How to Make Your Own Greeting Cards Using a Personal Computer

You can make your own greeting cards with your personal computer. It doesn't matter if the occasion is a birthday, anniversary, Christmas, Valentine's Day, or Sweetest Day. You don't have to go out and buy new software to do it either. You can also send e-mail greeting cards to someone at no charge.

The official Microsoft website, www.office.microsoft.com, can lead you to a variety of templates to help you create your own greeting cards. Do a search for greeting cards while using the site, and you will be led to links that will help you either create your own card, use an existing template, or use clip art to make the cards.

The templates are for a variety of occasions, including Easter, Father's Day, Mother's Day, Hanukkah, for greeting cards for holidays from a business, New Year, Valentine's Day, and other occasions.

If you click on one of the links, you will be taken to a decorative template that would make an appropriate greeting card for that holiday. You will be given simple to follow instructions to download the template, which would make a decorative greeting card if printed on card stock paper, or even regular paper. You will not be able to download the templates, however, if you have a Windows 98, Windows 95, or Windows ME operating system.

If you use clip art, it can be added to your Microsoft Word Clip Organizer, even if you do have an older program. Once it is downloaded, you will see the clip in a Word document. After you insert that clip into a Word document, you could print that image on a card stock paper, or plain piece of paper, and add whatever text you want for that holiday. Examples of some of the clip art you could download are a decorative Happy Birthday banner with a cake, a cross for Easter, a baby in a manger, the three wise men, a present, or other art for Christmas; and a picture of a bride and groom for a wedding or anniversary.

There are also links to create greeting cards using Microsoft Publisher and Microsoft PowerPoint. There are links to use clip art to create greeting cards and to edit clip art in Microsoft Word. If you use Microsoft Publisher to make a card, the Microsoft website has a tutorial for finding various templates and even instructions on how to change images on the templates and edit your message.

If you even already have the clip art you want to use in a greeting card in your current Word program, or have added clip art off the Microsoft website, you may still not be that familiar with using clip art. The official Microsoft site shows you how to use it. It shows you how to add the image to any document, like a homemade greeting card. You can do this by double clicking on the selected image. The website gives other instructions on sizing the picture, cropping it, wrapping text around a clip, and other helpful suggestions. If you use clip art, your card will not have an existing text, and you will be able to say whatever you want in your card.

There are other websites with templates you could use in making your own greeting cards. Some of the sites are www.making-greeting-cards.com, www.dltk-cards.com, and www.regards.com. With some of the sites you can even upload pictures you want to put in a card and personalize the message. Some of the sites allow you to print the cards for free.

In addition, you can send e-mail greeting cards to people for all types of occasions. With some sites, you can send the greetings for free. Some of the websites that you can use to make your own e-mail greeting cards are www.hallmark.com, www.bluemountain.com, www.freewebcards.com, and www.regards.com.

If you've ever wanted to be creative, to just send a more personalized message, or save money when you send someone a greeting card, you could make your own on a personal computer-even without purchasing software.