Saturday, December 31, 2011

create

here's my very bestest attempt to explain how to use excel to create art with words.
before you start
1.) choose some lovely words to beautify. 
you could choose a Bible verse, a meaningful quote from a person or book, or lyrics from a favorite song.
2.) download free fonts to express your words. 
i like to use this site for general font finding and this one for handwritten script fonts. these sites should explain how to easily download the fonts.
(WARNING: i find this step very time consuming as i thoroughly enjoy searching for fun fonts and there are SO many to choose from!)

get your excel on
1.) open excel, click view and click formatting palette.
2.) click insert, and then text box. you can drag the corners of the box to adjust size.
3.) start typing, choose font style and size. this is where your formatting palette is handy dandy. 
4.) click the "alignment and spacing" arrow in the formatting palette and adjust text. i distributed the text in this box.
5.) right click on the box and then click "format shape." 
6.) click "line" on the sidebar. click the arrows beside "color" and choose "no line." do the same for the fill. 
7.) insert new text box and type. to format your new box, highlight the first text box then click the format button (the paint brush) at the top of the page. your arrow will have a little brush beside it. highlight the text in the new box. this action will not only format your text, but also the line and fill in the new box. 
8.) choose a new font for the new box. 
8.) insert new text box, format to first, and distribute text. continue for the rest of your text.
9.) at this point, i like to zoom out so that i can see the whole page before i arrange text and add color.
10.) click "document theme"arrow at the bottom of the handy dandy palette and choose a delightful color palette by clicking the "colors" arrow. 
11.) now you can choose from pretty coordinating colors for your fonts. highlight text and pick a color. 
12.) for the background, insert new text box that fills up the entire page. it will cover up all of your text, but don't worry! we'll fix it soon!
13.) right click the box and "format shape." then you can choose your background color. 
14.) click the "size, rotation, and ordering" arrow in your formatting palette. then click "arrange"and "send to back."
the final shot should look like this:

and that's how i do it. i hope this tutorial gets your lexical creative juices flowing! let me know if it works for you!

Friday, December 30, 2011

new hobby

lately, i've really been enjoying piddling around with word art while the boys are napping. it's a relaxing, functional, creative outlet. i'm currently finishing up the boys' birth info, then my next project is to find sweet quotes from asher's favorite books and make them all purty. here's what i worked on yesterday:

Wednesday, December 28, 2011

word art

we've been working with asher to help him memorize these verses. i just love them. because i love them so, i made this word art to hang in the boys' room. i'm so happy with the way it turned out. can't wait to get it on their wall!

Saturday, December 3, 2011

tia

lyndsay: asher, what do you want to be when you grow up?
asher: hmmmm....
*taps his chin pensively
asher: BIG!!!
lyndsay: big? well, that's a good thing to be when you grow up!

lyndsay, one of my very best friends from college, came to visit us thursday evening & friday morning. it was wonderful to get to spend some time with her. the boys enjoyed special tia (aunt) lyndsay time too!