I'm a little embarrassed to say that I'm not a Photoshop person (at least yet). Nothing against it, but I've just never taken the time to purchase and learn it.
As such, I have learned to do pretty much everything I want to do using Microsoft Word. And there's a part of me (OK, quite a bit of me! LOL) that enjoys the challenge of using the resources I have on hand to mimic something that should take quite a bit more. Kind of like knock-off decor, right? Here's a case in point!
As such, I have learned to do pretty much everything I want to do using Microsoft Word. And there's a part of me (OK, quite a bit of me! LOL) that enjoys the challenge of using the resources I have on hand to mimic something that should take quite a bit more. Kind of like knock-off decor, right? Here's a case in point!
Awhile back, I saw a great Photoshop tutorial on the Creating Keepsakes blog about offset titles. I have always loved the look of offset printing, and I knew right away that while Photoshop MAY make it easier there is no way you NEED Photoshop to achieve this look!
This is the piece created in Photoshop using the technique described in the tutorial. I love the look and thought to myself...OK, challenge accepted! :)
First, I identified the various elements I would need to recreate:
* Large block text at bottom...okay, no prob!
* Outline text slightly offsetting the block text...sure, there is an outline feature in Word!
* Small script text word at top...easy!
So I created three text boxes in Word, layering them and positioning them to achieve the same look. With a little knowledge of text boxes, this is a very simple process.
1) Block text: I opened a Word document and created a blank text box with the "fill" set to to "no fill" and the wrapping set to "tight". Then I typed a large title in a blocky font. I chose the font "Impact" and set the size at 72. I chose this font because its chunky letters are all the same height. I selected a light color so my outline would show well.
2) Outline text: Next I copied and pasted the same text box elsewhere on the blank page, changing the wrapping to "in front of text". (This allows the outline text to sit directly on top of the solid text without hiding it.) In the "font" box, there is an option for "text effects". With the text highlighted, I chose a solid black outline and set the fill to "no fill".
3) Layer the two text boxes: Then I simply layered the solid font with the outline font by positioning the text boxes on top of each other. I looked carefully at the original example to see exactly where the outline was positioned in relation to the solid text. As you can see, the outline is slightly to the left of the solid text.
4) Small script text: The final piece of this title is the small text at top. I created a blank text box, then chose a scripty font. There are many options for this, but I chose my favorite script font "Jenna Sue" and set the size to 26. I set the text box fill to "no fill" and the wrapping to "in front of text".
5) Final placement: Finally, I put it all together by sliding the script text into place. Once the pieces were positioned properly, I simply grouped the text boxes so that the three elements would stay linked together, wherever I moved them.
There you go! Easy layered title in Word. No Photoshop required. If you're not a Photoshop user, I hope you'll give this a try. You'll see how easy it is to create great titles with no fancy tools whatsoever! :)
Janet
That's funny - I won't even put a picture or a table into Word. If it gets even that complicated but not compacted enough for Photoshop, I head into either Powerpoint or Excel right away. I can't stand working in Word for anything but the simplest of documents. You've really conquered something there!!!!
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