I love my iphone

I have been having some fun this summer with my iphone and a couple apps, Instagram (free) and ShakeIt ($1.99).  The apps have been around for a while but since I am not really into Facebook or Twitter I needed to find a different way to use the apps rather than just taking the pictures and posting to the web.  I decided to see if I could print them...and yes, I can.  I'll show you how I did it.  But, first let me tell you about the apps.


Instagram
Instagram is fun way to change a basic picture to a more retro look by adding filters with the push of a button.  There are at least 16 or 17 different filters to choose from.  Really, the hardest part is choosing which one to use.
Once you take a picture, you can scroll through the filters to test which one looks best.   I send the picture to myself in an email for later use but you can also instantly share right from your phone on Facebook, Twitter, Flicker and Tumbler.  For me, when I get home I just click on the email I sent myself, drag the photo to the desktop where I keep a file folder named Instagram photos. Then it's ready to print whenever I want it.

Here are some of the pictures I have taken with different filters (each filter has a different border).

Jacaranda tree in bloom in my neighborhood.

Ice cream cone at McDonalds

I know this in the inside of my car but I took it just so you could see that the filters make everything look more interesting.  Love this boarder on the Nashville filter .

ShakeIt
ShakeIt is great too as long as you hold on to your phone and don't throw it across the room when your shaking.  So the gist here is....bring up the app, take the photo (the phone makes the sound of an old Polaroid) then watch as the picture seemingly slides down from the top of the phone.  Now shake the phone (yes, I said shake the phone)  for a bit, then watch the photo "develop" right before your eyes, just like the old Polaroid that we know and love (and can't get anymore).  KIDS LOVE THIS APP!  Hence why I previously mentioned the phone flying across the room during the shaking portion. Oh, and adults love this app too!  At least I do.  As you can see from the following photos, the app gives the photo a heighten sense of color and a vintage look to mimic the original Polaroids.  Super fun.

Roses at the local farmers market

Steaks on the grill

Vegetables at the Farmers Market.  My favorite picture of the summer!

Making Lemonade with lemons from our backyard tree.

Frozen lemonade (kids added the straw because they thought it would look better in the picture)

One always need goggles to run in the sprinklers

home

kay, so now you have taken all these cool summer photos, what to do next?   
Print Them!
I have a 6 year old (that's like 18 years in computer world) Epson Picture Mate printer.  It's about the size of a lunch box and I can get it out to print a 4 x 6" picture with ease.  Here is the updated version of the printer I have.  I seriously swear by Epson for true picture color.

After printing, I moved to the work table to cut off the excess edges (even though you can't really tell in this picture the excess is much whiter than the faux Polaroid so it's easy to know where to cut)

 Here is the Instagram photo of the tree.  The picture comes out about 3.5 x 3.5".

I like the ShakeIt photos because the Polaroid frame gives me somewhere to document the event and date.  This way I can continue to take photos though the summer (like on vacation this week), then print when I have a minute, document the photo, then put them into a mini book at the end of the summer. 

One final note.  I did load a couple of the pictures into Costco Photo for printing to see if it would work.  When you order it looks like the entire photo + frame will print on the 4 x 6" size.  But when the pictures are printed, it auto crops them and each side is cut off spoiling the effect of the frame.  So unless someone knows something I don't, Costco is a no go for printing these kinds of photos unless you are a Photoshop aficionado, which I am not.

Happy Summer!
paula

PS - Remember we are giving away this...

It is someone's LUCKY DAY...

 Julie Turner said...

I'm trying to get my creative juices going again by setting aside a little time to work on projects each morning before the kids get up. This would be so much fun to play with in those early hours!

Congratulations Julie!

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