DIY Birth Announcement Using PicMonkey

diy birth announcement

Over the past few days, I’ve been sharing what it took to come up with the above birth announcement for my sweet little girl starting with the photos and today, the design!  No fancy photo editing software, no problem!  Wow your friends and family by creating your own DIY birth announcement using a FREE program, PicMonkey*.

How did I decide to use PicMonkey*?  Well, I tried to use a pre-made design for my announcement from one of those photo sites in which you just plug in a photo and all the information. I didn’t have a lot of time with a new baby constantly needing access to milk and an active preschooler running around. I wanted to like an easy option from one of those just plug in your info sites… I just couldn’t get into it.  Either my photo was never right for the design, or I wanted the font different, or you know, something that those sites don’t let you change about the design.  And that’s wonderful they have fancy designers make all of those great templates, but I like what I like, and I want things how I want them.  If that sounds like you, designing your own can be a reality with an easy to use free program, like PicMonkey*.  I use PicMonkey* quite frequently for blog related things, so I’m pretty familiar with it, but I do believe it’s pretty self explanatory and not too hard navigate.

Here is what I came up with:

birth announcement by laceandyarn.com

NOTE: This is NOT a tutorial on how to use PicMonkey*.  Looking for a tutorial?  Check out their blog for great tutorials and more tips.

Like my design?  Check out some of my quick tips below in how I created my design.

Design tips

 1.  Turn Text

diy birth announcement by laceandyarn.com

This seems like such a simple thought, but has high design impact.  Trust me.  This simple trick can turn your design from bland to “wow” in seconds.

2.  Get creative with overlays

diy birth announcement by laceandyarn.com

Overlays add so much to your design.  Play with them! Here, I added a leafy stem to both edges of phrases to set them off.  The pink strip at the bottom and the heart below the name are also overlays.  The possibilities are endless, get creative!

3.  Fade overlays

diy birth announcement by laceandyarn.com

Again, such a simple idea, with huge design bang.  Faded overlays are great for under text, or just for show.  Fade your overlays by changing the percentage in the pop up overlay box.

 

Well, those are my quick tips.  Enjoy, and happy creating!

PicMonkey Photo editing made of win

 

*This post contains an affiliate link, see the privacy policy and disclosure for more information.

**Although PicMonkey is free, they do have a paid subscription to use some of the features (some extra overlays, fonts, and other features).  I pay for those extra features, as you can see in my design, however, you can still make a great design using their free features!

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