While there are a ton of photo editing apps that we’ve recommended, there’s a new one made just for families that we think you’ll be particularly interested in. Not just because it was created by Soleil Moon Frye, who’s reinvented herself as parenting expert and author of Happy Chaos. But because it’s something you can do together, with your kids.
Moonfrye, Soleil’s family-oriented startup along with tech expert Kara Nortman, just launched its first digi-product, a free (!) iOS photo app (also called Moonfrye) that’s all about getting kids and parents playing around with photo memories together.
Essentially a photo editor, Moonfrye offers up colorful backgrounds and stickers to decorate photos from your camera roll to create and share photo projects as a family.
I know, you’re thinking you don’t need another photo editing app. I thought the same thing, until I started playing around with it.
While the idea of sticking stickers over your photos isn’t new, these happen to be fairly well done. (So many stickers in other photo editing apps are super cheesy.) But the best thing hands down? Auto-detect technology that makes it easy to create image cutouts from your saved photos–think a decent cutout of your child’s face trimmed and tweaked with just a few taps. You know, like what you see in those Jib-Jab videos? Normally it would take you eleventy hours it takes to accomplish the same thing in Photoshop.
Drop your pics into 10 themed background and collage sets including BFFs, Circus, Mermaid (already my preschooler’s fave), Back to School, Celebrate, and Eighties (my fave, of course).
The virtual sticker sets include everything from pirates to boomboxes (Lloyd Dobler!) and rock stars, with new sets that can be unlocked each week. Still free. And plans for premium themes, stickers, collectible characters and promotions (all free too) will be added the more users interact with to app.
While this is not something you want to do to your entire photo album to send out as holiday cards, what I like is that the app gives you a kid-friendly DIY project right in your iPhone or iPad, so virtual memories can become real-world activities. A nice touch for our increasingly technocentric lives. Plus it’s a good parent saver in a pinch, since I don’t always have time to search for a cool craft online. -Pilar
Download the Moonfrye app for free on iTunes for iPhone and iPod touch and check out the Moonfrye blog for DIY and craft projects, and other cool family ideas.
Please note it took a really long time for us to download; that may be a fluke on the launch date. Let us know if you’re having issues.
