to your own needs.

Check out my Pinterest board crab,shrimp,lobster boil to see more fun ideas you can use to host your seafood boil this summer!

Thank you for stopping by! ❤
For more of my party ideas, home decorating, favorite recipes, twin activities x 2, and all things
"Mrs.Party Planner" please check me out on facebook and "like" the page. New blog posts will appear in your news feed.You can also follow me on www.bloglovin.com, on Instagram and Pinterest

Video Game Birthday

I absolutely love boy Birthday parties! Star Wars, Nerf guns, superheros, construction vehicles, ninjas, and now video games and laser tag! What better birthday is there for a bunch of eight and nine year old boys than a Game Truck?! If you have not heard of this, I will fill you in.

This climate controlled truck with seating for about twenty will pull up to your home, park, or wherever they have fifty feet to park. The game truck host runs the whole show inside the truck. The company we used had six different screens with multiple gaming systems and over ninety age appropriate video games. Depending on your package, you can get at least an hour or more of unlimited gaming. The game host we had was very patient and friendly. He answered many requests to change games and show the kids how to play if they didn't know how. It's a dream come true for kids this age.

However, we didn't stop there. Since the location of the party was at a nearby park with lots of green space we chose to add laser tag. And I am so glad we did, this was the boys favorite part.

While the boys were in the game truck another employee set up the laser tag course complete with tents, inflatable barrels and barriers to hide behind.The laser tag host also ran the games and was a great sport with all the boys. I was worried they would get bored and not want to play an hour of laser tag, but I was wrong. The host mixed it up with different laser tag games to play so they weren't going after the same people the whole time. Thankfully, I had pizza and cupcakes to draw them away from this once our hour was up.

I rented a covered pavilion for a very nominal fee with bathrooms just in case it rained. However, this covered pavilion did nothing to combat my arch nemesis ...wind...again...the balloons, my decorations and centerpieces didn't stand a chance.

I had green and black balloons, table cloths, napkins, and diy centerpieces that I wasn't able to use because it was so darn windy. While I was disappointed, the boys could of cared less. They had such a great time with their friends running around for two hours straight. They happily gobbled up pizza, water, and cupcakes and went on their way.

This was a super easy party to plan and host. The Game Truck company took care of everything except the food.

Thank you for stopping by! ❤
For more of my party ideas, home decorating, favorite recipes, twin activities x 2, and all things
"Mrs.Party Planner" please check me out on facebook and "like" the page. New blog posts will appear in your news feed.You can also follow me on www.bloglovin.com, on Instagram and Pinterest