I'm still digging into Microsoft Publisher 2010 to discover its cool features and its quirks. My latest project is a Halloween card. It's a special card too because I created the Happy Ghost featured in the card in Illustrator by following a cartoon drawing tutorial at our About.com Drawing/Sketching site.
In my first look at Publisher 2010 I did a birthday card from one of the installed templates. I discovered some oddities with the (otherwise rather nifty) color schemes features. This time around I've got you a step-by-step tutorial that shows how to add a background fill, insert and modify clip art, insert a picture, and use WordArt.
I'm starting to get used to the interface but I must say that the come-n-go tabs/menus that appear based on what you have selected can be a little disconcerting. This tutorial focuses mostly on some of the graphics and layout tools. I plan to dig deeper into the text tools in another tutorial. Perhaps I'll do a brochure or short newsletter. I'm accustomed to software that gives you an easy to spot text tool (T) that you can click and start typing (or use to draw a box to start typing) but with Publisher you need to find the right tab to get to the Draw Text box tool. That put me off of doing much text so far. But, my Happy Ghost Halloween Card was fun to do. Follow along and learn a little about Publisher 2010. At the end of the tutorial you can grab my .pub template as well as PNG templates if you don't have Publisher. I've also supplied you with my Happy Ghost illustration that you can use to create a different layout (or entirely different Halloween project) if you wish. Make a Happy Ghost Halloween Card with Publisher 2010.