The Mini Malpi

The advent of digital photography has meant many of us are more than snap happy with thousands of pictures taking up storage space on our smartphones but often very few of those make it past their virtual existence anymore.

We’re certainly guilty of this, frequently talking about doing something more with the lovely photos we’re lucky to have taken of our three minis that are stored somewhere on a device, backed up on an external hard drive box or floating in the cloud.

We’ve become better at ordering prints in recent months and the minis love going through them and talking about who is in them and what we were getting up to but, whilst these are suitable for photo albums or scrapbooks, our walls are in sore need of updating as our children age much quicker than the artwork representing them is updated.

So when Tesco got in touch asking us to try out their Same Day Canvas Express Service I jumped at the chance – “Order your gifts in the morning and collect after 3pm the same day!”

We chose one of the pictures Merika Green took of all three minis back in April in Moot Hall near Market Rasen (photos taken on a modern smartphone will be fine too) and did a quick bit of measuring to see what sort of size would fit one of our walls.

“Our gallery canvas prints are printed on Poly-Mix canvas material. To ensure you get the best quality, we use non- fading inks and hand stretch every canvas over a handcrafted wooden frame.”

The online ordering system is very easy to use and offers a range of sizes and shapes from 10×8″ (£28) up to 60×40″ (from £115).

After you choose your size you click on the Personalise button and upload your photograph.   You can then zoom in or out, rotate the image and move it about to sit exactly how you’d like it in the frame.  You can change the orientation of the canvas and choose from four different styles for the edging.  You can even add text in different fonts and colours before clicking on the Add to basket button to order your finalised artwork.

“When you order by noon, canvases including 12×10″, 16×12″, 20×10″, 20×16″, 20×20” and 30×20″ can be collected from store after 3pm! Larger canvas prints or orders shipped to home take approximately 8 days.”

The longest part of the process for us was choosing the photo and size but if you are more decisive than us (which wouldn’t be particularly difficult) then it will be even quicker for you.  But if you absolutely can’t decide on just one photo, then you could always make a collage or use the heart shape template designs instead.  And I love the store’s suggestion of scanning in your child’s own artwork to display in proper art gallery style.

To find out if there’s a photo store near you pop your postcode in here:  Photo store locator

Sadly there isn’t one in Lincoln so we opted for delivery instead which is also quite speedy – an estimated two to three days, longer over weekends and Bank Holidays, I ordered over a weekend and received our 20×16″ in four days.

If you are as pleased with the quality of your final product as we are then you might want to consider not trying to get your little ones to pose with it for the sake of another photo.  Fortunately the canvas is quite sturdy and survived the experience but you’re probably all more sensible than that anyway…

Now the only thing stopping the photo taking “pride of place” in our home is Daddy Malpi getting his tool box out!

Click here to find out more about Tesco’s canvas printing.

With the arrival of December the 1st hundreds of children will have been eagerly tearing open little cardboard doors anticipating the treat behind them whether sweet or otherwise.

Not so our mini ones however as they’re having to wait until Daddy Malpi comes back from watching the snooker in York with their Advent calendars in hand as a surprise gift on his return.

Our countdown to Christmas actually started very early this year however as the minis had the honour of being models for England’s Finest Photography and being the first to try out their seasonal set for 2018.

It was our first visit to the Grantham studio but I have a feeling it won’t be our last.

Chris and Michelle were lovely and patient with all three of our minis – and quick thinking when the need arose! – making sure the experience was enjoyable for them.

Based in The Old Malthouse, the photographers benefit from a number of rooms meaning that not only is there a seasonal studio, there’s also a permanent magical fairyland scene (which is given a layer of frost for fairies visiting during the winter) and a permanent newborn studio that even has a playroom nearby to keep older siblings entertained.

On December 7th and 8th, children visiting the Lincolnshire Santa set will not only have the opportunity to have their photos taken but they’ll also have the chance to meet the man in red himself at the same time.  If you can’t make those two days or your minis are already handing over their wish lists to Father Christmas elsewhere, then Christmas mini sessions are also available on other dates.  Winter fairy shoots are available to book until February.

For further information visit www.efpics.co.uk, call 01476 577798 or email studio@efpics.co.uk

How do you celebrate Advent?  Is your calendar full of chocolates or toys?  Do you treat your minis to 24 new books?  Or are you taking part in a reverse Advent calendar?  Let us know in the comments below.