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Computer Crafting Articles

The Many Ways Computers Can Be Used In Crafting

It’s simply amazing how much crafting you can do by computer. You are no longer confined to greeting cards. You can now make calendars, design quilts, print on fabric, use decals to add color and uniqueness to just about any craft, print your artwork on canvas textured paper to give it the look of an oil painting and much, much more. I got started in crafting making business and greeting cards and have since branched out. But I still do a lot of computer crafting. Here is a list of all the computer crafting articles on the site. If you can’t find what you’re looking for, use the search box or click on the contact link on the bottom of this page and send me your questions.

Introduction to Computer Crafting

Computer Crafting
The gateway to all computer crafting articles.

Digital Scrapbooking

Broderbund Scrapbooking Boutique
An easy to use, versatile program.

Digital Scrapbooking, Part One

Digital Scrapbooking, Part Two

Digital Scrapbooking, Part Three

Digital Scrapbooking, Part Four

Digital Scrapbooking, Part Five

Digital Scrapbooking, Part Six

Digital Scrapbooking, Part Seven

Digital Scrapbooking Journal, Part Eight

Digital Scrapbooking Journal, Part Nine

Digital Scrapbooking Journal, Part Ten

Digital Scrapbooking Journal, Part Eleven

Digital Scrapbooking Journal, Part Twelve

Digital Scrapbooking Journal, Part Thirteen

Digital Scrapbooking Journal, Part Fourteen

Digital Scrapbooking Journal, Part Fifteen

Digital Scrapbooking Journal, Part Sixteen

Digital Scrapbooking Journal, Part Seventeen

Digital Scrapbooking Journal, Part Eighteen

Digital Scrapbooking Journal, Part Nineteen

Digital Scrapbooking Journal, Part Twenty

Digital Scrapbooking Journal, Part Twenty One

Digital Scrapbooking Journal, Part Twenty Two

Digital Scrapbooking Journal, Part Twenty Three

Digital Scrapbooking Journal, Part Twenty Four

Digital Scrapbooking Journal, Part Twenty Five

Copyrights on Digital Elements
Commercial use of digital elements of Adobe Photoshop.

Digital French Board
How to recreate a french board using digital graphics.

Digital Graphic Wedding Gift
Make a very personalized wedding gift using digital graphic techniques.

Create A Digital Patterned Alphabet
How to design your own patterned alphabet.

Digital Photo Manipulation
Enhancing your photos.

Digital Scrapbooking Embellishments
How to make digital embellishments.

Digital Scrapbooking Tutorials - Part One
Learn how to create and build your own digital scrapbooking elements.

Digital Scrapbooking Tutorials - Part Two
Learn how to create and build your own digital scrapbooking elements.

Digitally Designed Valentines Day Card
Add WOW to handmade cards using digital styles.

Digital Watermark
Protect your art online.

Digital Window Envelopes
Adding digital designs to envelopes.

How to Make a Digital Tag
How to create a three dimensional looking tag for your layouts.

Out of Bounds - OOB - Photos
Creating the OOB digital effect.

Photoshop Actions
Using Photoshop actions to enhance your digital artwork.

Photo Collage Software
Easy to use Photo Collage 2.06.

Pocket Folder
How to make a personalized pocket folder using digital graphics and scrapbooking techniques.

Post-It Note Holder
A note holder made with digital scrapbooking techniques.

Selling Digital Images at the Buyers Market of American Craft (BMAC)
A sales outlet for fine original artwork.

Greeting Card and Printing Help

3-D Botanical Print Note Cards
How to create a 3-D effect when making note cards.

Unique Bookmarks
How to design unique bookmarks using digital tools.

Business Card Design and Printing Tips - Part One
How to make original, professional looking business cards.

Business Card Design and Printing Tips - Part Two
More tips on how to make original, professional looking business cards.

Altered CD Envelopes
Dress up the lowly CD envelope by adding digital artwork - with a Valentine's Day Theme.

Celebrate Card
A digitally designed festive party invitation.

Changing Graphics Formats
One way to switch to a graphics format unsupported by your program.

Child Art Christmas Card
How to feature your child's art on your family Christmas cards.

Clip Art and Royalty Free Images
Artwork for commerical greeting cards.

Coloring Book Pages
Make your own coloring books using greeting card software.

Coordinated Gift Bag and Card
Use your computer to make a bag and card that will wow the birthday gal.

Open Door Card Design
An original card design ideal for open house invitations.

Create Your Own Line of Greeting Cards
Add your own custom logo to each greeting card you send or sell to help you get more orders for you work.

Creating Two Sided Graphics
How to create two sided cards.

Dinner for Two Gift Card Idea
For the gal or guy who has everything.

Folies Earrings Directions
How to make original earrings using your computer.

How to Make a Giant Check
Ideal for special presentations.

Graphics Craft Tips
Ways to work easier and save money on your graphics crafts.

Graphics Formats
Graphics formats for animated greeting cards.

Greeting Card Software Copyrights
Using greeting card software to produce commercial products.

Hand Drawn Cards
Transferring your drawings onto greeting cards.

Hand Embossing Custom Printed Wedding Place Cards
How to design, print and emboss custom made wedding place cards.

Help for Greeting Card Novices
Advice for beginning greeting card makers.

HP Photosmart
Solving greeting card alignment problems.

Laminated Tasseled Bookmarks
How to make original bookmarks.

Making Unique Greeting Cards
How to get started designing your own greeting cards.

Matchbook Favors
Suitable for all occasions.

Menu with Cord
How to make an elegant menu for a fancy dinner party.

Peek-a-Boo Card Design
An excellent card design for smaller children's birthdays.

Pop-Up Place Cards
Place cards for any occassion.

Print to Edge
Print to edge tradeoffs.

Printing High Quality Greeting Cards
How to get the most out of PrintShop.

Return Address Labels
How to make return address labels.

Using Print Shop to Enhance Original Artwork
How to use Print Shop to manipulate your artwork.

Printing Greeting Cards
More tips on how to get the most out of your greeting card program.

Scanning Objects
Use your scanner to scan ordinary objects to make original backgrounds for printed paper crafts.

Then & Now Anniversary Card
A card idea that can be used to commemorate any milestone.

Wedding Invitations
Composing elegant wedding invitations in MS Word.

Window Envelopes
Adding color and interest to your envelopes.

More Window Envelope Ideas
Adding color and interest to your envelopes.

Developing Wine Corsets
How to come up with new craft ideas.

Computer Hardware

Computer Setup for Computer Crafts
What your computer set up should be to handle computer crafting graphics software well.

Digital Tools Every Crafter Should Consider Owning - Part One
A digital camera is a digital tool any crafter interested in visual arts should own.

Digital Tools Every Crafter Should Consider Owning - Part Two
A scanner is a digital tool any crafter interested in visual arts should own.

Graphics Tablets
Draw or write directly to your computer using graphics tablets. A comparison of popular models.

Scanning Tips
Smart scanning.

Think Inkjet
Advanced tips to create special effects with your inkjet printer.

Printers for Graphics Crafts
My recommendation for an excellent, inexpensive printer that handle computer crafted graphics very well.

Printers for Invitations
Best printers for computer graphics.

Large Format Printers
Large format printers can be useful for craft work.

Computer Craft Ideas

Apron Graphic Designs
Adding original art to an apron.

"Costume" Earrings
How to make earring to match your wardrobe.

Decaled Bath Set
Dress up bathroom accessories with waterslide decals.

Decaled Soap
Make fancy decorated gift soaps using decals.

Adding Your Designs to Glass
Methods for permanently adding designs to glass.

Craft Ideas: How to Make an Artist Calendar
How to create a calendar using your personal art.

The Art of Collage
A history of collage along with instructions and tips on how to do it yourself.

Make Your Own Puzzles
Image transfer methods for pre-made puzzles.

Mint Matchbooks
Use your computer to make mint matchbook party or wedding favors.

Quick Fuse Photos to Tiles
An easy way to add photos or original artwork to tiles.

Sew On Cloth Labels
How to make cloth labels using your computer.

Stationery Set
How to make your own matching stationery.

Wine Corsets
Dress up your holiday wine gifts.

Printer Ink

Dye Sublimation Inks
Why dye sublimation inks are so expensive and where you can buy them cheaper, at least for now.

Ink & Cartridges: How to Save Money
The best ways to save money on your printing jobs.

Other Uses for Your Computer

Bubble Jet Tips – How to Print on Fabric
How to use Bubble Jet Set & Rinse to treat fabric so that you can print almost anything on it with your computer & printer.

Decorative Note Card Box Pattern
How to make a decorative box to match your note cards.

Finding and Making Specialized Decals
Finding designs and printing decals for model airplanes.

French Decals
Where to find French motif decals.

Quilting & Technology
How to make unique fabric designs using your computer and printer.

Custom Tile Designs
How to transfer your artwork to tiles.

Lazertran Waterslide Decals
How to add your artwork to just about anything using these versatile decals.

Waterslide Decals for Hard Surfaces
Tips on adding decaled designs to metal, glass and ceramics.

Home Curing Waterslide Decals
How to make the decaled surface more durable.

Lazertran Silk
This product allows you to add artwork to fabrics and polymer clay.

Create Custom Decals for Golf Balls & for Craft Projects
Use your computer to print custom decals that adhere to just about any surface. An inexpensive method to differentiate your crafts.

Custom Wallpaper
Tips on how to make custom wallpaper borders.

Wedding Stencils
Where to find stencils suitable for handmade wedding invitations.

Patterns & Templates

Decorative Note Card Box Pattern
How to make a decorative box to match your note cards.

Della Robia Wine Glass Collars
A colorful way to identify wine glasses at a party. It also makes a nice place setting.

Golden Leaves of Autumn Place Cards
A colorful place card pattern to print out on your computer.

Home Decorating Patterns
Use your computer and printer to jazz up your house. Computer Crafts courtesy of Good Housekeeping Magazine and HP.

Make Your Own Themed Party Paper Goods
Plans and ideas on creating your own themed party paper goods.

Paper Mini-Gift Bag Pattern
A simple to make mini gift bag for small treasures.

Patterns & Templates for Your Computer
Patterns for everything from greeting cards, to wrapping paper, to scrapbook pages to quilt patterns, all free from printer manufacturers.

Customized Tote Bag Pattern
This is a pattern of one of my personal best sellers, a self-enclosed tote with a customized logo.

Photo Correction & Enhancement

Artistic Effects Using Photoshop
Some easy to do, but special, effects that you can do using Adobe Photoshop to make your computer crafts original.

Black & White to Sepia Photo Manipulation
How to convert black & white photos to sepia prints.

Bring Out the Details
How to correct lighting problems.

Color to Sepia Photo Manipulation
How to go from a color photo to a sepia print using Photoshop or Print Shop.

The Evil Red Eye
Banish red eye.

Composition & Enhancement
Turn a photo into a portrait.

Computer Software

Backup Your Digital Artwork
How to protect your digital pictures and artwork from a computer crash.

Calendar Creator Express
An easy way to make unique calendars.

Cookbook Software
User friendly cookbook software.

A Copyright Question
Greeting Card software publishers prohibit the commercial use of their artwork.

Avoiding Software Copyright Problems
Avoiding copyright problems when using software problems.

Cross-Stitch & Embroidery Design Software
A review of PC Stitch an easy to use software program which converts any image, including photographs, into a cross-stitch or embroidery pattern.

Graphics Programs for Crafters
From beginner to advanced, reviews of the most popular greeting card and graphics software programs available.

Greeting Cards Design Software
How to get started making your own greeting cards.

Photoshop Basics
Tips to shorten the Photoshop learning curve.

Printing Tips for Print Shop
Tips for printing greeting cards using Print Shop.

Professional Graphics Programs
Graphics programs for professional users.

Quilting Design Software
A review of quilting design software programs that help you design and construct original quilts.

Windows Vista Problems
Is Windows Vista compatible with graphics programs?

More About Vista
More problems and workarounds with Windows Vista.

Computer Supplies

Supplies for Computer Graphics
Tips and ideas on how to produce low-cost, high-quality computer graphic crafts, along with a list of recommended supplies.

Computer Crafting Tips

Can You Use Photoshop to Create Greeting Cards
Is Photoshop the best greeting card software program?

Crafting by Computer
How to use the computer for everything from greeting cards, to brochures to printed fabrics. How to get started in computer crafting.

How To Adjust Patterns Using Your Word Processor
Simple steps to resize your craft patterns.

How to Choose the Right Paper for Your Craft Project
Tips, ideas and a paper weight chart to help you find the best paper to use for your computer craft project.

Raster vs. Vector
Digital graphics tips.

Holiday Crafts

Christmas

Christmas Bookmark Pattern
An easy CreataCard computer crafting project for a kindergarten class looking to make.

Digital Images for Handmade Ornaments
How to transfer digital images to handmade ornaments.

Mothers Day

A Digital Mothers Day Card
Step-by-step instructions for making your own digital card designs.

Valentine's Day

A-Mazing Heart Valentines Day Cards
Be inspired by these winners in our Valentine's Day Card Contest.

Valentines Bagalope
A cute Valentines Day gift bag.

Thanksgiving

Goofy Turkey Place Card Pattern
Add some fun to your Thanksgiving table with this fun place card pattern.

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