Last Minute Christmas DIY Idea--Family Photo Christmas Greetings!
I know, I know! Christmas is just around the corner! But there is still time to make some lovely personalized Christmas cards using just your favorite holiday photo and PicMonkey!
These elegant, yet fun, greetings can be printed off and hand-delivered on time to loved ones and friends nearby, or included in your last-minute packages before you mail them off. Or just share them to your social media.
Want to give it a try? Follow me! It's easy and fun, I promise!
These elegant, yet fun, greetings can be printed off and hand-delivered on time to loved ones and friends nearby, or included in your last-minute packages before you mail them off. Or just share them to your social media.
Want to give it a try? Follow me! It's easy and fun, I promise!
*This post may contain affiliate links. If you buy or sign up using my links, I earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Full disclosure here.*
1. Get Your PicMonkey Canvas Ready
Open PicMonkey photo editor. You will see a design bar across the top of the home page with several options. Mouse over the one that says "design".
A screen will appear with three options. You want the one in the middle: "blank canvas". Click it once, then choose 8x10 from the size options that appear next.
When your canvas opens, it will be white. There will be a prompt asking you to choose your canvas color. Because I am using a black and white photo, I chose white.
Choose a color that will complement your photo. And the snowflake border will be same color as your background, so make sure the color you pick will show up around the edge of your photo too.
Tip: If you can't get any colors to blend well with your photo, open PicMonkey in a new browser, upload your photo and edit the color etc. using the basic options. Then, save your photo to your computer again and go back to your blank canvas.
A screen will appear with three options. You want the one in the middle: "blank canvas". Click it once, then choose 8x10 from the size options that appear next.
When your canvas opens, it will be white. There will be a prompt asking you to choose your canvas color. Because I am using a black and white photo, I chose white.
Choose a color that will complement your photo. And the snowflake border will be same color as your background, so make sure the color you pick will show up around the edge of your photo too.
Tip: If you can't get any colors to blend well with your photo, open PicMonkey in a new browser, upload your photo and edit the color etc. using the basic options. Then, save your photo to your computer again and go back to your blank canvas.
2. Place Your Photo On Your Blank Canvas
To upload your photo over the canvas, go attack that butterfly icon on the left. Okay, just click it once. This is the section for overlays. At the top, there is a white box that asks if you want to upload your own.
Click that box, find your photo and open it. It will appear in the center of your canvas.
Once it's on there, you can resize it by dragging the corners, and relocate it by holding down your left mouse button and dragging the image where you want it.
For this card, I'm using the "long and skinny" design concept. That is, I'm putting the photo up high and leaving room for text underneath.
Chances are, you won't be able to center it perfectly. That's okay. You can crop off some of that extra side canvas.
Click that box, find your photo and open it. It will appear in the center of your canvas.
Once it's on there, you can resize it by dragging the corners, and relocate it by holding down your left mouse button and dragging the image where you want it.
For this card, I'm using the "long and skinny" design concept. That is, I'm putting the photo up high and leaving room for text underneath.
Chances are, you won't be able to center it perfectly. That's okay. You can crop off some of that extra side canvas.
Adding the photo to the canvas.
3. Cropping
To crop the canvas so the photo is centered better, go to the left hand table and choose the top icon that looks like slider bars.
Choose crop, and stretch the box to where you want your image to be cut. I cropped so that the side edges would be roughly the same size as the top margin. Kinda like a looooong Polaroid. (Remember those?)
Choose crop, and stretch the box to where you want your image to be cut. I cropped so that the side edges would be roughly the same size as the top margin. Kinda like a looooong Polaroid. (Remember those?)
Crop the edges so they create a nice, even frame.
4. Snowflake Overlays
To find the snowflakes, go to the icon on the left that looks like a...snowflake. That's where you find holiday themes and overlays. (This icon changes for different holidays, but it is always in the same spot.)
Now, go to Winterland, and then down to "Flakery". (How fun is that name?)
Choose your favorite snowflake. I picked the one that is a bit spindly because it resembles my spindly Christmas tree branches. Click it once, and a snowflake will appear (like magic!) on your photo.
Now, go to Winterland, and then down to "Flakery". (How fun is that name?)
Choose your favorite snowflake. I picked the one that is a bit spindly because it resembles my spindly Christmas tree branches. Click it once, and a snowflake will appear (like magic!) on your photo.
5. Resizing and Duplicating Your Snowflake Overlay
Okay. This is the fun part. Grab your snowflake and drag to the edge of your photo. If your background isn't white, use the overlay table to match the color of the snowflake to your canvas.
Make sure part of the snowflake disappears into the background (to create that cool frame effect).
Take the corner of the snowflake and resize it. You will have to sort of eyeball it here to figure about what size you need for your own photo.
Now...you could go open a new snowflake and try to match the size to the first one. But that would take forever. Trust me. I did that before I figured out the "duplicate" option.
To duplicate, right click on the snowflake and menu will appear. Hit duplicate, and done. A brand new snowflake the same size and color as the first.
Once you've done that, drag #2 and fit it next to #1. And repeat.
Make sure part of the snowflake disappears into the background (to create that cool frame effect).
Take the corner of the snowflake and resize it. You will have to sort of eyeball it here to figure about what size you need for your own photo.
Now...you could go open a new snowflake and try to match the size to the first one. But that would take forever. Trust me. I did that before I figured out the "duplicate" option.
To duplicate, right click on the snowflake and menu will appear. Hit duplicate, and done. A brand new snowflake the same size and color as the first.
Once you've done that, drag #2 and fit it next to #1. And repeat.
Resize and drag your snowflake into position and use the overlay box to change the color if desired.
Right-click the overlay and use "duplicate" to make new snowflakes that are all the same size.
6. Finishing Your Snowflake Frame
When you get to the corners, just resize the snowflakes a tiny bit, or turn them slightly to make them fit together well. (You can rotate them by clicking them, and grabbing the circle at the top).
If the overlay pop up box gets in your way while you are working, you can grab it and move it over to the left out of your workspace too.
When you are done, your frame should look something like this:
If the overlay pop up box gets in your way while you are working, you can grab it and move it over to the left out of your workspace too.
When you are done, your frame should look something like this:
7. Adding your Text
Once you are satisfied with your snowflake trim, head to the "T" icon on the left menu. This is where PicMonkey stores all the delicious fonts.
Take a minute and browse for one that fits the mood of your photo. I chose "Coneria Script" for the Merry Christmas greeting, and "Mountains of Christmas" for the second line.
Both of these are available only with the paid PicMonkey account, but there are some cool fonts available with the free version too.
Go ahead and play with the combinations to see what you like, and remember that text can be resized just like the overlays. You can also change the color, and if you go to "effects" in the text pop up box you can add a bit of shadowing.
Got it? Okay. The next step is optional, but I personally like stuff that is a tad "overdone". :)
Take a minute and browse for one that fits the mood of your photo. I chose "Coneria Script" for the Merry Christmas greeting, and "Mountains of Christmas" for the second line.
Both of these are available only with the paid PicMonkey account, but there are some cool fonts available with the free version too.
Go ahead and play with the combinations to see what you like, and remember that text can be resized just like the overlays. You can also change the color, and if you go to "effects" in the text pop up box you can add a bit of shadowing.
Got it? Okay. The next step is optional, but I personally like stuff that is a tad "overdone". :)
8. A Flourishes and Decorations
This one is quick. Go to the overlay icon (the butterfly). Scroll down to "Flourishes". This is a paid option, which is why it is optional.
I chose the snowflake flourish and added it to the end of my text as for a touch of whimsy.
Next look for the overlay option marked "Corners". I picked my favorite design and added it to the corners of the card.
TIP: You can rotate the corners manually, or you can use the "flip" buttons. (Highlighted in one of the photo examples below. Flip makes it a lot faster to line them up straight. You can resize them and change their color as well.
Only one thing left to do!
I chose the snowflake flourish and added it to the end of my text as for a touch of whimsy.
Next look for the overlay option marked "Corners". I picked my favorite design and added it to the corners of the card.
TIP: You can rotate the corners manually, or you can use the "flip" buttons. (Highlighted in one of the photo examples below. Flip makes it a lot faster to line them up straight. You can resize them and change their color as well.
Only one thing left to do!
A Flourish overlay adds a little extra charm. You can place them beside or between text.
Adding corner overlays to dress up that white space.
Use these flippy arrows to get your corner motifs perfect.
9. Adding a Frame
Again, this optional. I just like to have a little something around my edges.
Go to the frame icon:
Go to the frame icon:
Frame icon looks like this...
Choose "Simple Edge". I changed my inner color to black and resized it to 12. Then changed the outer frame to a gray, and resized to 20.
You can play around with edging sizes or choose one of the other frames. Just be careful though. Some of the frames chop off part of your photo.
ANNNND...
You can play around with edging sizes or choose one of the other frames. Just be careful though. Some of the frames chop off part of your photo.
ANNNND...
A finished Christmas card with bling.
Done! Notice that I did go back and add the date under my greeting.
Now you can either save it as is, or you can resize it. You can do that by going to the icon with the slider bars again, clicking on resizes, and typing in your numbers. If you have a fairly decent home printer then you can probably resize it when you print.
Now you can either save it as is, or you can resize it. You can do that by going to the icon with the slider bars again, clicking on resizes, and typing in your numbers. If you have a fairly decent home printer then you can probably resize it when you print.
Merry Christmas!
Hopefully, I've made you a little merry with this tutorial. If you want to make me merry, you can share this with anyone you know who might like DIY'ing stuff.
If not, how about checking out some of my other PicMonkey tutorials?
And if the answer is still no, how about you just promise to have a safe and happy holiday season? (Don't say no again. I'll throw a fruitcake at you.)
And as always, if you have any questions about the tutorial (like if I missed a step or didn't make something clear, or you just wanna know what happens if you push a mysterious button), feel free to ask in the comments below.
Have a great week!
If not, how about checking out some of my other PicMonkey tutorials?
And if the answer is still no, how about you just promise to have a safe and happy holiday season? (Don't say no again. I'll throw a fruitcake at you.)
And as always, if you have any questions about the tutorial (like if I missed a step or didn't make something clear, or you just wanna know what happens if you push a mysterious button), feel free to ask in the comments below.
Have a great week!
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