You will create a personal greeting card that will include a personal logo on that back that lets the person receiving the card know who designed it, that would be you of course!!! Remember those television commercials from a popular greeting card company where the recipient always sneaked a peek on the back? The inference was that the sender cared more if they sent a card made by that company.

Well you can show how much you care by letting the recipient know "I made it myself!" It can be as simple as a small line of text that says "Card designed by Suzy Q" or it can include graphics, a logo, or your signature.

• Open Microsoft Publisher (Start>Programs>Microsoft Publisher)
• Click on Greeting Cards
• You can choose from the many pre-formatted cards available in Publisher by double clicking the card of your choice that is shown on the right side of your screen. These cards already include graphics and wording by category. You simple follow the directions in the Publisher Wizard, include the necessary information, and click next to create your greeting card.
• You can also create your own greeting card from scratch. To do this, simply click on the blank publication tab at the top of the screen and then choose the card layout you want (Side Fold Card, Top Fold Card, or Tent Fold Card). You will then need to include the wording and graphics for your card. Double click the card layout you want, and when prompted if you want Publisher to automatically insert pages, click yes.

Before you begin to add elements to your greeting card, the objects toolbar will be described briefly. The Object toolbar contains many powerful tools that will allow you to create the most professional looking greeting card. The tools on the objects toolbar will be briefly covered:

Pointer Tool- Selects lines, shapes, graphics, and text boxes. Selected items can be resized and their attributes changed.
Text Frame Tool-Created text frames. This is what you will use to create the message for your greeting card.
Table Frame Tool-Created table frames.
WordArt Frame Tool-Created a WordArt frame.
Picture Frame Tool-Created a frame in which a picture may be inserted. You would use this tool if you found a picture on the Internet and saved it to your folder.
Clip Gallery Tool-Created a frame in which a piece of clip art my be inserted. Not only can clipart be inserted from the hard drive, but also online by clicking the Clips Online button at the top of the Clip Gallery.
Line Tool-Creates a line.
Oval tool-Creates circular and oval shapes.
Rectangle Tool-Creates rectangular shapes.
Custom Shapes-Creates a wide variety of different shaped boxes (e.g., hearts, lightning bolts, thought boxes).
Web Development Tools-Tools used for the creation of Web pages. Publisher is not a good web publishing software, so these tools will not be covered.
Design Gallery Object-Inserts a wide array of different objects from the Microsoft Publisher Design Gallery (e.g., coupons, advertisements, logos).

This is an example of a greeting card's front page. You can select pictures from the internet, clipart galary, or create your own with the tools described below. Your greeting can be as creative as you want it to be.

• At the Introduction Quick Publication Wizard tab, click the text frame tool on the objects toolbar to include your message. Change the font face, size and color to make your greeting card visually attractive. In order to change the font attributes, you would click the following tools on the formatting toolbar:

• Include ClipArt, WordArt, or Pictures by clicking on the appropriate tools shown above.
• You can continue to include all words and graphics on all pages of your greeting card by clicking on the numbers listed at the bottom of your document screen. The number of pages will determine the page layout you selected.
• When you have finished with the text and graphics, click on the Design Quick Publication bullet. It shows you a list of pre-formatted designs to choose from. To view the design, clip on the name listed in the menu.
• Once you have found the design you like, you can change the color theme. Click on the Color Theme Publication bullet to see a list of color themes you can apply to your card.
• You can also change the layout of your card at the Layout Publication Wizard. Click on Layout to see all the different pre-formatted layouts you can choose from.
• On the last page of your greeting card, create and then insert your personal logo. This gives the card a professional look as well as lets people know who created it.
• When you have finished your greeting card, have your teacher check it. Request to have a copy printed.