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Mrs. Bunny, Columbus Age and Occupation: 24, Associate Editor/Reporter Fiance's Age and Occupation: 27, Reporter Engagement Date: September 23, 2008 Wedding Date: July 2009 Venue: Everal Barn, Westerville About Me: Organized, but messy. I love art (all kinds). I don't have any secrets. I talk a lot and listen even more. I show love by baking. I'm timid by nature, but brave when it counts. Mr. Bunny and I work at competing weekly newspapers, which makes it a little interesting trying to describe our work joys and frustrations without giving away too much before the paper comes out. In spite of that little hurdle, we've managed to build a pretty solid relationship in the short one-and-a-half years we will have been together when we tie the knot. I can't wait!
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InDesign How-To

May 28th, 2009 @ 10:27 am by Mrs. Bunny

I designed my STDs to look like handwritten vintage postcards using the trial version of Adobe InDesign.

After downloading and installing InDesign on my MacBook, I started by creating a new 6″ x 4″ document.

InDesign How-To :  wedding diy tutorial 12 1

The program automatically converts inches into picas (that’s the “p” you see in the box there).

Now you should have this:

InDesign How-To :  wedding diy tutorial 21 2

I used the line tool (sixth button from the top on the left toolbar) to draw a line down the center of the postcard. See that box at the top of the screen that says 1 pt? That’s the thickness of the line. Currently, the line is 1 point thick. If you want a thicker or thinner line, just increase or decrease the number in that box.

InDesign How-To :  wedding diy tutorial 31 3

Next, I went online in search of some sweet vintage-looking fonts on 1001 Free Fonts.

My first find was Calamity Jane. I installed it and started working on the ‘Save the Date’ logo for the top of the card:

InDesign How-To :  wedding diy tutorial 4 4

The little “T” button on the left allows you to create text boxes. The logo for the top of the card is made of three separate text boxes because it’s easier to position the text exactly how you want it in relation to each other if each word is in its own box.

But then I ran into a problem. Calamity Jane in all caps is nearly unreadable, and I wanted to have the flexibility to use all caps for the text at the top of the card.

InDesign How-To :  wedding diy tutorial 5 5

Instead, I ended up choosing Nickelodeon, another font from 1001 Free Fonts, for the card text.

InDesign How-To :  wedding diy tutorial 6 6

Next, I found a nice handwriting font for the message. I used Popsies.

InDesign How-To :  wedding diy tutorial 7 7

I made another small text box where the stamp will go. I’m not even sure why I did this, because I’ll probably be the only one who will see them! Oh well. I think they’re cute!

InDesign How-To :  wedding diy tutorial 8 8

It’s just another text box, except I used this handy tool:

InDesign How-To :  wedding diy tutorial 9 9

The stroke button on the right side of the screen. It allows me to change the width and style of the text box outline. Mine is a 1 pica Thick-Thin outline.

I was pretty much done, but I thought the top of the card looked a little plain, so I went hunting for a vintage-y flourish to put at the top underneath the logo. I downloaded Dividers and Dividers II dings from House of Lime. They work just like fonts. I drew a text box and picked out a ding I liked.

InDesign How-To :  wedding diy tutorial 10 10

Ta-da! The completed backside of the STD.

I’ll show you the fronts soon!

Tags: diy, tutorial |
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28 Responses to “InDesign How-To”

1 2 

1.
Bee Icon
Bee
Miss Yorkie (message)  1,291 posts, Bumble bee

You’ve just helped soooo many people! :o)

 
2.
Miss Mary Jane
Bee
Miss Mary Jane (message)  1,970 posts, Buzzing bee

Thanks for the tips! I love photoshop, but I’m an InDesign virgin.

 
3.
ljcadv
Member
ljcadv (message)  143 posts, Blushing bee

great job! i wish more people used InDesign! it’s a great tool and actually pretty easy to use!

 
4.
Guest Icon
Guest
Laura

Is adobe software really expensive?

i’ve been looking online and have downloaded the trials.

i love what you can do with the program but it seems expensive to purchase.

 
5.
Bee Icon
Bee
Miss Duckling (message)  1,415 posts, Bumble bee

What a great tutorial!! Thanks for putting it together.

 
6.
JennyBryde
Member
JennyBryde (message)  1,168 posts, Bumble bee

YOU ARE A GODDESS! lol thanks for posting this! It is incredibly helpful!

 
7.
Guest Icon
Guest
Sarah

You can change the pica thing by (on a mac) going to the InDesign menu -> Preferences -> Units & Increments and changing your Ruler Units to Inches. Not that many people, even designers, use picas anymore even though its the default setting. InDesign is a great program though and fairly intuitive!

 
8.
Guest Icon
Guest
Alexis

I would love to buy a copy of InDesign…but it’s a little out of my price range. Can you recommend another program that is similar but a little less expensive?

 
9.
teeleaf22
Member
teeleaf22 (message)  475 posts, Helper bee

So great to see this post. I downloaded the trial version of indesign last night and I felt so overwhelmed.. I had no idea what to do!!!!! I am so challenged when it comes to that stuff.

 
10.
Bee Icon
Bee
Miss Bunny (message)  349 posts, Helper bee

@Laura and Alexis– Check the comments on my last post to see some good suggestions for alternative programs. People posted some really great options, and many of them were free!

 
11.
dckerry
Member
dckerry (message)  29 posts, Newbee

Thank you for this tutorial! Very helpful!!!

 
12.
Guest Icon
Guest
mauralea

just wanted to mention…

with postcards you have to be careful about leaving enough room across the bottom for the post office to put their mailing stuff, otherwise your text/images might be covered up by an ugly postal bar. vistaprint.com has a template you can download that is helpful.

 
13.
Bee Icon
Bee
Mrs. Flamingo (message)  1,366 posts, Bumble bee

Is that CS4 i see…. ——-> Mrs.Flamingo is jealous!!!
You did a great job… and I agree readers will learn so much with this tutorial.

 
14.
MightySapphire
Hostess
MightySapphire (message)  7,632 posts, Bee Keeper

Such a shame you had to cover that “Stamp” box, it’s too cute!!

 
15.
Bee Icon
Bee
Miss Bunny (message)  349 posts, Helper bee

@Mrs. Flamingo — No need for jealousy. It’s just the trial version (which is long expired). I had to use CS2 for my invites and my other materials.

 
16.
tessabella76
Hostess
tessabella76 (message)  3,122 posts, Sugar bee

Thanks so much Miss Bunny! Even though I’m using Publisher, this was still a great help to me!

 
17.
Bee Icon
Bee
Miss Piglet (message)  1,045 posts, Bumble bee

Sweet! I’m a total newbie with InDesign, and always wondered if I was doing it right. Thanks, Miss B!

 
18.
purpleHaze79
Member
purpleHaze79 (message)  874 posts, Busy bee

I love InDesign =)

I love the vintage look! Can’t wait to see the fronts!

 
19.
Miss French Bulldog
Bee
Miss French Bulldog (message)  7,730 posts, Bee Keeper

Thank you so much, this will totally help me when I get my InDesign :)

 
20.
MaPo
Member
MaPo (message)  315 posts, Helper bee

This is such a cute idea. I love the handwriting font!

 
1 2 

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Mrs. Bunny
Mrs. Bunny

Mrs. Bunny, Columbus Age and Occupation: 24, Associate Editor/Reporter Fiance's Age and Occupation: 27, Reporter Engagement Date: September 23, 2008 Wedding Date: July 2009 Venue: Everal Barn, Westerville About Me: Organized, but messy. I love art (all kinds). I don't have any secrets. I talk a lot and listen even more. I show love by baking. I'm timid by nature, but brave when it counts. Mr. Bunny and I work at competing weekly newspapers, which makes it a little interesting trying to describe our work joys and frustrations without giving away too much before the paper comes out. In spite of that little hurdle, we've managed to build a pretty solid relationship in the short one-and-a-half years we will have been together when we tie the knot. I can't wait!

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