Another DIY Engagement Announcement using Microsoft Word
This is part 2 in our series of DIY projects for those of you who recently got engaged. Just as in the last tutorial, we will be making engagement announcements using Microsoft Word (Windows Vista). Our previous one was pink, this one is brown and blue, and we will be using some different techniques and tools. To see larger versions of the screen shots, just click on them. They’ll open in a new window.
Engagement announcements are sent to friends and family to let them know your big news, just like baby announcements. In the coming weeks, I will also post tutorials on how to make announcements using Illustrator, as well as step by step instructions for making engagement party invitations in both Word and Illustrator.
A Note About Vista Word
When using Vista, in order to make some of the adjustments to the photo, make sure that the document you’re working in is saved in the current Vista format (you’ll see a .docx extension). I have set the defaults in my Word application to save everything as Word 97-2003 documents (.doc) since .docx isn’t compatible with earlier versions of Word, or Macs. Working in the 97-2003 format also has other advantages such as the option to select all the pictures and textboxes at the same time, great for aligning them, or moving the entire design around on the sheet. However, there are limited special effects available when working in 97-2003 mode, so in order to play with the photo (see step 5), you need to save your file as a .docx document.
Today’s announcement looks like this:
I have sized it to 4.5×6.25, which will fit perfectly in a standard A6 envelope (but you can obviously make it any size you want).
1. In Word, go to “file” (i.e. the Windows symbol that replaces the old “File” menu) – New and under Templates, click on Invitations. This brings up a new menu on the right hand side. Click on Other Invitations. You’ll see the same layout in 4 different colors. You can choose any one you want of course, but I went with the blue and brown one.
Click on the color you want, and click on Download. That will bring up a document that looks like this:
Click on the blue box on the right hand side and copy it (either by right clicking or pressing CNTRL+C). Open a new document (letter size is good) and paste the box here (by right clicking or pressing CNTRL+V). Right click on it, go to Text Wrapping and select In Front Of Text. Right click again and go to Size. Uncheck the Lock Aspect Ratio box, and in the height window, put in 6.25 and in the width 4.5. Click Close.
2. Now, let’s add the text. Go to Insert – Text Box – Draw Text Box and draw a box anywhere in 
your document. It will most likely be filled with white, but that’s fine, we’ll fix it later. Select the font you want under the Home menu (you can change it later) and type in your text. I used GeoSlab703 Lt BT, 22p Bold for the top box and 14p bold for the bottom one. (If you want to use that font but don’t have it on your computer, read this post about adding fonts.) Click outside the textbox and go back to Insert and draw another text box for the text below the picture. Type in your text and click outside the box to deselect it.
3. To format the text boxes, right click on one of them, and go to Format Text Box. Under Colors and Lines, you want to make sure to select No Color and No Line. Repeat for the second one.
I also made the text color brown, and to do that, you want to select the text (i.e. highlight it with your cursor), right click, click on the A with a color bar underneath, go to More Colors and select the one in the bottom left hand corner for a nice, deep brown.
4. Now, let’s add your photo (I used a clip art picture). Go to Insert – Picture and locate your photo on your computer. It will most likely end up behind the blue box, so right click on it (the photo), go to Text Wrapping and select In Front Of Text. Right click again and go to Size. This time, you want o make sure that the Lock Aspect Ratio box is checked, and put in the size you want in either the height or width (the other side will change proportionately), I set my photo to a height of 2.89″ (but this is obviously totally up to you, whatever looks good is good). Click Close.
5. Drag the photo to where you want it to be on the blue box and, if you want to, add some extra layout features to it. I added a frame with a reflection on the bottom. To to this, select the photo and go to Picture Tools Format (it’s in the menu on top of your page). There you’ll see a line of frames and if you click on the down arrow next to them, you’ll get a whole menu of different looks. Hover over each with your mouse, and you’ll see the effect on your photo. Select the one you like, and if you want to play with it even more, try all the different options on either side of the frames. There is an endless variety of shapes and special effects to choose from.
6. Make sure everything is aligned by selecting the photo and blue box and go to Picture Tools – Align and click on Align Center. Next, select the two text boxes and go to Text Box Tools – Align – Align Center. Now you just have to eyeball it and use the arrow keys to move the text so that it is lined up with the photo. (Why, oh why, did they set Vista up this way?). That’s it, you’re done!
You can fit two of these cards on one sheet of 8.5×11, and then all you need to do is trim them to size and mail them out. If you prefer to send them as postcards, you could get a rubber stamp with a postcard back and just stamp the back of each card.
Filed under Design, Engagement, Inspiration, Microsoft Word, Tutorial | Comment (0)Save The Date Postcards – A Step-By-Step Illustrator Guide
Making your own Save the Date cards is fun and easy, and once you know the basics of Illustrator, you can let your creativity run wild! I have designed a few different cards with step-by-step instructions for how I did them, so you can just follow along and create the exact same layout on your computer. They really don’t have to match your invitations, but if you want them to, go ahead and make them as well. You can use the same techniques for anything.
This guide assumes that you have a (very) basic knowledge of Illustrator, or have at least played around with it a little bit. Please make sure you read these Illustrator notes/problem solvers first, and you might also want to take a look at the Illustrator Toolbar.
Illustrator uses and creates vector files (which can be resized and warped without losing any sharpness at all). There are tons of free vector art available online, but before downloading anything, read through the licensing rights. It’s usually clearly stated, and while many will let you use their designs for free for your own personal use, not everyone does. And if you plan to do something else with them, make sure you know what the deal is, and play by the rules. You wouldn’t want someone stealing your work that you put all that work and time into.
OK, let’s get started on our first card, which I call Elegant Pink
For this first card, I got my background pattern from createsk8.com. It is by jlwdesign and it’s called the “Elegant Vines Pattern” (you can get it here). Read the License and Usage Info.
1. After you download your design (make sure you select the Adobe Illustrator CS download option), open the ai (Illustrator) document in Illustrator. You might encounter a few error messages: just hit OK and/or CONTINUE and/or OPEN, it doesn’t matter.
2. Select the color block you want with either the selection 
or the direct selection 
tool (for this particular design, you want to click on the tiny square you want with the direct selection tool, and while it’s selected, immediately click on the selection tool in the toolbar. This assures that you get the entire square copied, and not just part of it). Copy it by either going to Edit – Copy or by pressing Apple+C (Cntrl+C for PCs).
3. Open a new illustrator document (can be any size, we’ll worry about that later)
4. Paste your selection in your new document (by either going to Edit-Paste or by pressing Apple+V (Cntrl+V on PC)
5. select the rectangle tool 
(your arrow will turn into a small cross), click anywhere on the page
6. a window will pop up where you fill in the dimensions of your new box (I made mine 6″ wide by 4″ high).
Your chosen pattern will automatically fill your new box. After your 4×6 box shows up, make sure you delete the tiny square you copied on the page (by selecting it and hitting Delete). 
7. Make sure your new box is selected (you’ll know it is if you see tiny white squares in the corners and on the sides of the box) and set the opacity to 40
8. Add a new layer and lock the bottom layer (with your vine design box in it).
9. With the rectangle tool 
selected, click anywhere on your second layer to make the photo box (I made mine 2.5×2.5″)
10. To make the frame pink, make sure your new box is selected (it will probably be filled with the vine pattern, don’t worry about that), go to the color palette and make sure you’re coloring the 
stroke, not the fill Type in the values for the color you want (I used R 216, G 178, B 173 If your color palette is displaying something different than RGB (CMYK for example), go to the fly out menu and select RGB
I used a 1 pt stroke for the width of the frame. If you want it thinner or thicker than that, go to the Stroke menu and type in the value you want To fill it with white (I find it helpful while working on the design), make sure the “fill” box is in front on the color palette and click on the little white box in the lower right hand corner
11. Create another layer and lock the others
12. Select the rectangle box again to make the pink “ribbon”. Like before, click anywhere on the page and type in the dimensions (I used 2×4″)
13. Fill with same pink as frame ((R 216, G 177, B 173)
14. Set opacity to 65
15. If you want to move it on top of the background box at this point, double check so that the layer with the background box is locked, select the ribbon (with the Selection tool) and pull it on top of the box (by pressing down your right mouse button and dragging).
16. Make a new layer and lock the others.
17. Select the Type tool 
and click anywhere on the page (if you want to type on top of the ribbon to see what it looks like, make sure that layer is locked)
18. Type your text (I used Myriad Pro, 14pt, bold)
19. Unlock all layers
20. Select background box and ribbon box and align them on top (”vertical align top”)
21. To add your photo, create a new layer, right underneath the frame layer and lock all others
22. In your new layer, go to File – Place and select your photo
23. Resize it by pulling the handles (hold down the shift key while dragging in one of the corners – this will keep it proportional) or by left clicking on your mouse and selecting Transform – Scale and type in a smaller value. If you know the exact size you want it to be (which we do here, since it needs to fit right underneath the frame, make sure you’re photo is selected, and up top, just beneath the File, Edit etc. headings, you will see two windows with an W and H in front. Just type in your dimensions here (2.5×2.5″).
24. Unlock the layer with the photo box
25. Select both the box and the photo and align them
26. Make the box transparent There’s your photo in the frame! Tip: to keep the photo and frame together so you don’t accidentally move one without the other, select them both (the easiest way to do this is to make sure all other layers except these 2 are locked and with the Selection Tool, pull and drag around the boxes until both are selected) and go to Object – Group (or you can left click and select Group).
This may seem like a lot of steps, but once you know it, you can put a card together in a few minutes. If, after going through the step-by-step instructions you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.
Filed under Illustrator, Save The Date, Tutorial | Comments (2)The Illustrator Toolbar
Getting used to the toolbar isn’t all that difficult, but if you’ve mostly worked in the Microsoft Office programs, it takes a little bit getting used to.
The important thing to remember is to switch tools when you go from one task to the next (and deselect what you just worked on before doing so). When I started using Illustrator, there were many times when I thought I was going to do something and something entirely different happened on the screen – all because I was using the wrong tool.
You will find more thorough descriptions of how and when to use these tools in my step-by-step Illustrator guides (”Elegant Pink“, “Hummingbird“, “Funky Chic“), this is just a quick overview so you can get a visual of the different tools I’m talking about. The letter in parentheses after each tool name is the keyboard shortcut key for that particular tool.
