Create your own personalized greeting cards for any occasion using Microsoft Word, a sheet of card stock and your home printer. While there's nothing wrong with printing a pre-made card, you can easily customize your own card using the Thank You Cards template pre-loaded in Word 2013. This is a basic, versatile template that can be easily adapted for most greeting card uses. All you need is a few minutes of time and a photo or other image you can use as its cover.
Modifying a Card Template
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Step 1
Launch Word. Microsoft Word 2013 automatically shows you a list of templates. If you don't see the templates, select "New" from the File menu. Instead of selecting a blank document, scroll down and select "Thank You Cards." You can customize this template to create a card for any event. To find a card that you don't have to edit much, type a description, like "anniversary cards" or "birthday cards," in the Search field and then download any free template you wish.
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Step 2
Click "Create." The template opens as a new document. Note that the SmartArt graphic for the Thank You Cards template is on the right and duplicated so you can print it on letter-sized paper, cut it in half and fold two cards.
Step 3
Find any image you want to use for the cover in File Explorer. For best results, select an image that is taller than it is wide. Right-click that file and select "Copy." Right click the image in the card and select "Paste." Because you're pasting the image into a Smart Object, your new image automatically fills the space used by the original image. You can resize the image by dragging the anchors that appear on the border or by clicking the image and then selecting the "Format" tab under the Picture Tools section. The Format options include cropping the image, adding a border or adding picture effects.
Step 4
Double-click the text below the image and type your own greeting in its place. To change the text formatting, highlight the text and select the "Format" tab in the SmartArt Tools section. Options include font size, style and color.
Step 5
Scroll down to the second SmartArt graphic on the page. Drag the cursor across the entire graphic and press "Delete" to remove the image, the text and the table containing them. If you're printing only one card, leave the bottom of the page blank to save yourself some printer ink. If you are printing more than one card, select it by pressing "Ctrl-A" and copy it by pressing "Ctrl-C." Click anywhere on the bottom of the page and press "Ctrl-V" to paste a copy of your graphic below the original.
Adding an Inside Message
Step 1
Click any blank area at the bottom of the card's page. Click the "Insert" tab, select "Pages," then "Blank Page." Use this second page to write a message inside the card.
Step 2
Select "Text Box" from the Insert tab. Note the available text box styles and select any style you want. Drag the text box so it's on the right side of the page and in line with the graphic on the first page. To align the text box more easily, make Word's Ruler visible by clicking the "View" menu and then clicking the "Ruler" check box.
Step 3
Remove the border from a plain text box by clicking the "Format" tab under Drawing Tools, selecting "Shape Outline" and then clicking the "White" outline color. While the Format tab is open, change the style by selecting "Quick Styles."
Step 4
Highlight the text in the text box and type your own text in its place. To customize the formatting, highlight the text and then right-click it. From the context menu that opens, you can change the font and color as desired.
Step 5
Drag the "Zoom" slider to the left to take a good look at your card's layout. The text box should be centered beneath the cover graphic. The text box doesn't have to be perfectly centered vertically. In fact, putting it slightly above center will give you room to add a handwritten note and signature below the words.
Printing Your Card
Step 1
Place a sheet of letter-sized card stock in your printer's manual feed. Putting card stock on a paper tray may jam the printer and ruin the sheet.
Step 2
Press "Ctrl-P" while the greeting card is open in Word. Select your printer and click the "Print" button.
Step 3
Cut the card stock in half along the longest edge. For a straight cut, it's best to use a paper cutter. If you're using scissors, measure and mark each edge with a pencil and ruler, then use the ruler to draw a light, straight line to guide your cut.
Step 4
Make a mark at the top and bottom edge of each card using a pencil and ruler. Place the ruler over both marks and then drag a letter opener or butter knife down the middle of the card. This creases the card stock so you can easily fold it. Erase the pencil marks before signing and handing out your homemade card.