Disclaimer – This is a sponsored post brought to you by Canon. All opinions are 100% my own.
I’m obviously a fan of Canon printers and have been sharing projects with you guys using my own for years. I just believe that photographs are such a personalized way to update your home and make it your own that I can’t NOT share them. So when Canon asked if I would like to test out their newest mirrorless camera – the M50 – I was like “here is my firstborn”.
Don’t worry Will. I’ll get you back son 🙂
In all seriousness…I couldn’t have been more excited to take this camera for a test drive and the timing couldn’t be more perfect because Father’s Day is coming up. For the day dedicated to all the dads out there, I wanted to capture some of my favorite dad moments of Jeremy out on the baseball field.
First – let me tell you….the M50 is an awesome size. It is roughly the size of my phone which makes it so easy to pop in my purse or pocket and I am obsessed with the touch screen.
Weston had a scrimmage with his all-star team and since Jeremy is the coach, I creeped around and got some photos here and there. It did such a fantastic job of capturing them!
After the game, Jeremy was showing Weston some tips on where to stand in the batters box and I was playing “catcher” – aka “catcher of the father-son moments on my camera!” 🙂
When I saw this one in black and white, I just about died. This is just such a sweet photo that sums up how Jeremy is so proud of his kids. Ugh! Tears! Also I’m 100% sure that Weston is just nodding and smiling because he really just wants to go to the playground already!
Well, once I had the perfect moment captured, I really wanted to make something useful with the photo. As I strolled the aisles during a grocery store run, I thought about the things that Jeremy usually gets for Father’s Day and how he loves keeping some of the sweet cards (the ones with missed spelled words and more than scribbles are THE BEST!). It dawned on me – a place for the cards with this photo inside would be perfect. I just wanted to make sure it was something that would be pretty enough to leave out. That’s why I am making a card box for Fathers day. It’s a small box that can keep those sweet handwritten cards or photos of the larger items. Let me show you how I did it!
GATHER MATERIALS
For this project, I used a variety of materials and tools. Here is the list:
- Canon M50 camera
- wood box
- gloves for staining
- drop cloth
- painters tape
- gray wood stain
- dark wood wax
- paper towels
- spray adhesive
- Canon semi-gloss printers paper
- Canon PIXMA TS9521C printer
- scissors
- small screwdriver
- black spraypaint
STEP 1 – Print out photo
Using my Canon Pixma TS9521C, I printed out a letter sized version of my photo. I love using the Canon semi-gloss paper for projects like these because they look like a quality poster print.
STEP #2 – Stain wood box
Staining the box is a relatively easy task. I used a gray stain that I had in my stash and I only wished that I had disassembled the box first. Later on I decided to spray the hinges and the latch black and it would have been helpful to do that earlier.
The stain may require several coats to achieve the color you desire. I always wait a bit of time to see how it develops and how it looks dry. Also make sure to always wipe the stain in the direction of the grain.
STEP #3 – Wax
Using a bit of antiquing wax, I rubbed it allllll over the box. Why does that last sentence reminded me of the movie Silence of the Lambs?! I need to stop watching those scary movies! Ugh! Anyhoo – the wax will darken the finish and also act as a protective layer later on when it fully cures.
STEP #4 – Spray hinges
I removed all the hinges and latch with a mini screwdriver and sprayed them all semi-gloss black. The easiest way to do the screw heads was to push them into a piece of cardboard so I could spray them without LOSING MY MIND.
STEP #5 – Attach photo
While the hinges were drying, I decided to go ahead and attach the photo to the inside of the lid. I first taped off the edges of the box so that overspray wouldn’t make them sticky. Then I sprayed an even light coat and placed the photo (that I had cut to size) inside.
STEP #6 – Assemble box
I love having storage boxes but to open it up and see this special photo inside makes it very memorable. The box then gets assembled back together and can be a spot to put cards and even special momentos.
The best part about this project is that you can do it with any size box – there are TONS of different ones available at local craft stores! And they look great sitting out on a nightstand, stacked in different sizes, or on a shelf in Dad’s office.
Cute project huh?! I think I need to make like seven more 🙂
Now let me tell you about the camera – it’s a sweet little nugget that I’m thinking would be the perfect gift for Jeremy or any other person out there that needs to capture this beautiful life!
I took it to the fields one day during a scrimmage and it was insanely compact and easy to take with me. It’s so small and compact, you throw it in your bag with everything else you need to bring no matter where you’re going.
I often just snap the photos I want with my phone – but it can blow my phone out of the water! Let’s be honest….my phone is limited and it doesn’t capture depth or colors or have the capabilities for action photos that the M50 does.
Also this camera has a flip out screen so I could frame up weird angles like this one that had me practically put the camera on the ground.
And I think it would be a great choice for someone just learning photography too because it has all the easy tricks (like a touch screen for focusing) or it can function on Manual mode, Aperature Mode, etc. for the purist photographers out there.
To see more of the functions of the M50 and read more about the camera – CLICK HERE.
And I’m excited to share that if you are in the market to give Pops a gift or just to get a new camera to capture dear old Dad, this one has a current promotion!
This Father’s Day, save $200 on the Canon EOS M50 EF-M 15-45mm f/3.5-6.3 IS STM Lens Kit and give Dad the power to capture high-quality photos and 4K video anywhere he goes, now through 6/29
Happy Father’s Day y’all!
This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Canon USA. The opinions and text are all mine.