Who loves a good giveaway? Continue reading for details on how to win Adobe Photoshop Elements 15 and a $100 gift card to Tiny Prints!

One of my favorite holiday traditions that often gets overlooked is sending out holiday cards. Every year, I say I’m going to do it but it seems to always end up as one of the last items on my long holiday to-do list. This December, I’ve decided to make sending (and displaying) holiday cards a priority because everyone could use a little holiday cheer in their mailbox!

To make the task way less daunting, I used Adobe Photoshop Elements 15 to design my cards. And full disclaimer, my background is in graphic design but with their Guided Edits and Quick Editing mode, it makes designing holiday cards oh-so-doable for even the most novice designer. Just start with a photo you love, spruce up the colors and add some text in your favorite font or two and you’re on your way to creating a show-stopping card.

So you have a ton of photos on your phone but now what? Import them into the Adobe Elements Organizer 15. That’s where you’ll store all your favorites you want to use in your cards. Then do some quick editing using, you guessed it, Quick Edits! See my notes below to learn some photo editing lingo. Keep reading to learn how to create 3 awesome designs and a wreath to display all those cards you receive.

Holiday Photo Editing 101

Use Quick Edits. These built-in shortcuts will make editing your photos a breeze. Below are my favorite ones to use.

Exposure – adjust the overall lightness or darkness of the photo
Lighting – adjust the lights, midtones and shadows separately
Balance – control the overall temperature of the photo
Sharpen – adjust the slider to add a little clarity to the photo

Add Effects

Within Quick Edits there’s an Effect panel that has tons of fun filters that are perfect for instantly making a photo holiday card worthy.

Here's an overview of the photo effects in Adobe Photoshop Elements 15

Designing and printing your own holiday photo cards is easier than you think when you use Adobe Photoshop Elements 15.

Learn how to make your own holiday photo cards

Watch the video below for the step-by-step tutorial.

Create a Photo Collage Card

Gather your favorite photos from the year, edit them in Adobe Photoshop Elements 15 and then use them to create a photo collage card in just a few clicks.

Select photos you want to use from the Adobe Elements 15 Organizer (command + click to select them).
Click Editor at the bottom to open them in Adobe Photoshop Elements 15.
Create > Photo Collage > Size: 8.5” x 11”; Theme: Basic
Layouts > Select the layout you want depending on how many photos you want to use
Switch to advanced mode for more background and frame options!
Graphics > Choose your background and edit the photo frame (you must click on the frame you want to change before you choose the frame)
Add text. Use the Horizontal Type Tool to add text.
Print it out. Change the print size to 5” x 7” so it will fit in an standard A7 size envelope and print it out on glossy or matte photo paper and trim it to 5” x 7”.

Create a Watercolor Photo Card

Edit your photo first using my Holiday Photo Editing 101 tips above.
Guided > Fun Edits > Painterly.
Select a paint brush tool by choosing one from the presets menu. Adjust the size, opacity (aka transparency), and angle and stamp directly on top of your photo. You can add or subtract from the image by selecting hide or show from the brush menu.
Paint away the edges of the photo and be sure to keep faces and other important details. Select a white canvas color and click next. Save As and continue editing in Quick mode.
Select the horizontal type tool. Add text and adjust the size and color to your liking.

The word merry on the photo card above is the font Manhattan Darling—one of my faves!

Don't stuff your holiday cards in a drawer, display them this season on a easy to make card wreath!

Make a wreath to display your holiday cards on!

Supplies

wire wreath
spray paint (optional)
2″ medium clothespins
hot glue gun + glue sticks
gold glitter cardstock
scissors
3 yards pom pom trim
large red bow

Directions

Optional: spray paint the wire wreath (I used Molotow spray paint in lagoon blue light) using a couple light coats. Allow it to dry completely.
Cut out stars using scissors and the star template. Use hot glue to adhere them to the medium clothespins.
Wrap the wreath frame with pom pom garland and secure each end with a small amount of hot glue. Trim the ends. Attach a large red wreath bow to the center and then your wreath is ready to be used.

DIY Holiday Card Display Wreath

I love Christmas cards but I hate never having a place to put them.

Problem solved with this easy DIY card wreath created with Adobe Photoshop Elements.

Posted by Sarah Hearts on Wednesday, December 14, 2016

Who loves free stuff?

As a bonus, I am also doing a fun giveaway with Adobe Photoshop Elements 15! Share your holiday cards or holiday photos you edited with Adobe Photoshop Elements using #ElementsCreators through the portal below to be entered to win a $100 gift card to Tiny Prints and a box of Photoshop Elements 15 (a $150 value). Three winners will be randomly selected, so what are you waiting for?

Be sure to share your project using #ElementsCreators to be eligible for a chance to win! Ready to get started? Download a free 30-day trial of Photoshop Elements 15 to start creating! Giveaway ends on December 28th at midnight PST.

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