With so many photo editing apps, I try to keep it down to the ones that are really good, and the Waterlogue App is one spectacular addition that’s now on my iPhone and not going anywhere.

When you mention watercolors to a mom, we all have visions of inky paper cups spilled on coffee tables, and rugs that will never be the same. But after trying this, you’ll have a whole new vision. And it is fabulous.

It’s incredibly easy to upload a photo from your library and watch it render into various styles of watercolor paintings. Some are better for portraits, some are better for landscapes or still life shots and it ‘s so fun to play around until you find the one that works.

There are some limited adjustments you can make in terms of  brightness, pixel size, and brushstroke size but honestly I think the original settings are so terrific, I don’t tend to mess with them a lot. If you like playing around with photos or just sharing something that isn’t the same old same old, add Waterlogue to your arsenal of iPhone photo editing tools, stat. It is simply wonderful.

In fact, I think I just might have a new idea for next year’s holiday cards.

Download the Waterlogue app for $2.99 at iTunes, which is totally worth it. You must be using iOS 7  and sorry, no plans for Android but a desktop Mac app is in the works. 

This post was edited to clarify: You cannot edit photos directly from Dropbox; though you can mine your saved photos in iCloud or Dropbox, add to your library on your device, then edit from there.