SHEsaysWITHaSMILE.blogspot.com

i heart canva! a love affair of the creative kind... for (me!) sandra, topps, writeousmom #canva

now,  -just as i shot out of my mother's womb a writer..  i also shot out a..   'marketer'    -a, greeting card, poster, paper-advertisements, sign designer

give me any occasion, any excuse..   my portfolio is long!

and, although i was never hired as...  /or paid for...

almost every place i've ever worked from my first job, to my last,   -which was alden lane nursery

i have always, naturally navigated to, offered to, and did create marketing materials.   i remember now at alden lane..

i implemented the idea of creating marketing pieces for the classes being taught at the nursery by the various horticulturists; and for the craft classes..   and for the owner, Jackie's TV show..

so, if i was not being a cashier in the kiosk, i was in the office upstairs, creating pieces for the literature rack, posters for the bulletin boards, advertising/drawing on the chalk board wall inside the gift store..

it remains my great JOY! my great PLEASURE!   on my short list, over the years, i have created/designed birthday invitations, graduation invitations, -promotion pieces for workshops, classes, upcoming events..  Christmas cards..   on and on..

and, i have always used whatever tools were available at the given time.    -want to give an example here, create an analogy..   with movie makers,  -look at movies made 30 years ago..

vs. movies made today.   we've always had movie-makers, story-tellers; they use the tools available at the time; and help those tools evolve based on the desire to accomplish a given effect

so.. i'm going to skip ahead here and just say...  WHAT A DREAM!  "I was born for such a time as this!"

CANVA.

obviously i only use it for personal use, i am not 'employed'   -but, in our day to day lives, with the amount of birthdays, get-togethers, special occasions, seasonal parties, etc.    -there is still great need and opportunity

i confess here, as an artist and creative, i initially avoided canva..   wanting to do the 'creating' myself

but i would not turn back now..   i love it so much!  what it has done, is change me from the 'creator' to a 'designer'

that is, i pull from a variety of pre-made creations, be it, background, font, colors, composition, etc.

and i create my own 'arrangement' and design from a variety of canva sources [design, text, elements, frames...]

plus, i can upload and use, my own pictures, icons, logos, etc. and incorporate those inside; so, much of what i create/design is a hybrid of sorts...

and, is it necessary, mandatory.. that i create a poster for our driveway happy hours?  -of course not, we could just use word-of-mouth, or text 'come on over...'

but I LOVE MAKING THESE POSTERS!  it is my JOY to sit and come up with a general idea..   look through the pre-made designs, pull a background from this one, a font from that one..  add a personal pix..  tweak this, embellish that..

and, of course i could just use the same poster, and just change the date..    but because I LOVE MAKING THESE POSTERS! unless there is some pressing time issue, i WANT to make a brand new poster, with the same basic information

SUPER BOWL PARTY invites are a great example..   i've tried to create a new one every year, and pre-canva, i used stickers, actual 3-D stickers, designed the invite, went to the local Staples store, had color copies made..

but, "Thank You!" to canva.. and "Thank You!" to phone cameras, text..   now i design an invitation, print out, "Thank You!" to parents for colored printer, 

now, we print one out, take a picture of it.. and text to our guest list individually.   [we do not use the popular social media sources of our day to mass send an invite]

anyway,   i've also used canva to create a seating chart, to make simple labels, to just upload and print colored pictures of awkward sizes..

and, if i was working today, in a creative industry..   i'd sure love to learn more about everything this canva can do!   i use it in quite a limited/restricted way..   i've only 'felt my through'   -entirely self-taught, so to speak..     /although, got help learning, download/print pathway.. 

i stick to tried and true:   poster (landscape or portrait), go from there...  everything i do will ultimately be printed on 8 1/2 x 11 paper

but, example,  -i used it for -a long time-  without knowing about the 'group' feature/benefit.   So, when i wanted to change, alter a design, i was moving each unit independently, 

and picky as i am, that could take a good long time..   re-aligning several things to all match up again, but a couple inches to the left.. or down, or up

my daughter showed me how to highlight/group, and  -i've mentioned it before, yes?  that one lesson, that took under 30 seconds to be shown and learn

saved me HOURS!

*****

and i've mentioned before, yes?  there needs to be a marriage between avery labels and canva!

anyway, 

we use it to print out the current NFL Super Bowl logo, with a grid on top, to aid us in creating our yard art..

and, used it to create our invite to our annual Super Bowl Party..   and to 're-create' a design of 'my favorite f words' poem, where i only change the last 1 or 2 lines to match with the Super Bowl Number,  /fifty nine & sublime; they rhyme..

all of this, every time i sit down, and go to canva.com

it is because I WANT TO...      not once, because ' i had to'

most grateful!   every design is a "Thank You!" prayer..    #canva

hallelujah & amen

posted by SANDRA MICKANEN @ 10:29 AM