Crafts Beautiful - Quick & Crafty - Let's Make Cards Magazine

Hand-made cards are always welcomed by the recipients, but if you have a huge list of people this Christmas, you may be facing this prospect with some dread! However, it is possible to speed up the process by creating your designs on the computer, then printing them out onto card or pre-made blanks. You can use ready-made clip art, your own drawings or photos from previous Christmases, and it's a great way to get the kids involved. Best of all, there's no mess to clear up afterwards!

Christmas Cards

If you haven't done so already, take the CD from the pack and load the software onto your computer, following the instructions on the screen or from the pamphlet included. Open up Avery DesignPro Home Edition from your desktop. To use one of the motifs provided on the CD, click on 'Pre-Designed Template'. To create your own card, select 'Design From Scratch'.

For pre-designs, select your kit in the browser, click open, then choose the product you wish to work on. Open this, then decide on the design you wish to edit and click open. For designs from scratch, first find the software code of the greetings card blank in the kit that you wish to print on. In the 'select template box style', type the code in the 'Find Item Number' field and select 'Find'. Once highlighted, click 'OK'. Your chosen pre-design or template will be open.

To create text or insert your own pictures, select 'Insert' on the menu at the top, followed by the option you want. To edit text on a pre-design, simply 'click and drag' to highlight the wording, then make your changes.

You can insert your own digital photos to any template by clicking on the 'Insert Picture from File' icon. Use the Browser to locate the photo you require then click 'Insert'. To reposition your picture, simply place the pointer on the image, then click and drag in the desired location. You can resize the picture by right-clicking on it, selecting 'Properties' from the menu, then editing the 'Scale'

If you wish to crop your image, click on the 'Crop icon on the toolbar. Choose a 'Crop Shape', use the handles to resize and position the area you want to crop, then click 'OK'. To edit the inside of the card, click on the 'Card 2' tab. Here you can edit the text in the same way you did for the front cover. When you have finished designing your card, place the blank from the kit into your printer and print out.