We've picked a winner! Here's our quirkiest couple!

Wow, this was not easy! 

For the past couple of weeks, we've been drowning in some incredible quirky cuteness. Our Facebook page was sprinkled with so many different forms of quirk, all amazing in their own ways. As Jacob was deciding which one would walk away with the FREE 16"x12" canvas print, we were all struggling/chuckling/giggling with him. 

That said, THANK YOU for making this contest so much fun! Before we get to the winner, we have something special to give EVERYONE who entered the contest: 50% off one 16"x12" canvas print. 

We don't give out half off deals too often, so take it as a huge 'thanks' for making this contest so great! For the math nerds: regular price is $59.99, so you'll be saving about $30 on this print. Just stop in, email us, call us, and we'll start helping out with that. 

Ok, we can't delay it any longer. Here's the winner of the free 16"x12" canvas print, and the champ of our Quirky Couple Photo Contest: 

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Macey Lendt!

For some reason, this photo especially tickled the quirky sensor in Jacob's left cerebral hemisphere, and he just had to go with it. We loved the outfits, the setting, the attitude -- everything. Congrats, Macey -- stay quirky!

Thanks again to everyone for participating! You made this more awesome than we could've expected!

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Interested in more of what's happening at Lifewall? Like us on Facebook, head to yourlifewall.com, or subscribe to our blog.

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Authored by Alex MacArthur. Interested in more of what's happening at Lifewall? Follow us on Facebook. , Google+, and at yourlifewall.com.

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New Life to Old Memories: Some of our Favorite Photo Restoration Projects

Maybe it's the nerd in me, but I'm so excited about this post. Over the past few months, we've had the privilege of putting lives on the wall in a really cool way: by bringing new life to photos that tell some valuable stories.

I'm not talking about 'old' vacation pics on your computer from 5 years ago, and I'm not talking about printing on the same material at the same size. I'm talking about scanning, fixing up, enhancing, and reproducing aged, damaged photos in a BIG way.

How old and how big? Glad you asked, because I'd love to show you just a little bit of what we've done.

Lyon County Historical Society

If you haven't been to the new Lyon County Museum, do yourself a favor and check it out. Not just because our work is there, but because there's some incredible history ready to be rediscovered. Right now, the early healthcare in the county is being highlighted, with the help of several 6-foot-tall panels designed, printed, and installed by us. (Content of the panels was provided by Jennifer Andries.)

The first panel you'll see when entering the exhibit. 

For just about all of the panels, we scanned, enhanced, and enlarged a series of photographs several decades old. They included doctor notes, staff portraits, building pictures, and much more. By scanning them at a high DPI, we were able to preserve the detail of the images incredibly well, allowing us to blow up even an 8"x10" (approx.) photo to 12 FEET wide.

An 8"x10" photo before we edited & enhanced it. Note the scratches & creasing. 

The print-ready digital file, removed of major flaws. 

The 12-foot-wide finished product, on display! 

WWII Submarine Print 

This one was brought to us by Tom Geske of Marshall, and initially, we didn't have much hope for it. It's an old print of a submarine he purchased a while back. It had been folded up and stored for quite some time, so it had significant creases in it. To make it harder, we didn't have a flatbed scanner capable of scanning it. 

But, with a digital camera and some quality time with Photoshop, we managed to not only enhance the image, but remove nearly all the creases and fix it up quite a bit. In the end, it was reproduced into a 48"x36" stretched canvas print, ready to be displayed & enjoyed. 

The print in its original state, creased and faded. 

 The print-ready image, edited & enhanced.

The finished canvas print.

Family Memory Lifewall Canvas

C.J. Molitor has a great family with some great memories, and we had a great time putting together a canvas collage (Lifewall Canvas) featuring just a handful of those memories. This finished print wasn't that large itself, but it did entail enhancing quite a few photos. Here are just a couple of them. 

KirPatrick's Pub & Grill

Aside from all of these, we've had a few other projects involving reproducing old photos. KirtPatrick's Pub & Grill in Balaton, MN ordered this series of canvas prints, plus a few more not pictured. All offer a taste of Balaton history.

Here are just a few of the prints we reproduced for KirPatrick's.

....More to Come!

We're already in talks with multiple business interested in bringing their stories to life. Stay tuned for more to come! 

If you're interested in getting a print restored & reproduced, stop by, give us a call, email us, or submit a form online. We absolutely love helping people and places tell the stories of how they came to be, and reminding them of the history they have yet to make.

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Something New - Canvas Minis!

We've got something new for you! After a few months of selling them out locally & collecting some feedback, we've decided it's time to roll them out & offer them online. 

Drum roll... Canvas Minis!

It's actually really simple. A small stretched canvas print attached to a frame. They're great for standing on desks, end tables, dressers, and (trust me), maaaaaaany more places. With something like this, you can treat it like a framed photograph, but have the vibrant display & quality of a canvas print. Below are a couple we have in the office. I apologize for the poor picture quality. It was taken with my 6,443-year-old camera.

They currently come in two sizes, and can be flipped any way you want them. The sizes are a 5"x7", and 10"x8". And yes, they're all ready to go online. Just head to yourlifewall.com, click "Create Your Own" at the top, and select the "Canvas Mini" box on the page. 

Like I said, we've actually sold a few of these locally, but we've gotten some great reviews on them. Here's one Lois Johnson of Marshall ordered. Note: this image was quite the hit among family members. She ordered quite a few prints of the same photo, with the last one being a Canvas Mini. As she's ordered more and more, I can easily see why it's a hit. This thing is just oozing character. It's great.

We hope you like our newest product! Stay tuned for more ideas and fun. Bye!

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Ka-Ching! Price Drop.

It's nearly the new year, and we're starting off 'new' a bit earlier! Over the past several weeks, we've been discussing our price structure, and have decided to keep it a bit more basic, without much reliance on promotions or regular 'special' offers. The result - a much friendlier price structure!

Wall Material

Material	Old	New
StickIt™	$10 per square foot	$6.80 per square foot
Canvas	$10 per square foot	$7.00 per square foot
Fabric-Backed Vinyl	$8 per square foot	$6.80 per square foot

These price changes take will take place immediately (which is now), so we're all ready to go. Oh, we have canvas print updates as well! 

Canvas Prices

Size	Price
16x12"	$52.67
20x12"	$57.33
20x16"	$65.11
20x20"	$72.89
24x12"	$62.00
24x16"	$65.11
24x18"	$76.00
24x20"	$80.67
24x24"	$90.00
30x12"	$69.00
30x20"	$92.33
30x24"	$104.00
30x30"	$121.50
36x12"	$76.00
36x18"	$97.00
36x24"	$118.00
36x30"	$139.00
36x36"	$160.00
40x12"	$80.67
40x16"	$96.22
40x20"	$111.78
40x30"	$150.67
48x12"	$76.50
48x24"	$124.10
48x36"	$171.70
48x48"	$219.30
60x16"	$127.33
60x30"	$177.65
60x40"	$227.23
60x48"	$266.90

That's it! Like I said, it's all effective immediately (we just couldn't wait), so feel free to check it all out for yourself. Stay tuned for more updates later on! We have lots coming up in the next few weeks & months! 

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A Few of Our Projects...

We love to do the murals, Lifewalls, and canvas prints for homes & individuals. But that's not all we've been up to! Over the past few months, we've been busy with projects for businesses around the area. I don't have pictures for all of them yet, but I couldn't resist to show off a couple of what we do have.

 1. Caldo Italian Kitchen - We were initially supposed to just do a couple of thinner murals for Caldo, located in Marshall, MN, but the project evolved into doing some peel & stick signs, a canvas print, and even a couple ADDITIONAL murals. Here's what I have for Caldo:

 I promise - as soon as I get pictures of the remaning murals (one is over the bar and another is vertical near a window), I'll update this post. Until then - take what you can get! Note: the murals here were all printed on our repositionable StickIt fabric. It applied very easy and we have had great success with it.

 2. Acapulco Mexican Restaurant - I had never actually heard of this place before they came to us with a project in mind. Since then, I've heard some great things! While I don't have a picture of the actual installation or finished project, I do have a cropped concept of the mural. It was about 9 feet tall and 40 feet wide - one of the largest prints we've done thus far. The owner was great to work with, and even kindly invited us up to see it sometime. Personally, I can't wait for it.

3. The Daily Grind - This is a coffee shop (but they also have food!) here in Marshall just a couple of blocks from us. A while back, we did a canvas display featuring the artwork of Bill Van der Hagen. It went extremely well!

We got some incredible feedback from this show, and so we might do it again sometime! We've paired with another photographer (Mr. John Krohn) since then, so we'll also have a new variety of images to display. We'll keep you posted. That's all I have for now. We might have a couple more larger business/organizations coming up soon, so stay tuned! Have a good one.

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