#Christmas Ads – Two New Samples

/ Marcia Meara

These were the quickest and easiest to make so far, and I hope some of you might be inspired to do something similar! Again, if I were running a sale, I’d add another line saying “On Sale Today,” or something similar. But I want to use these all season, so I went with Merry Christmas, instead. I can see doing these as Beach Reads in the summer, or as Halloween Reads, if your books are spooky. You can tailor the image and the wording as needed. And, I made these the size of Facebook headers, so I can use them there, too, if I want.

Hope you’ll have fun making your own. 🙂

24 thoughts on “#Christmas Ads – Two New Samples”

    • Thanks, Darlene. I work in PaintShop Pro, which is like Photoshop, only not quite so pricey. That’s the same program I used for all my digital artwork that I shared a couple weeks ago. I have to stick to fairly simple designs right now, because I still haven’t figured out how to do a lot of stuff since I upgraded. (“New & Improved” usually means “Wrecked Beyond Repair” you know. 😀 )

      Glad you like them! 🙂

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        • Yes, PSP is a huge, very versatile program, and but at under $200 is a much better deal for people who aren’t full time graphic artists (like my cover designer), who can justify paying hundreds more for Photoshop. I did digital painting for a living for a few years, so I was willing to invest a reasonable amount but not what Photoshop cost at that time, which I think was about $900, or the like. But for simple graphics like these two, I believe you could do it in Canva or possibly even in Paint, which comes with Windows. And there are other free graphics apps out there that would probably work, too. I just already have the bigger one, and use it for everything. 🙂

          Yeah, I have other translations for the phrase “New and Improved,” too, but most of them I wouldn’t say in public. 😯 😀

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  3. Okay, you’re putting me to shame. I really should take the time and make a few holiday memes.
    What can I say, Marcia, except they are definitely eye-catching and infused with the spirit of the holiday? I can tell you’re having fun and you’ve got a knack for these! 🙂

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    • Canva would likely work fine with simple images and backgrounds like these two. I just use the “bigger” program because I have it, since it was the program that allowed me to do my custom pet portraits, and other electron pen/Wacom tablet drawings. It has tons of gadgets, bells, and whistles I’ve never even tried, and which are certainly not needed for basic graphics with text. Can’t wait to see what you do, so don’t forget to share. 🙂

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    • Thanks, Linda! PaintShop Pro is a full painting program that will do almost everything Photoshop will, for a far more reasonable price. That’s what I used for years, to paint those pet portraits I shared here a couple weeks ago, etc. There is definitely a learning curve involved with the newest build, though, and I haven’t had time to master it yet. But I can at least work in layers, so I can switch things around. For instance, I didn’t like the background color of the Santa Clause image above. Because it was on a separate transparent layer, I just flood filled that layer with the parchment color, and voila. No need to start over. when you have everything positioned like you want, you click on Merge All/Flatten, and voila! It’s ready to save as a .jpg.

      I have never tried to do more than add text under (or beside) a slide image in PowerPoint, but in PSP, I can use filters, add drop shadows, bevels, and all sorts of other tricks, so it’s definitely more versatile, if that’s what you need. 0:

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  8. These look fabulous. I’ve always liked the idea of a themed book graphic. Like you said: Beach Reads, Holiday Reads, Halloween Reads… Awesome. I lack the talent and software but people swear by Canva. I’ve been wanting to do one of these for a bit now… 🙂

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    • Thanks, Sarah, and I’m sure you don’t need an expensive program to do basic memes like these. I just happen to have one because I did digital painting for a living, once upon a time. I’ve used Canva once or twice, and found it simple and easy, and I’m sure you could do something you’d like with it. And that FREE thing is a pretty big plus. You should take a look at it. I’ll bet you’d be surprised at how easy it is to work with. They even have templates, borders, and other things to spruce your image up before you add text to it. 🙂

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        • Like I told Mary, what have you got to lose? Chances are, you’ll come up with something fun and useful, but if you don’t, you can just delete it. It’s worth trying, and you might find out you enjoy it. I think it’s fun, myself. 😀 And thanks for the kind words about my painting. I thoroughly enjoyed it for quite a few years. (But not as much as I enjoy writing!) 😀

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