Picnik

If you aren't into parading around in a killer costume this Halloween, I totally understand (but if you are, be sure to post your pics in our community!). Coming up with an original idea and pulling it off in the hopes of impressing your friends for one night can be a bit stressful, so instead of feeling like a Debbie Downer at your BFF's Halloween fete, just smile for the camera and take heart knowing you can fake it after the fact.

How? Find out after the break.

Named as one of the 10 best free online photo editing websites, Picnik definitely comes in handy when you want to edit photos on the fly. Since all of your pics can be stored and shared in "the cloud," you can easily edit your photos in a few clicks from any web browser. Google already has its own photo-editing software in Picasa, but it's expanding the growing family by welcoming Picnik to the fold. Google announced today that it has acquired Picnik and is adding the photo-editing service to its growing line-up of simple-to-use online tools.

Google says no changes will be made to the service yet, but they will be making tweaks so it's streamlined with the rest of the Google family of services. For example, editing and uploading photos for your Blogger blog will probably be an extremely simple process very soon.

Right around this time last year, I provided you with some easy instructions on how to
zombify your photos by using a website called Picnik. And with my new vampire obsession — thanks to Twilight and Vampire Diaries — I thought I'd show you a simple way to digitally transform yourself into a blood-sucking vampire, fangs and all.

Once again using Picnik's amazing effects, just navigate yourself to the left side of the page and click on the Halloween tab. At the very top you should see all of the vampire options to start transforming your face. Just upload a photo and click on the desired effect to get started. All Edward Cullen-inspired features are free to use, except the VampiraScope option is for premium members only. Take a good close look at those scary red eyes!

Picnik is a cool program for editing and aggregating photos online, especially if you don't have a copy of Photoshop handy. But recently, they introduced a lady-geared suite of features called Touch Up that has options like Sunless Tan, Highlights, Teeth Whitener, Blemish Fix, and my least favorite, Insta-Thin. (Because, you know, we girls always want to be thin.)

I decided to try it because I find the whole photo-editing thing dubious; I understand that this stuff's an accepted part of our culture, but I'm just saying that I don't think it's so great for our psyches to worry about "perfection." To find out what my experience was like, just read more