Sunday, October 31, 2010

Baseball Canvas

It’s no secret that we are a family of baseball fans. In particular, fans of the Detroit Tigers.  The love of baseball has run in my family for generations, and my husband grew up in the same environment.  I’ve been struggling with how to display some of that history in my son’s room recently. That was, until, I was exposed to Canvas People.

You may not believe this (I was skeptical at first myself), but they offer FREE 8x10 canvas prints of any digital picture you send them. So here’s what I did with my canvas.

baseball canvas

I know that I could have easily chosen from dozens of family pictures, but I wanted something different. However, I wanted something very significant. We go to a number of Tigers’ games each year, and I took this picture last summer.

vintage baseball

When I saw it in my picture file, it was a no-brainer. Note to self: When your husband is more excited about a canvas than you are, you’ve probably chosen well.

baseball canvas

Once I had my inspiration, it was time to shop the house! Yee Hee! My husband has boxes upon boxes in the basement waiting for our basement to be finished. Confused yet?

baseball vignett

We have TONS of signed baseballs, so I chose a few of the most meaningful ones to display. Jackson’s favorite (signed by an ‘84 pitching coach) takes center stage.

autographed baseballs

The only new items are the vintage-looking metal signs (my son’s initials) I bought at Hobby Lobby. They were only $3.00 each. Not bad, eh?

tin signs

My favorite item is a Greyhound bus that my grandma gave to my son for Christmas a few years ago. I had no idea she even had it. She had it stored away from when she was a young teenager. Apparently, her and a friend were getting on “the new bus line in town”, and they were giving them to particular customers. I LOVE it, and I love the idea that she kept it stored away for so many years.

vintage greyhound bus

As we were cleaning out my grandparents’ home last summer, I found an old bat in their garage. I SO wish they would have had about 10 more. Don’t even ask how it’s hanging up there. Mostly on a wing and a prayer. Currently looking for a hanging system.

baseball collage

Here’s a little breakdown of everything I collected.  My husband’s brother did the carving for him when he was a little boy. It even has a little message on the back. How. cool.

antique baseball

I never would have imagined that one simple canvas would have spearheaded such a project, but I’m so pleased with the outcome. It became a way of merging our families’ love of baseball, and even if my son grows up hating baseball (he won’t if he knows what’s best for him), it makes me smile every time I look at it.

baseball vignette

I should clarify that I “upgraded” to an 11x14 (a few dollars).  You’d be surprised what a difference it makes in size! I’m so happy that I’ve got to share the information. Who wouldn’t like to take advantage of this with the holidays coming up? Here’s the info (in case you still don’t believe what a good deal this is).

ck909_S37_430x600

34 comments:

Unknown said...

What a personal way to display your memories! Love this vignette.
(btw- my hubs would love that pic, too. great idea!)

Unknown said...

Love the canvas! That collection looks so good with it. I recently ordered one for a Christmas gift. Can't wait to get it.

Have a wonderful week!

Lisa @ Shine Your Light said...

Love this baseball vignette - great job! The bat is really cool - I have to do that in my boy's room. The canvas is so cool too!

Jess- said...

LOVE IT! Now that is the proper way to do a baseball room!!

Stephanie said...

That is a really nice vignette you did. And all the special memorabilia you found from your husband is so perfect the way you displayed it.

LuckyStarErin said...

Wow, interesting that this week I've realized several blogs I've read for a while now are MI based bloggers.
I LOVE the photo you took at Comerica Park! Would you consider selling it? We've been working on a Tigers room for my son and I love the look of it. My husband also has a huge bin of old signed baseballs in our basement I need to do soemthing with. Go Tigers! (or "eat 'em up Tigers eat 'em up" as my son would say.
Erin

Anna @ Take the Side Street said...

I love it! My husband feels the same way about baseball, he had the chance to play pro ball and turned it down but it's very, very special to him. He's currently working his hardest to make sure our boys do too. I like how everything displayed has special meaning, rather than just filling the space. Great job :)

Dream Mom said...

Love it! Probably one of my favorite projects. What a great way to display things that are important in a boyish and modern way.

Chris said...

Erin, I tried to e-mail you, but your comment set up won't allow me. If you see this, E-MAIL me! Thanks! :)

Jessi said...

Love love!!

What about curtain rod holders for the bat? Maybe they have a facy name. Lol but im looking at my set of wooden ones from lowes, and they look like they'd do the job. Might have to shave out on to make it a little wider for the end of the bat? Just an idea!

The British Homemaker said...

I am totally loving the print! Makes me wish I was American now!! ;) lol

Kristen said...

I love vignettes that are so personal like this - that is a great photo that you took!

What happened to the bat you had on the mantle (last year?) Where is it's home now - your office? ;)

Richella Parham said...

This vignette looks great, Chris! I love artwork that has special meaning--this vignette really makes the grade.

I didn't know your son's name is Jackson. My husband's name is WIlliam Jackson Parham, Jr., and our oldest son is William Jackson III. My husband is called Jack, but his business cards, etc. all say "W. Jackson." I just love the name Jackson!

Anonymous said...

Thank you for posting about the quality of your canvas. I looked at ordering a canvas a couple weeks ago (saw them listed under your ads) but wondered if I would be happy with the final result. I'll be ordering my canvas today!

Blessed-with-3

Holly said...

Love it. I tried clicking the link and I just get a blank page. do you have a different link to share? Seems to be working for most others...

BearShe Cottage said...

That looks great. I'm sure your son loves it. I like the greyhound bus too!

Anonymous said...

The baseball vignette looks really nice. Just a word of advice, if the autograph baseballs are important they should be in a holder and kept out of direct sunlight . Otherwise the sunlight will fade out the autograph completely over time.

My husband has been in baseball for over 30 years and early on we made that mistake with some very valuable baseballs. Live and Learn.

Taffee

Kristin @ Daydream Designs said...

I love the way it all looks! It's such a cool picture and it's way cooler because it has such personal meaning.

Jenny @ Anything Pretty said...

Love that vignette! My husband is a huge baseball lover too and something like this would be perfect in his "man space."

valerie said...

love this so very cool and love those initials for $3 each...can you go and get me some too? We do not have a hobby lobby here....Did you get them there recently?

Andrea said...

This looks so great altogether for your son's room:} I am in LOVE with those letters and super sad {once again} that we don't have a Hobby Lobby anywhere near us:{

jen @ {decor junkie} said...

I seriously LOVE this! It is so personal and unique, and I LOVE little touches that REALLY show your family! It looks awesome!

Cassie {Hi Sugarplum} said...

That is seriously cute! And congrats on your magazine feature!!

Krystal said...

It came out great, super cute. I love canvas. Good job.

Cap Creations said...

Great Canvas! We will soon be doing a baseball room for my littlest!

BTW -Our Christmas Giving Giveaway Event kicked off this morning. Hope you will consider joining the fun, maybe by linking a giveaway of your own??! Come by and check it out! Hope to see you there!

Barb said...

Wow...Really like how the display turned out Chris. Bet Jackson is thrilled with the results. I had forgotten the story behind the bus. Geessh....thanks for reminding me. What a great display of family loves and connections!

Love,

Mom

Holly said...

How did you know that was going to be my question??? We have lots of old bats that I'd love to put up, but don't want to drill them, etc.
Love what you did with everything!!

We are Mariner fans here...don't ask!! (they have had their moments of greatness!!) My son's room was all baseball at one time. My hubby made this great bookshelf with old bats as the posts. We have tons of memorabelia and do have most of it displayed, but would like to do it better. You've inspired me to shake things up!!!

Kelly said...

As a fellow Tigers fan I especially love this! It looks so great! My youngest son is actually wearing one of his Tigers shirts today :)
My dad used to take me to games when I was little. Those are some of my favorite memories. It just so happened that my dad & I were both back in Detroit in September so we went to a game. I hadn't been to Comerica Park yet. I loved it! We had such a great time!

(http://kellymonkeybusiness.blogspot.com/2010/09/michigan-so-far_22.html)

Jenny @ Simcoe Street said...

Love it!!!!

Jenny
www.simcoestreet.blogspot.com

Amanda @ Healthy House on the Block said...

This is such a great idea for the canvas print, Chris! It looks perfect with all the other wall decor. Great job as always! :)

nina@themissadventuresofnina said...

This is such a great display. It gives me some ideas, being that I am running a house of boys

Anonymous said...

Love it! I have just the picture I want to do this too!

Kat said...

Another family of Tigers fans here... Love the room! My son wants to play for the Tigers when he grows up. He would love something like this hanging on his bedroom wall ;)

Bri Mason said...

Hi Chris - I'm new to your blog and I think we are meant to be friends! LOL... I hope that doesn't scare you too much. Anyway - it looks like we have stuff in common! I'm from Metro Detroit and after seeing some of your pictures, your daughters room is so close to my daughters room. Great minds think alike! I look forward to reading more on your blog. By the way, I'm Bri. :)

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