Don't Leave Home Without It

So yesterday was all about creating greeting cards and marketing your art with them, but I didn’t mention how you should do that very thing.

Well, I’m old and sometimes I have little strokes and forget essential things, but just because you asked so nicely I’m going to do a quick tutorial on creating greeting cards with your computer.

http://www.ehow.com/how_2040874_create-greeting-cards-microsoft-word.html

Now I know you have Word. Everyone has Word. You can’t get by in this life without Word and since I know you are getting by, I know you have Word.

Here’s the first tip, you don’t actually have to have Word. Now I know to speak against Microcrrupt is to speak against God, but it’s true, you don’t actually have to have Word.

http://www.openoffice.org/

There’s a wonderful office suite called, Open Office, which will do most of what Word does without signing over your first born to Microavarice. I don’t actually know that Open Office won’t do everything Word will do because in truth I don’t use all of Word or Open Office. I find for what I do either program will do all I want and it only matters which I happen to open first.

Open Office is completely compatible with Micrograbby and even though the Long Suffering decided to go back to Excel for her spread sheets I am sure you could do a spread sheet in Open Office and never miss Micropushy.

So for starts take a look at Open Office, maybe you could try it and see if you can live without the constant barrage of security updates Word requires and still get all of your work done? Most of the documents I submit to publishers have to be in Word format, but they can’t tell the difference between those created in Micropain and Open Office. I just save in Word format when I’m working in Open Office and the document goes unnoticed.

Not for that reason, they don’t notice that it wasn’t done in Word, not because they don’t want to look at another one of my stories!

So, take a look at Open Office and maybe you can wean yourself away from the indentured servitude to Microclutching.

Then read the document from ehow and try it. The template works in Open Office or if you just can’t break away from Word, go ahead and do it there.

http://www.ehow.com/info_12182765_greeting-card-software-linux.html

The next best thing is to create your card in a desktop publishing program. There are several, including, guess who…Microuberallis’ Publisher. It is a good program and will if you have it do the job. But you can feed a third-world village for what it costs to buy and maybe you’d just as soon feed that village, so why not try something different?

It so happens I have a suggestion about that too. Scribus. Sure it was created for Linux and I know you don’t know a thing about Linux cause it is used by geeks who used to know how to operate a slide rule and play chess and don’t bathe or leave the building while the sun is in the sky, but you are a bohemian artist and aren’t afraid of a little ole geekiness, so think about it. Now the good news is Scribus like many Linux programs is available for Windows.

So you can download Scribus and have a complete and powerful publishing program at you command. It will take more than a few minutes to learn all of the bells and whistles, but you know how to make miracles out of paint and canvas so a little learning isn’t going to intimidate you.

http://www.avery.com/avery/en_us/Templates-&-Software/Templates/Cards/Greeting-Cards/Textured-Half_Fold-Greeting-Card-_-Wide_Microsoft-Word.htm

But you can’t be bothered to learn a bunch of new stuff, even though it is good for you and creates neural pathways in your brain and that is one of the best ways to stave off Alzheimer’s,

but you are abstract artist and maybe a little confusion among the pathways might just help your art so you’ll skip this and go for the fog at the top of the stairs.

Just in case you think better mental health is a worthy goal, I have included the link to Avery labels and their downloadable greeting card template for Word.

Yeppers, you can fall back on good, ole reliable Word and use the free template and make your own greeting cards.

It will take a few minutes to get all of the elements in the right place. Avery and Micromiser have a funny idea about what is intuitive, but spend an hour or so on it and you’ll see how all of the elements fit together.

Then all that’s left is to decide what sort of art you want to put on your card, what kind of message you want inside and don’t forget the simple Copyright statement for the back. No reason to send your work out into the cold cruel world without protection!

No, no it doesn’t come in truck stop vending machines and most certainly not under the brand name Trojan, that’s a whole nother kind of protection and not something a serious artist should be thinking about when they could be marketing art!