Home » So Crafty

Make Your Own One-of-a-kind Greeting Cards

grandmasandy by grandmasandy

Create a Greeting Card from Scratch

Creating a greeting card need not be a daunting task. Once you master a few basic functions of your photo editing software, you will be well on your way to becoming a card designing guru.

I use Photoshop Ellements and Corel Paintshop Pro Photo XL, for photo editing. Both programs can be a challenge to learn, You can get excellent results with more "user friendly" programs such as Printshop.

The 25th Anniversary Invitation is a card I created.

New Table of Contents

  1. The First Step to Creating a Greeting Card
  2. Changing colors
  3. A rose changes colors
  4. Adding a frame
  5. Metallic Frame
  6. Add some text
  7. Zazzle Art
  8. New Zazzle
  9. Custom Postage stamps
  10. eBay
  11. Grandma likes to visit
  12. Make fine art out of your photos
  13. Great Stuff on Amazon
  14. Grandma's House

The First Step to Creating a Greeting Card

Acknowledge Special Occasions and Accomplishments

Think about what the card will be used for. Holidays are always a good theme.Other speclal days or events are a good starting point as well. The birth of a baby or a wedding are universal greeting card themes.

There are days and accomplishments in everyones lives that are often overlooked as themes for greeting cards. Graduating from high school are college are often acknowledged with a card. But how about advancing in Boy Scouts, or being promoted at work. How about reaching goal weight after months of dieting.

A generic congratulations card can be used on many occasions. This pecock card says "You have officially earned the right to be proud as a peacock. Congratulations are always appreciated.

A little thought and imagination will soon have you creating cards that make day to day events into special ones.

Changing colors

Using Photo shop Elements 7

This is an original photo that was edited in PS elements 7. I replaced the background with a solid background. Even though it is a beautiful picture of a salmon colored rose, I wanted a yellow rose to create a greeting card.

A rose changes colors

A Salmon colored rose turns yellow

By using the "replace color" function, it is easy to quickly change the colors of an item to any color you need. Want a black rose? You can do it.

Wonder how you would look with red hair and green eyes? You can do that to.

Adding a frame

Building your greeting card

A frame gives a finished look to a card. I like to create my own frame. There are several steps to do it. But all the steps are easy and fun with PS Elements 7

I use the rectangular marquee to outline my project. Then click on Edit>stroke/outline selection>
A screen will pop up that allows you to chose how wide to make the outline and what color to make the outline. You can also choose whether you want the outline to go inside or outside the marquee.

Make your choices, then click ok.

Your frame is made.

ctrl D will remove the marquee

Metallic Frame

a different frame

Creating a metallic gold frame is more complex than creating a solid colored frame

First create the solid color frame, following the instructions above.

Use the magic wand to select the frame. Click on edit and choose "copy"
then click on layer and choose "make new layer from copy"

This will put a new layer in your layers list. The layer will be your new frame. WIth the frame layer selected (select by clicking on it), Go to filters and click on "complex"
select the "molten gold" filter. Your frame turns metallic.

PS you can also make golden text in a similar way

Add some text

Happy Birthday Mom

With PS Elements 7 it is simple to add some text

Zazzle Art

My art available on zazzle

View my stuff or start your own on;line store. The site is user freindly and offers a huge variety of item that you can edit with your own graphics and text..
Loading

New Zazzle

stickers

my sticker designs. Many have matching postage and card
Loading

Custom Postage stamps

Make your letters unique

Many of my postage stamps have matching cards and stickers
Loading

eBay

Loading

Grandma likes to visit

Directions to the places I go to

Some of my favorite links
My zazzle store
Visit my zazzle store and learn how to create your own store
my greeting cards
A print on demand store. Cards are not printed until they are orders. A earth freindly way to buy greeting cards. View my cards and open your own shop. GCU has a very helpful an friendly forum.
Photoshop Elements Tutorials

Make fine art out of your photos

http://canvaspress.com

enter the code below
FANN1794

OR select from ready made posters here:

Buy Posters at AllPosters.com

Great Stuff on Amazon

Recommended items from Amazon

These items have my seal of approval
Loading

Grandma's House

Is that you, Little Red Riding Hood?

Sign Grandma Sandy's guestbook and remember Grandma's always have gum in thier purse for good little boys and girls.

  • stargazer00 Aug 15, 2009 @ 10:42 pm | delete
    Very nice greeting cards. Lenrolled to my Christmas card lenses.
  • andreaberrios Aug 4, 2009 @ 7:37 am | delete
    Beautiful art. Love the colors! Good job!
  • GrowWear Aug 4, 2009 @ 3:14 am | delete
    Welcome to Squidoo, grandmasandy!
  • Write Aug 4, 2009 @ 12:40 am | delete
    Beautiful creations.
  • grandmasandy Aug 3, 2009 @ 4:52 pm | in reply to LindaJM | delete
    Would you like me to create a new lense about my years as the top rated spiritual counselor on askme.com? Ask.com was once known as askme.com. It is a very interesting story, of how a very popular website came and went.
  • Load More
Show All

This So Crafty page written by

grandmasandy

Hello world. Grandma Sandy is here. Say Hi!

Create something new! Show off your work! Time to get So Crafty!

Connect with So Crafty

This author recommends...