How to Make Personal Graduation Stationery

Looking for graduation stationery? You can save money and personalize your stationery by making it at home. You don't need high-end software or an artist's eye to create attractive and affordable stationery.

First, look for graduation clipart. If you have Microsoft® products on your computer, you can download free clipart and graphics. Click on "Clip Art" and start searching. You can also use the phrase "free graduation clipart" on a search engine to locate many sites that offer clipart free of charge. When you find an image you want, you may either save the image by right-clicking it, selecting the "Save As" option, and specifying a location to save the image; or you may right-click the image, select the "Copy" option, and paste it into your word processor document.

A more time-consuming--but more personalized--option is to create your own clipart. If you don't want to spend all day at this task, you have a few easy ways to do this. You can use the basic drawing tools in your word processor to create simple pictures. Say, for instance, you want to create your own graduation cap. Click the command to insert a drawing into your blank document. Mentally break the image down into simple shapes: a small circle for the button, a diamond for the top, and a curved polygon for the bottom (see Figure 1). Position the shapes and add any other basic shapes or details you think are necessary to complete your clipart skeleton (see Figure 2). Add color, if you wish, and layer shapes by sending certain ones to the back or front of other shapes (see Figure 3). If you add color, don't forget fill effects and shadows. With a click of a button, you can add some depth to your clipart. Add any finishing details, such as the tassel. (see Figure 4). When you are done, you can move this group of images as one unit and position it in your document.