How to make a postcard in MS Word.
Microsoft Word can do much more than just writing reports and summaries. It has a powerful set of graphic tools to help you create graphic documents such as greeting cards. You can also go to Word and create a greeting card for all occasions with children. Kids won’t get bogged down in features like desktop publishing or image editors.
In this Word tutorial, we’ll create a greeting card from scratch to show how easy it can be for everyone.
How to Create a Greeting Card with Microsoft Word
Before you start designing a greeting card in Word, you must decide if you want it to be flat like a postcard or folded like a Hallmark card. Greeting cards also come in all shapes and sizes from A0 (84.1 x 118.9 cm) to A10 (2.6 x 3.7 cm). These choices will determine all subsequent design decisions.
1. Open a blank document
Open Microsoft Word and select a blank document. Use this blank canvas to add your own ideas for what a greeting card might be. You can add photos, shapes, text, Word Art, and even 3D models.
2. Adjust orientation and layout
Greeting cards are usually laid out in landscape orientation. Landscape mode works better with images as well.
To change the layout from portrait to landscape, choose Ribbon> Layout> Page Setup Group> Orientation> Landscape.
Select Size in the page layout group to select one of the standard sizes from the drop-down list. You can also use a custom size by choosing Paper Size at the bottom of the drop-down menu.
Council. Use the Margins tab in the Page Setup dialog box to reduce margins if you want the image to cover the paper.
3. Balance everything with grid lines
You don’t need to clog your document. White space helps balance text with graphics. Turn on gridlines and guides to accurately align objects in your document. Grid lines are not printed. You can also opt out of using gridlines and align everything to the eyes instead.
Go to View> Grid Lines.
Select an image in your document. Click the Format tab to the right of the ribbon. For the selected form, the tab will display the form format.
Choose Align> Grid Options.
Use the settings to turn on snapping, display alignment guides, and change the spacing between grid lines.
As stated in this Microsoft Word support article, Snap To only works in print mode.
4. Split the page into a corner
For greeting cards that fold in the middle, you can split the page in half. There are different ways to do this Word. In our tutorial we will use a line shape and place it in the center of the page.
Go to Insert> Shapes> Line. Press Shift and drag a vertical line down the middle of the page.
Any new content on the page can offset this separator. To keep it exactly in the middle, select the Layout Options icon above the selected line.
Select Correct position on page. Then select “Learn More”.
In the layout settings, fix the position of the line shape by setting the horizontal and vertical alignment.
5. Start adding graphics
It’s time to add graphics to match the postcard’s theme. Use free stock photos or upload your own to personalize your card. Choose Insert> Pictures to insert an image into your document. Microsoft Word provides standard images, but it’s always best to use your own image for a personal touch.
In this tutorial, we used an image from Pexels.com.
You can also fill the entire page with an image by setting it as the background. Go to Design> Page Color> Fill Effect.
The Image tab allows you to use your own photo, or any Creative Commons image from Bing search, as a picture fill for the page. You can see a preview before inserting it into your document.
6. Choose beautiful fonts
The postcard has its own image. Now you need to work on the text and other content.
Go to Insert> Text Group. You can choose a text box to enter text or choose Word Art. Since there are several styles of Word Art available, you don’t have to think too much about styling your text.
Also, if you choose plain text, you will have to work with the Shape Fill, Shape Outline, and Shape Effect effects.
All options are easily accessible from the Shape Format tab on the Ribbon and are intuitive to use.
Options for text within a text box in Microsoft Word have advanced formatting. For example, you can start with a pretty font, set the correct font size, and give it the correct color. Then select the text box and right-click to open the context menu. Select Format Shape to display a sidebar with all shape and text options.
Text options are further divided into:
- Text fill and outline
- Text effects
- Layout and properties
Play with fills, gradients and opacity to brighten the text. The aesthetic combination will also depend on the image that serves as the background for the text.
In this tutorial, we added a “glow” to the text to give the card a festive feel.
Tip: Use one or two typefaces so they don’t distract. Also, choose a font that reflects the mood of the event and format it with the color that best matches the background or graphics. While you can install creative fonts in Microsoft Word, not all of them will print well.
7. Preview and Print
Your card is ready with a combination of images, colors and text. Test it on the screen first and then print it on cheap paper. Look for typos in the text and check if all the elements are lined up correctly.
Pay special attention to the margins, as differences in margins may affect the final layout. If you are printing a foldable card, use the swatch to see if the fold is in the right place and does not intersect the image or text.
Bring good quality paper and print your first birthday card. If you are making multiple copies, it is always recommended to check the quality of the toner or ink after a few runs.
Your Card Is Ready
The graphics capabilities of Word may be limited when creating a greeting card in Word, but they can do the job.
Templates are a faster way to get a greeting card from Microsoft Word. But will they give you the joy of making your own for someone special? Maybe you can use greeting card templates as inspiration for creating your own.
Also try Microsoft Publisher with this guide. It is the best alternative to Microsoft Word as it is designed for desktop publishing of all kinds.
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How to make a postcard in MS Word
How to make a postcard in MS Word
How to make a postcard in MS Word