Corel Paint it! {Review & Giveaway} Transform your favorite photos into unique masterpieces

{This giveaway is now closed. Thanks to those who entered!}

I think that most moms would agree that as beautiful as traditional works of art can be, the most treasured ones are always the photographs of our children. Around here, the majority of the pieces that my husband and I purchased before we had kids have ended up in storage due to enlarged pictures or canvas prints of Big Sister E and Little Sister B.

However, that doesn't mean that I don't wish we could do a little... something more. You know, like have a skilled artist come over and create a gorgeous watercolor or oil painting of my girls instead. Because of course they would both sit perfectly still long enough for that to happen, right? And naturally I could afford to have said artist come drop by whenever I wanted to make another masterpiece every once in a while.

Fortunately, now I don't have to dream. Whenever I want to create a customized, beautiful work of art featuring my daughters, I simply sit down at my computer, open Corel Paint it! and within minutes I have my own stunning artwork.

For use with both Windows and Mac, Corel Paint it! is one of the easiest software applications I have ever used. After inserting the disc and downloading the files, I was immediately ready to begin transforming my photos into paintings. With ten different painting styles and a variety of tools, brushes and pens, you have the option of being creative or just sitting back and letting Corel Paint it! do the work for you.

Upon opening the program, you are met with the option of creating a new project or continuing with a work in progress. Such decisions!

Uploading a new photograph is as easy as picking the one that you want on your computer and Corel Paint it! will bring it right up on the screen.

Along the left-hand side and top of the screen are the tools available to put your own personal touch on your photograph. Write with a neon pen, run a string of leaves along the edge, smudge the lines or even add fairy dust - it's all up to you and easily done with the click of the mouse.

On the right are the preset painting styles and these are where, as far as I'm concerned, the fun really lies. Simply click on the technique and the start button and Corel Paint it! literally paints the picture right before your eyes.

Depending on the number of intricate details, each of the different painting styles takes a different length of time to complete. For me, I didn't mind waiting 80 seconds to see the finished oil painting of my daughters because I thought it was pretty amazing.

Love it.

Love it, love it, love it. Even better, I can take my completed digital art and do whatever I want with it. Enlarging and framing it would be beautiful as well as just emailing it to family as a great surprise. I am already thinking about the possibilities that this software is going to open up for creating my daughters' next birthday invitations or our holiday cards.

Whether you're computer-savvy or still learning how to work a mouse, Corel Paint it! is easy to use and fun for all ages. If you are looking for a simple way to turn your pictures into a work of art or are a photography buff or scrapbooker, this would be a really cool program to have. As far as I can tell, the only downfall to this application is finding enough wall space to display your creations. Plus, it's pretty addicting. How can I not want to see my girls in all of the different styles?

Corel Paint it! is available now on their website and will soon be in retail stores across North America. Want to try it before you make a purchase? Download a free trial today and see just how much you'll enjoy making your own masterpieces. Better yet, thanks to Corel's generosity, one person will become their own talented artist, because...

One lucky person will win a copy of Corel Paint it! ARV $39.99!

To enter to win: Browse the Corel Paint it! features and tell me which of the painting styles you would like to apply to your favorite photograph. Feel free to describe the photograph as well, I'd love to hear about it!

Extra Entries (available after the mandatory entry above is completed; please leave a separate comment for each entry in order for them to be counted).

1 Extra Entry (per method) if you follow Corel Paint it! on Twitter and/or Like them on Facebook. 1 more Extra Entry if you leave this message on their wall: I want to turn my photographs into paintings and just entered to win Corel Paint it! at Thanks, Mail Carrier! http://bit.ly/bFcT2G
1 Extra Entry (per giveaway entered) - Enter any (or all) of the giveaways running on Thanks, Mail Carrier for the duration of this giveaway.
1 Extra Entry if you follow me on Twitter and tweet about this giveaway by copying and pasting the tweet below and leaving me the link. Tweet daily for an extra entry every day!

WIN a copy of Corel Paint it! software ($40) to turn your photographs into paintings! @thxmailcarrier http://bit.ly/bFcT2G #win #giveaway

2 Extra Entries (per follow method) if you follow me with Google Friend Connect, subscribe to my RSS feed, subscribe to Thanks, Mail Carrier by email or become a fan on Facebook.
3 Extra Entries if you put my cute button up on your blog. Please leave an address where it can be found.
3 Extra Entries if you blog about this giveaway linking back to Thanks, Mail Carrier and Corel Paint it! Please leave an address where it can be found.

Giveaway will end on July 1st at 11:59pm CST. Do me the favor of leaving an email address or making absolutely sure it is visible in your profile, I have to have a way to contact the winner. The winner will be chosen by random.org and announced here as well as emailed and will have 48 hours to contact me or respond to notification or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is open to residents of the U.S. and Canada only.

A big thank you to Corel Paint it! for providing this software for me to review as well as for one lucky giveaway winner. I was given this opportunity due to my membership at The Product Review Place. The opinions shared are my own and honest and if you really need to see more, click here to see how I roll.