Creating Greeting Cards Using American Greetings Creatacard. Prepared by Sherry Surdam 1

Transcription

1 Creating Greeting Cards Using American Greetings Creatacard Prepared by Sherry Surdam 1

2 The American Greetings program is very versatile. Some of the many things you can create are: Greeting and Craft Cards Stationery and Envelopes Labels Invitations Business cards AND, you can even create a Web Page! Today we will concentrate on creating greeting cards and envelopes. 2

3 No matter what version of the program you use, the opening screen will resemble this. 3

4 At the top of the screen there are several Icons which give you access to additional functions of the program Home Reminder Help Minimize Options Address Book Return to Previous Screen Exit 4

5 Home returns you to the opening screen from any of the other screens. Options enables you to set program options, including the ability to set a password to limit access to the program. Reminder is a calendar program. It can be set toto let you know when a birthday, anniversary, etc. is coming up. Back returns you to the previous screen. Address Book, Help, Minimize and Exit are self-explanatory. explanatory. 5

6 To begin, left click on Cards. 6

7 Then click on Greeting Cards. 7

8 There are many card types. Left click the yellow arrow to see additional categories. 8

9 Choose Christmas. 9

10 There are several sub-categories listed. Some of the cards are for: Family members Sweethearts Kids Religious cards There are even cards in Spanish! OR you can view all available Christmas cards at one time. 10

11 In this case we will look at All of them. 11

12 Thumbnails of all available cards are visible on the right hand side. On the left is an outline of all categories of cards. 12

13 When you find a card that appeals to you, select Show Details and. 13

14 A larger version of the card is shown. 14

15 Most of the cards have more than one front and inside message from which to choose. Left click the arrow below to see the second face message. Left click the drop-down box at the lower left to see the inside message. 15

16 When you are satisfied with your choice of card and message, left click Select on the lower right hand side and you will be able to make changes to the card using the tools provided. NOTE: Almost all messages, both outside and inside, can be changed. You can create your own if you like a card face but don t like ANY of the wording. 16

17 To give you an idea of what the various tools do, we will actually create a card at the end of this session. 17

18 Use the Art Icon to create a card from scratch. Using Photo Tools you can import a photo or other picture. Open the Tool Box to check spelling, insert a table and more With the Toy Box you add borders, headlines, etc. 18

19 Card Tools allows you to change the type of card, i.e., from quarter fold to half-fold. You can insert a Text Box for writing your own text. AND you can even Draw! Experiment with all of them to see what you can do. Today we will work with the basics. 19

20 To change the text, double-click anywhere ON the text, select what you want to change and make the change. 20

21 When you double-click on any text, you get additional tools for working with the text (shown enlarged). These tools enable you to: Align the text vertically or horizontally Change the color Change the Font And Add special effects Again, experiment! 21

22 With the icons on the right hand side of the card (enlarged here) you can: Select a portion of the card Undo something you did and now wish you hadn t Cut, Copy, Paste and Arrange text or pictures When your card is complete, left click Finish. 22

23 At this point you can Save, Print or Share the finished project. 23

24 The first time you Print a project the program will help you set up your printer for printing the project. You should need to do this setup only once. Carefully follow the instructions. 24

25 You will be told when to reinsert your project if it s double-sided, such as a half-fold card. Quarter-fold cards print on one side only. 25

26 To save your card, highlight Save Project As. Left click Next. 26

27 This screen should look familiar to you! Choose where you want to save your card NOTE: you might want to make a new folder under My Documents and call it American Greeting Cards Give your card/ project a name, click Save and you re finished. 27

28 To make an envelope for the card, return to the home screen and left click Envelopes. 28

29 At this screen choose the envelope size to fit your card. NOTE: The envelopes are not labeled by size but by number so check the sizes as you highlight each one. Envelope Size 29

30 There was no envelope to match my card so I selected one at random and will change it. Highlight the background (note the handles) and hit the delete key. Handles 30

31 The envelope is now blank with faint boxes for inserting name and address. Since I d like it decorated I returned to the card I created and copied the small graphic on the inside. 31

32 I pasted the graphic onto the envelope, resized it by pulling the corner handles until it was the size I wanted, added the name and address and the envelope now matches my card! 32

33 Now, let s make a card! 33