iPhone Masterpieces, Daily DIY + Deals!

I have always wanted to be able to paint and draw. I have not worked on it in years and years, but let’s just say I am not a natural talent. Wouldn’t you know it? My beloved iPhone can now do it for me. I saw a rave about the app Waterlogue [1] on another blog and went to check it out. They say, “You don’t need to paint to create beautiful watercolor images. Waterlogue captures the essence of your photos in brilliant, liquid color.” The technology they developed transforms photos into “spontaneous, u nique and brilliant watercolor sketches that look like real paintings.”

For $2.99 (the cost of the iPhone app [2] ), you can choose from 12 different styles, give your picture borders and change the tone and settings. It’s simple. You download the app, select a photo from your photo library or take a photo. Then, you pick the style from the examples and the app “paints” for you. You can save, send or share your “work.” So cool.

I tried the app with my photo from last weekend:

Waterlogue in Action. From left: Original, “painting” in Waterlogue, “Natural” watercolor and “Illustration”

 Here is a cool one from one of our trips:

Nicaraguan Volcano: original,Natural, Technical and Natural Darker

 I am a wee bit obsessed with this. What do you think? I love it. I am feeling so creative! I think this would be so fun for one of those instagram canvas prints that I have a deal on.

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Speaking of being creative, check out HGTVs new YouTube DIY channel “Handmade [3] ” for daily doses of DIY inspiration. The coolest thing to me about this channel is that there are different hosts with different aesthetics. I am not the craftiest and tend to stay away from “cutesy” projects. So far, I like hosts Julia and Meg the best for my tastes, I think. And truth be told, I like to watch the segments, but I don’t actually craft anything. (I know, I am weird.) Interested? You can click HERE [4]  to subscribe â€" it’s free.

Do you subscribe to any YouTube channels? Which ones? I like some cooking channels, too, but don’t make many any of the recipes I watch either. OK. Is this weird? That is a rhetorical question.

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And it’s Friday, so here are some great deals* I found around the interwebs:

• Don’t forget to enter Undiscovered Kitchen’s [5] Superfoodie giveaway for a Vitamix + 100s of food prizes! Enter HERE [6] .
• Pay $5 for $25 at Finds’ fave Healthy Surprise and other great deals from Ethical Deal Chicago [7] .
• Check out awesome deals on athletic gear and trips from The Clymb [8] . Act fast deals are up for a limited time. Start with Active Junky [9]   to get an additional 12% cash back. See many more offers at Active Junky [10] .
• Get $20 off your first $50 purchase at Modcloth [11] . Then share with friends and get $20 for every friend who spends $50 by July 17th. Check out their super cute summer dresses and swimsuits and more!

• Gilt City [12]  has great deals in Chicago, NYC, LA and more. Start with ebates [13]  for additional cash back. Companion site GILT [14]  has great men’s, women’s and kids’ deals at awesome prices, too.
• Get 20% discount off all Custom T-Shirts from Crooked Brook through 7/11 with the code EricaFinds [15]
• Get 50% off your first outfit at Fabletics [16] . I LOVE mine!
• Save 40% on awesome portable coconut water products from Cocogo [17]  with code ERICAFINDS.

That’s all I have for now! What is everyone up to for the weekend? I have a busy one… working for Energy Bits at the ITU Triathlon expo, attending a wedding, cheering at ITU and then a baby shower. Phew. How about you?

PS. Don’t forget my  active giveaways ! The Heat it Up Bloghop ends on 6/30!

*Please note: This post contains some affiliate/referral links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links. Some are just good deals I found and shared. Either way, you win!

Links

1. ^{^} Waterlogue (www.waterlogueapp.com)
2. ^{^} iphone app (itunes.apple.com)
3. ^{^} Handmade (strk.enlnks.com)
4. ^{< a href="#readabilityLink-4" title="Jump to Link in Article">^} Handmade (strk.enlnks.com)
5. ^{^} contest (contest.io)
6. ^{^} Contest (contest.io)
7. ^{^} ethical deal (goo.gl)
8. ^{^} Clymb (www.theclymb.com)
9. ^{^} AJ (www.activejunky.com)
10. ^{^} AJ (www.activejunky.com)
11. ^{^} Modcloth Share the Love (sharethelove.modcloth.com)
12. ^{^} Gilt City (www.giltcity.com)
13. ^{^} Ebates (www.ebates.com)
14. ^{^} GILT (www.gilt.com)
15. ^{^} Custom T-Shirts (www.crookedbrook.com)
16. ^{^} Fabletics (www.fabletics.com)
17. ^{^} Cocogo (store.cocogo.com)

source: ericafinds.com