Homemade cards: easy digital art card

This digital art idea is so simple even an adult can do it. Follow our screen tutorial to make impressive homemade digital art for a professional looking card. These cards are perfect for Fathers Day, Mothers Day, Valentines Day, birthdays – or just to say thank you to someone special.

What you need:

• a computer (Mac or PC, the tutorial shows a Mac but the process is similar on each system)
• 1 x piece of white card (210gsm will go through a standard home printer)
• a colour printer

Number of players:
1

Activity:

Here’s how to make an professional looking card with digital art.

Open up a Word document. Choose a font and a colour. Fill the page with your text. A simple phrase such as ‘I love you’ or ‘happy birthday’ works well.

Save that document as a PDF or JPEG file.

Now close the word file, but don’t bother saving it.

Open your PDF file. Crop it so that it is text only with no white space around it (see video).

Save the file.

Open up a new Word document. Choose ‘auto-shapes’ from the ‘Insert’ menu.

Insert your chosen shape into the word document.

Drag it to the bottom half of the page (so that you can fold the A4 piece of paper into a card when you print it and the image will be on the front of the card.)

Resize it to the size you want.

Now, to fill the shape with text, right click on it. You should get  a menu. Go down to  ‘format auto-shape’.

You will now get a screen with more options. Choose ‘colour’ a drop down menu will offer you colours and right at the bottom, you will get ‘fill effects’  Choose that.

Now you will get a new screen again. Along the top will be options. Choose ‘picture’

It will ask you to select a picture from your computer. Choose the PDF file you created before.

Your shape should now be filled with your text. Before you leave that menu, get rid of the line around the shape.

Go to the ‘line’ section. You will get a selection of colours and right at the top will be a choice that says ‘no line.’ Choose that option.

Check your shape for sizing on your card. And print it out.

Voila!  You’ve just created a personalised digital art card!

Hints and suggestions:

You could write out a poem to fill the shape.

You could also choose song lyrics that mean something to you and the receiver of the card.

• Thanks to our sister company Kidspot Australia for creating the instructional video.