Mama Loves Picnik

Mama Loves is a linky party where mamas can share anything that has made your life easier as a mama.

Maybe you've found:

• a toy or book that captivates your child(ren)
• gear you just can't live without
• a recipe your choosy toddler gobbles down
• a parenting book that you've found perspective changing
• an activity that wears your kid(s) out (these lead to good naps, which we all love)
• an outfit that flatters your post-baby body and makes you feel fabulous
• or anything else you're loving--creativity welcome!

To link your own Mama Loves post up, head on over to Julia's blog, Pontifications of a Twin Mom!

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I love picnik.  If you've never heard of this site, it has nothing to do with eating outside- it's a free photo editing website that is very user friendly.  Of course, the main goal of photo taking is to take a great shot straight out of the camera, but anyone with kids can tell you that kid-photography is challenging.  Photographing toddlers adds an extra layer of toughness.  And twin toddlers?  Sometimes near impossible to get a great shot to perfectly capture the fleeting moment. 

Last year we splurged and got a Nikon SLR camera because I was getting increasingly frustrated with the quality of my very old point and shoot's photos.  Now my frustration is less, but still there because I don't have the time to put into learning how to use it well.  Picnik has helped me with that, because I can darken an over-exposed photo, lighten up a too-dark one, and a host of other photo corrections with just a few clicks to an uploaded photo without needing a desktop photo editing program like photoshop.  Of course, I don't have time to do lots of photo editing either, but for a few good ones once in a while, it's a great thing to use.  Basic editing tools are free, but the site offers more advanced tools for a premium membership.

The big news though, is that picnik is closing up shop in April... and until then, their premium editing tools are free too, where in the past you had to pay for them.  I played around a little bit with a few photos tonight, using the options not available to me in the past and loved the way my new images turned out.  Check 'em out below- and check out picnik  until April 19th when they will move to Google+.

Bonus- you can also create graphics or printables using picnik and add text to photos- like blog headers or buttons, coloring pages, labels and more (like printables for cupcake toppers or party invitations).  I'm thinking about playing around with some Elmo stuff for the 2nd birthday party in my spare time...(but then again, what spare time?)

I'm sure you can figure out which ones were straight out of the camera and which ones were altered.

I used photos I liked anyway and I only spent a little time on these.  I'm thinking that from now until April 19th, I'll go back and play around with some old photos of Sam and Anna, now that I've got access to the premium editing tools for free!