HOME · NEWSLETTER · MOUNTAINCOW MONTHLY NEWSLETTER (MARCH 2004)

Eggs-cellent invitations
Get out the decorating kit, the kids are coming over to dye eggs (and if you’re not careful, the kitchen table, too!). It’s time to finally celebrate spring so pick a palate of pastels for your invitation. Take a look at our Easter egg graphics and you’ll see making the invitations will be just as much fun as coloring the eggs themselves!

First, create a simple flat card. Add one
of the free graphics we have available below. Type in the details of your party, puns are optional but hard to resist. Platinum users can cover the whole card with one egg as a background image, and write the details inside the egg. Print it out, and if you're really ambitious, cut around the outside for an egg-shaped invite. For an extra splash of color, pair your invitation with a pretty pastel envelope.

The check is in the mail
As if getting a mailbox full of bills isn’t bad enough, some of them don’t come with a return envelope for you to use. This means after writing out all your checks, you’re still faced with a pile of envelopes to address by hand.

Not anymore! Create a project in PrintingPress for a number 10 envelope with your return address on the front. Fill the mailing list with the folks you’re always addressing envelopes for – doctor’s offices, eBay sellers, etc. In the same project, create a page for you to write down dates, account numbers and amounts for the checks you send for a quick reference.

Lotsa Matzo
Whether you have a mile-long table, or an intimate gathering, a Passover Seder is an occasion worth creating special place cards and menus for your guests. An important holiday full of traditions, symbols and songs (wait, isn’t every religious holiday that way?) there are a number of ways you can help guide a newcomer through the ceremony, or add present-day relevance to the ancient story of the Jews exodus from Egypt.

Start by downloading the art-deco Star of David to design your project. Platinum users can use a photo of a piece of matzo as a background image and print text over it for a fun, creative menu card.

(click photo to enlarge)

Inserting Images and More
PrintingPress offers many different ways for you to use graphics and photos in your designs. Did you know you can use any graphic or photo from your computer, scanner or the Internet with PrintingPress?

Images
To insert one of our built-in images onto a card, click in the card and choose Insert Image from the Image menu (Platinum users, this is located in the Design menu). The image browser window will give you a choice of the many graphics included with your software. If you click the Browse button you can select any graphic or photo that is already on your computer. You can also copy a graphic or photo from another program by selecting copy in the Edit menu, then click in a card and choose Paste from the Edit menu to insert the image.

Internet search engines are great for finding images now. For example, you can visit http://www.yahoo.com and click on the Images tab and type the name of what you are looking for in the Search Images box, such as "bunny" or "easter egg" and you should find plenty of graphics you like to choose from. When you find one, click on the graphic to make it show larger in the web browser and then click on the large image with your right mouse button and choose Copy from the menu that pops up. Then open PrintingPress and click in a card and choose Paste from the Edit menu to insert the graphic onto your card. Visit our Design Ideas section for more suggestions on where to find free graphics.

Photos
Adding photos to your computer is easy. If you have a digital camera, follow the instructions that came with your camera for connecting the USB or memory card to your computer and copying the photos into a location, like your My Pictures folder. If you have prints and a scanner, follow your scanner software instructions to scan the photos into the same folder. You can also choose to have a photo CD created when you have your film developed and then you can import photos right from the CD. When you want to add the photo to a card, just choose Insert Image and click Browse as described above.

Background Images and Borders
Platinum users can add graphics and photos to envelopes and place cards, can have graphics and photos float over or behind text, and can even add borders to cards, envelopes or photos. To add a graphic or photo to an envelope, click on the envelope and choose Insert Image from the Design, Image menu. To add a background image, choose Add Background from the Design, Background Image menu - background images are automatically set to the size of the card and to be semi-transparent. To make a graphic or photo float over text, choose Float Over Text from the Design, Image menu. To add a border to a card or envelope, click on the card or envelope and choose Add Border from the Design, Stationery Border menu. To add a border to a photo, click on the photo and choose Add Image Border from the Design, Image menu.

For more information be sure to take our online software tour or choose User Guide from the Help menu.

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