Trademark Canopy Review

I received this canopy in the mail the other day, and thought it would be fun to do a review and share it with you.  Maybe it will help any of you that are out canopy shopping online :)  I needed to have a white canopy for future craft show regulations, and this canopy had multiple colors to choose from which was really nice :)

Here is what it looks like straight out of the box.  It weighs about 50lbs so right away I was thankful for the double strapped carrying case.  But what is inside the carrying case?...

 

Instructions, canopy frame and canvas! 3 things, that's it! Nice and simple.  My grandparents used to do craft shows when I was little, and I'm almost positive they had to assemble 50 pieces of metal with bungee cords and everything.

 

Not only is there only 3 items, there is only 5 steps to set it up :)

  

Step 1: Remove everything from carrying case...Check

Step 2: Stand the tent frame up vertically and unfold the structure about half of its maximum extended distance...Check

Step 3: Place the canopy top over the top of the frame, with each corner of the canopy fitted neatly around the corner pole of the tent structure. 

Side note: There is Velcro attached to keep the corners nicely in place.

 

Step 4: Continue to fold out the tent structure while holding onto the canopy on top.  The frame should extend out easily, though you may have to adjust the canopy as you extend the frame.

Step 5: Lock the canopy into place so it does not collapse and you are good to go!

Side note: I could do everything by myself up until step 4.  I need extra hand to extend the frame, because it kept inching back together.  There was a reviewer on amazon that said after the tent gets broken in a little, it gets easier to set up with one person.  Since I was having problems I enlisted my little ones for help :)

  

That didn't work so I had to bring out the big guns :)

We did it!!!

All in all I love this canopy, and I'm so excited to use it this weekend at the balloon regatta.  I come back and tell you all how it worked out.  I live in a very windy area, so it should be easy to spot any durability issues.  I did notice when the legs were fully extended it felt a little wobbly.  To fix the wobbliness I just took the legs down a notch and it felt much more secure.

Our 'Out of Africa' Experience

Inspiration is what we sought out, and inspiration is what we found!  We spent the day at the wildlife park, "Out of Africa".  Now I have ideas filled with animal print, porcupine quills and desert landscape swirling around in my head.  Here are the pics from our trip today :) Enjoy!

Part of The Charmed Farm gang, ready to explore!

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The giraffe's head came right into the bus, and licked me when I gave him a cookie lol

These 2 are sisters.

A mama zebra and her baby. 

This giraffe is hiding from us in the tree lol it really thinks we can't see him :)

The cutest grizzly bear cub I've ever seen :) It was just jumping and bouncing all over the place.

The hyenas were helping groom each other.

Yep, that is an anaconda slithering freely on the ground!

Snack time :)

and we only believe in healthy snacks :)

Free gift to the first person who can tell me if this is an alligator or crocodile, and why they think so :)

Grizzly

This guy poses for pictures lol

So does this one :)

Snakes!!!

That snake is huge!

He wouldn't stick his head in the observatory dome.

Are you serious?!?

Lemurs! I like to move it, move it:)

Fat little prairie dogs.

Tiger Splash

Yay or Nay on the tree display?

 

Ok, I have another craft show coming up in November, and am trying out new displays. I can't decide on this 'Tree of Life' display. What do you guys think? Yay or nay? It does look neater in person, but you get the idea :)

Thanks in advance for your opinion :)

Holly

No more leaky kitchen faucet :)

It has been a very cold winter, and one evening our pipes froze.  When they thawed, water started gushing out non-stop on the hot side.  Turning the knob did nothing.  The water still came out full force so I shut it off underneath the sink.  The water was no longer gushing, but now even with the water source shut off there was still a steady stream.  Here is a picture of my dilemma.

My father in law and I were messing with the knobs, switching parts back and forth to figure out what piece might be messed up.  Nothing worked, the hot side still flowed.  Finally, we decided the whole faucet must need to be replaced.  I went to the store and bought the 2nd to cheapest faucet and sprayer set.  I know it will probably not last very long, but we're still saving up for renovations and I needed a cheap fix.  The box said, "easy", and now I was ready to take on my new project.

It actually was really easy.  Pretty much all you need is a wrench to loosen and tighten the parts.  All there really was to it was taking out the old, and putting in the new.  The whole job took about 15 minutes, and this was my first time.  One thing I do suggest is shutting off your entire water supply.  I was soaked by the time I was finished.

Here is an after pic of my successful faucet transplant, and if you notice there is no leak!

I still need to clean up the old adhesive from the last faucet a little.  Also, I don't think your suppose to see the black gasket around the base of the faucet.  My leaky faucet is fixed, and I saved $50-100 by doing the job myself rather than calling a plumber.