Kid—crafted cards

Help your kids send homemade greetings for any occasion

By Heather Camlot

For the past year, I have helped my three-year—old son create birthday cards for friends and family. Having him sit down with a blank piece of paper, a bucketful of washable markers and various shaped foam stickers gives him a chance to display his creativity, gives me the chance to share my passion for arts and crafts, and gives us a chance to spend quality time together.

In a few years, he’ll give up colouring for computing, but I hope that doesn’t mean an end to his creative output. Darryl Reiter, president and founder of Children’s Technology Workshop, says the creativity doesn’t have to stop.

Have your children get their creative juices flowing by putting some rough ideas down on paper.

Creative computing

Computer—based crafts encourage children to apply technology in creative ways, explains Reiter. “If children have an opportunity to design on the computer first and then produce a tangible product, they’ll start to see ways to use the machine as a creative tool in much the same way as engineers, scientists and artists do.”

One way to start computing creatively is by doing something children already enjoy, says Reiter. Making greeting cards is an ideal beginning point, not only because you can make something professional-looking with a personal touch, but also because your children are familiar with the purpose and format of cards.

Planning the card

Before heading to the computer, discuss the type of design and message your child wants to send. These two aspects are most important, explains Tina Benavides, vice—president of creative for American Greetings, the parent company of Carlton Cards in Canada.

Benavides offers the following tips for crafting your cards.

Jot down a few thoughts about the recipient and the occasion.
Sketch a few pictures. Think about candles and cake for birthdays or about the recipient’s favourite colours or hobbies.
Find the right combination of design and message. If a friend is a soccer fan, think about drawing a birthday cake shaped like a soccer ball with the message “Happy birthday to a true soccer star. Hope this year is full of friends, fun — and a few goals scored!”
Decide on the best layout — what goes on the outside and inside of the card.
Send virtual “gifts.”
Put it all together, add your signature, and present with a smile.

To help get you started, download our free card template by saving it onto your desktop and opening it in Word. Ours is tailored to Christmas, but your child can easily change any part to suit the occasion. Word also has a selection of clip art available. Go to Insert > Picture > Clip Art and a clip art search box will appear on the right—hand side of your screen. Type in what you’re looking for, scan the available options, and click on the image to drop it into your greeting card.

Once you and your child are happy with the card, print it out. Remember to do a test print first.

Implementing fun ideas

For Hanukkah, scan your kids' arts and crafts projects, add the four dreidel letters (Insert > Symbol > select the four letters), download Maccabee clip art, and use the traditional colours of blue and gold.
For Father’s Day, scan Dad’s favourite tie as well as a cherished keepsake such as a baseball ticket stub, and insert a photo of Dad and child.
Individualize thank you cards by having your child pose with each present, add Clip Art of the party’s theme, and scan your child’s handwritten “thank you” message.
Scan artwork or a photo into your computer, save the image to your desktop or Documents, and then import the image into your file as you would with any other image.
Your child can also embellish with tissue paper, macaroni or pressed flowers; by stamping, sewing or colouring; or by using decorative-edged scissors to cut around the open sides.

Kids can get even more creative once the card is printed. Have them glue colourful craft items such as felt, ribbon and buttons to it.

Creating your card on the PC

Colour — Click on the layer, then click on the arrow by the drawing toolbar’s paint can, and select your colour.
Text — Click on the text box, highlight and delete the text, and then add your own.
Font — Highlight your text. Select your font from the dropdown menu on the formatting toolbar.
Images: Click on the layer; then delete. Add your own image by going to Insert > Picture > From File (or Insert > Clip Art). To resize an image, pull on any corner of the image to maintain proportions.
Once you’ve designed the outside, move inside and type your message. Add a photo and embellish to match the message and recipient.
When you’re ready to print, do a test—copy first to make sure everything lines up and prints on the right side. Then print on Best quality.

Your child moves from paper to PC to envelope to craft a creative greeting.

No matter what your child’s age is, the key to crafting on the computer is working together. “Children are very adept at learning how to use computers and software, or anything with buttons!” says Reiter. “The most important thing we can do is play alongside our children so that when they’re faced with a challenge, we’re there to help.”