Dexter is set to be a big brother very soon, and then I’ll have two babies to spoil, nurture, worry about, cry over… I honestly don’t know how I’ll cope. Given Dexter is approaching two, the need for a second set of eyes is becoming increasingly apparent. From the second he gets up in the morning, to the second the screaming stops at night, it’s hard work. He wants to help me with everything yet somehow manages to mess everything up. From ‘helping’ mummy unload the dishwasher (aka smashing-all-our-crockery) to ‘helping’ with the washing (aka change-the-setting-when-mummy’s-not-looking) I feel like I spend the entire time reprimanding him on my hands and knees.

But Dexter still has this unique ability to melt me. When I’ve said ‘No’ a little too aggressively and that bottom lip trembles, I always manage to find that little bit of forgiveness that eluded me just seconds before. His beautiful baby curls, tiny milk teeth, chubby cheeks, insistence on sucking his fingers then smearing their wetness over every surface… he’s just perfect.

But it’s very true, sometimes you need reminding.

Having canvasses dotted around the home definitely makes you appreciate the fun times. As a blogger, I’ve been lucky enough to review dozens of these, yet each delivery is as exciting as the last. There’s something really exhilarating about ripping open the packaging and seeing your grinning child twice his normal size. So naturally I was thrilled when Truprint asked me to review a canvas for them.

With 30 years in the trade, Truprint are long-time masters of printing. They’ve built a solid reputation in this time and have worked their magic in the heyday of film in the late 80s right through to today’s Instagram and Facebook prints from mobile devices. It’s true, the website could use a little updating with its tiny font and faffy menus, but this shouldn’t put you off.

For a canvas project, uploading a photo is simple and there are even pop-up tips to help you get the best out of the experience. The project screen is far easier to navigate than the homepage too with all your core options in drop downs on your left hand side. Handily, your project sub total is always displayed top left too so you can see what your creation will set you back.

Hovering over the photo, you’ll also be given the opportunity to further edit it - you can zoom in, change the effect of your image (sepia, black and white, tint etc), the brightness, enhance the colour, flip it and apply red-eye removal. It’s a very simplistic editing suite compared to some others I’ve come across, but perfectly adequate and easy-to-use.

There are some minor niggles. I opted for a sold wrap canvas rather than a gallery wrap (e.g. my canvas images would be a block colour rather than having my photo wrap around the edges). This was necessary as the image I had selected was a close-up of Dexter and I didn’t want to lose some of his head. Although my image is really bright and colourful, the solid wrap is only available in black which is kind of disappointing. It would have been nice to have picked out a colour contained within the image to make the edges less of a contrast, but hey ho.

This leads me on perfectly to my biggest tip when selecting a profile photo for canvas. If you can, try selecting an image with ample dead space around the head so you can opt for gallery wrapping - this makes for a much nicer print.

My canvas at 20″ by 24″ (approx 51cm x 61cm) is the largest size available at £69.99 which is reasonable for such a statement canvas (note that you can get much bigger canvases from competitors but this was the perfect size for us). It arrived well packaged in a matter of days. I was also pleased to see that it came with free wall fittings too which isn’t as common as you might think.

The canvas itself is nice and taut and well secured with heavy duty staples on the reverse. A quick feel around the edges revealed no lumps and bumps that could scrape paintwork (a pet hate of mine) so it was instantly ready for hanging. The colours were bright and vibrant (as per the original) and there was minimal blurring despite me picking a slightly out-of-focus photo. I love the super chunky pine frame (37mm deep) which looks so much nicer on the wall than some of the thinner frames we’ve received from rival printers in the past.

We’ve popped ours up in the lounge above where Dexter sits at the dining table. Here’s hoping it works its magic and helps us stay calm and cheerful during Dexter’s daily dinnertime tantrum!

In conclusion, I’d happily recommend Truprint if you’ve got a canvas project in mind. Naturally I’d always advise you shop around for the best deal but can it’s always worth reading reviews too as the quality really does vary from printer to printer. As for Truprint, the best way to keep informed about special offers and deals is via Facebook and Twitter and you can check out all their other photo gift ideas on their website.

Disclaimer: I received this lovely canvas free of charge in exchange for my thoughts.