Tutorial: Photo Canvas From Your Phone With the #WalgreensApp

Today I’m sharing a last-minute gift idea that is literally SO last-minute, you can pick it up on the way. (Assuming you can gift-wrap in the car, I mean.  Haha.)  By using the Walgreens photo app, you can print photos from your phone and pick up in an hour at most locations.  And what’s cool is that it’s not just prints!  I ordered this beautiful canvas using the app on my phone and picked it up an hour later.  One hour.  And you guys know, I’m all about an hour-or-less around here!  It’s a gift that looks thoughtful and well-planned, even in a time crunch.  It’s like a Christmas shopping miracle.  (You don’t have to tell them how easy it was.)

It may sound intimidating if you’re not big on using apps, but I am going to walk you through exactly how it works and what you can do.  It’s actually really easy, and you can print photos from Instagram, print from Facebook, print from your phone, or access any photos you’ve already sent to Walgreens from your computer under your photo account.  Now, I have lots of photos in my photo account because I get my prints from Walgreens all the time – I also send them to the store near my mom’s house so she can pick them up.  I can pre-pay for the order and she can pick up at any Walgreens location.  That means if you have family far away, it’s still easy to send prints to them in an hour!

But back to this project – because poster and canvas sized prints require higher-quality photos, you won’t be able to pull enlargements from your social apps, but you can upload it from the albums in your phone.  You can still print Facebook photos up to 8×10, and Instagram photos up to 8×8!

First, get the app.  I’m going to show you how it works on the iPhone, but it’s also available on Android phones.  Just search for Walgreens in the app store.  The app also lets you manage your prescriptions, view ads and coupons, and stores your Balance Rewards card as well.

Open the app and choose “Photo”.  You’ve got options here of what types of product you want to create.  Select the product (or if you want to order traditional prints from your social accounts or Walgreens account, choose those icons).  I selected Posters and Canvas Prints to get started on my canvas.

Select your photo, upload it, then choose the canvas size you want.  The outer box is where the canvas will be trimmed, and the inner box is the line where it will be wrapped.  You want to be sure your whole photo will fit in that inner box, because that will be the front of your canvas.

Next, send your order to your home store – you can even use a coupon code if you have one!  I get all the emails from Walgreens photo and take advantage of their coupon codes all the time – it’s perfect for on-the-go ordering like this!  Take a look at my screen shots – even on 3G (no WiFi!), it was only 6 minutes from the time I opened the app until the time I opened my confirmation email.  Half that time was the upload of my file – on a moving data connection.  Not bad.

You can also select a store on the way to wherever you’re headed in true last-minute fashion… just grab some wrapping paper (or hey – just a bow?) while you are at Walgreens!

This canvas is joining a matching size of my daughter on my mom’s wall.  We update her collection each year, but this is the first year that our son Roman will go up on the wall too!  I love canvases.  They are so much more polished and contemporary than traditional prints and they make awesome gifts.

What’s your go-to last minute gift?  Do you love gifting photos?