Picnik now has Textures! The ability to overlay a texture on your photos is one of the things we here at Team Picnik get asked about the most, so we’re really happy to be able to launch it for all our Premium Members.

Textures are great for adding an extra level of interest or dimension to your photos, like a hint of a hand-written letter, or something edgier with an urban graphic or go natural with a subtle rain pattern or fabric.

We have over fifty photo overlays to choose from, all taken by us! Many of them were taking by former Team Picnik Member Chelsea Fisher, whose portfolio of work you can see here, and the rest by current Team Picnik Member Anthony. You can find the Textures in the Artistic section of Effects.

Textures are an amazing way to add depth and character to your photos, and for tips and an in depth how-to, see this tutorial video. Happy Picniking!

Big news! After three years of bringing photo-editing awesomeness to Picnikers around the world, we have at last brought together all our help resources (and a few more besides) into one easy, accessible, searchable place!

First, let us introduce you to our brand new Picnik Help Center! Not only is there an answer to just about any question we’ve ever been asked but also a Getting Starting Guide, which cannily walks newcomers through finding their photos, saving them, and everything that can be done to them in between. Even more thrillingly, and this is something we’ve been wanting to do for ages, a whole section of Picnik Tips and Tricks, leading people in their Picnik Mastery from Seed stage to Big Shady Tree. That’s right folks, we have tutorials!

Second, we’ve completely remodeled our Forums. Ask a question, browse previous discussions, or pull up a seat at the Picnik Table to share your Picniked Masterpieces or find out what other Picnikers are up to.

Finally, we’ve added a quick way to look up your username or password if you’ve forgotten either, and for Premium Members, priority support from our Community Therapists who are happy to help you with anything else you need help with!

And a big congratulations to our crack team of Community Therapists who have been working so hard to get all this up and running!

Ding ding ding! Big news here at Picnik World Headquarters! Today our crack team of server specialists cracked open the champagne in their Top Secret Server Lair high above downtown Seattle when the Official Picnik Tally Counter ticked over to one billion photo edits!

To put this into perspective:

One billion seconds: nearly 32 years
One billion minutes ago: Trajan was Emperor of Rome
One billion days ago: Lucy was still alive and well
One billion edits ago: it was October 2007!

To celebrate this HUGE number, Picnik Premium is free for everyone today! So enjoy those Effects, admire all that’s Advanced and go nuts with Seasonal from 9 a.m. today until 9 a.m. tomorrow, February 4th, Seattle time (PST)!

Time’s up! Thank’s so much everyone for helping to make this possible, and many happy Picniking returns!

There are just nine shopping days left till Christmas. Barely enough time for most delivery options, unless you want to pay for shipping, and who wants to do that. And then there are the usual complications: Shoe size, sweater color, computer platform, and the most common problem of all: What do you get the person who has everything?

Picnik Premium! A year of Picnik Premium is a whole year of photo editing awesomeness. It encompasses all seasons, it’s never out of date, it runs on any computer, and even if your loved ones already have Picnik Premium, a gift of Picnik Premium can be tacked onto the end of the current subscription period! No fuss, no muss, no shipping! Picnik Premium is always instantly available for last minute stocking stuffing.

What if you’re the one on the receiving end of all this largesse? What if your shoe size is difficult, your preference in sweaters is tricky, and the only thing you could possibly need on the computer, which is leaving a big fluffy cloud-shaped hole in your heart, is Picnik Premium? Then put Picnik Premium on your wishlist this year with our handy Letter to Santa (or Mom, or grandpa, or great uncle Ben) Generator, and bask in the generosity of loved ones.

It’s a short week here at Picnik World Headquarters, due to the American holiday of Thanksgiving, aka Turkey Day. While we’re off working on our holiday waistlines, the rest of you (including Canadians, who have been here already) can dive into our whole new section of Holiday hats, beards, jolly red noses, Christmas Lights, Frost and Nuts, winterizing effects and Frames!

And for you Americans, we’ve got just the thing for those of us who’ll be having friends and family over for the Thanksgiving holiday with fun projects like Recipe Cards, Place Cards, Holiday Cards and more in our new festive Fancy Collages. And for after Thanksgiving, get started early on your Christmas shopping (or Wish List writing) with Picnik Premium, of course!

You may have noticed that we’ve gone whole hog over Halloween here at Picnik this month! We’ve got a whole new section of new Effects, Stickers and Touch-Ups, plus fonts in skeletons, ghosts, and other creepy Text, for maximum spookiness.

But we didn’t stop there! In the Library tab we’ve got a whole other line of Halloween content for you: Halloween Fancy Collages!

Halloween is obviously a holiday we love here at Picnik World Headquarters. Maybe it’s because it was the first holiday after our launch two years ago and the first occasion for any seasonal content, or maybe it’s because we’ve all been transformed into werewolves, zombies, vampires and other manifestations of the undead. Whichever it is, we always have a lot of fun at this time of year and, with a little help from Picnik, we hope you do too!

As Summer fades into Fall and inevitably into Winter, we can help you hold onto those careless days in the sun. Pluck a few of our new Premium photo-realistic daisy Stickers and place them into any garden, vase, or flower press image.

No matter how rainy, windy, or snowy it is outside, you’re invited to relax on our evergreen grass fields and place a delicate yellow blossom behind your ear or craft a daisy chain as a crown. In sixteen lovely shades of yellow, white, and red, these resizable petal plants will add a soft accent to any photo in need of a little bloom.

Go Premium and enjoy daisies year-round!

Can I just say, we’re delighted? Not only are we delighted, but we’re enraptured and, I won’t lie, we have a little extra swagger in our step.

Last week we launched our amazing new Touch Up suite! Now with 15 cool effects like Sunless Tan, Airbrush, and Lip Color to guarantee that every picture shows your best side. Goodbye shine, goodbye wrinkles; hello Mascara, Blush, and Highlights! We’ve even added a few Advanced Tools (Dodging and Burning) to keep shadows off faces and make spotty lighting consistent. No more do-overs, no more detagging, now all you need is one shot to capture the perfect you!

Find these new tools under the Create tab. Look for the Touch Up section with the cosmetic jar.

Next week Team Picnik is giving away a couple one-year Picnik Premium Memberships in a new Twitter contest: Use Picnik to Tweet your favorite summer photograph, using the hashtag #SummerPicnik so we can see you, and Team Picnik members will choose the best ones, with winners announced on Friday, June 19!

Directions: Make a Twitter account, if you don’t have one! Announce yourself by following @picnik on Twitter! Take your picture, then upload it and edit it! Then find the Twitter page under the Save & Share tab to Tweet your summery masterpiece!

The contest runs from Monday at 12.01 am through Thursday at 2 pm PDT. So why are we telling you this early? Because it’s a beautiful weekend in June! So get outside and get those photos!

Note to our Southern Hemisphere Picnikers: You are entirely welcome to include your photos of the grumpy weather you’re having right now.

Update: The contest is now open! Feel free to start Tweeting your submissions!

Update #2: The contest is now closed! Thank you to everyone who participated! We will announce the winners tomorrow, June 19 at 2pm PDT. In the meantime, check out the submissions on Twitter by searching for “#SummerPicnik”.

Last week Brian, our Quixotic Softographer, told his incredibly pregnant wife about our latest additions of Stickers and Fancy Collages, and said that it was therefore safe for her to have their baby, because they were all set up for the announcements.

That’s right, for Picnik Premium members, we have two whole sets of Baby Fancy Collages! One for baby boys, and one for baby girls! Each set has a dozen adorable and tastefully laid out spaces for either single or up to three photographs of your little bundle (or bundles!) of joy. Plus, for the Customization-enthusiasts amongst you, or those who prefer to put together their own adorably-adorned baby photos, there are thirty cute and cuddly baby-themed shapes in the Stickers list.

And, sure enough, on Thursday last week the newest (and by far the smallest and cutest) member of Team Picnik came into the world: little baby Rowan. Congratulations, Brian and family!