Is your child restless from being indoors during this cold, wintery season? KODAK EASYSHARE Software v7.1, for Windows, comes to the rescue, again, with a couple of print at home Valentine's Day projects that will surely keep your child busy.

For their school's holiday party and card exchange, your children can easily create personalized photo Valentine's Day cards using a similar method as described step-by-step in my last post. Visit the Creative Projects tab and launch the ARCSOFT PRINT CREATIONS Quarter- Fold Greeting Card module. Depending on how you downloaded the software, the five free Valentine's Day templates may not have been installed. To add those templates, simply click "Get More Templates" in the upper right hand corner of the application.

To create the card, select a Valentine's Day design and drag and drop an image of a classmate into the template. Save the project as a picture and open the jpeg in KODAK EASYSHARE Software. Crop down to size and bring the pictures into the Print at Home tab. Since children's Valentine's Day cards are traditionally smaller in size, I selected the 2.5" x 3.25" option. When printing on standard size photo paper, 9 cards will fit on each page.



When sending Valentine's Day cards to family members, have your child add an even more personalized (and fun) touch. After selecting a favorite picture of your child, creating the card in ARCSOFT PRINT CREATIONS, and importing the jpeg back into KODAK EASYSHARE Software, open the image in the editor. Choose "Fun Effects" and then "Coloring Book."
 


I would recommend printing a bigger image, such as a 5" x 7" or 8" x 10", so that it is easier for your child to color. Most markers will work on glossy picture paper, but if your child is still in the crayon phase, use normal printer paper.

Want more templates? As a special promotion, we are offering free access to ARCSOFT PRINT CREATIONS Valentine's Day Quarter-Fold Greeting Card templates. The Valentine's Day ones are considered premium templates, but if you use coupon code "greeting09" before February 15, 2009, you can use them for free. If you want to purchase the additional Album Page premium templates, use coupon code "valentine09" for 20% off. Visit www.kodak.com/go/valentines for more information.
 

How can it be this late in December already? The holidays are fast approaching, you have a hundred things to do (like send out your holiday cards and plan your dinner party), and you are trying to watch your budget. Well have no fear, KODAK EASYSHARE Software v7.1 is to the rescue!

The new Creative Projects tab in KODAK EASYSHARE Software v7.1 gives you access  to hundreds of templates for printing quarter-fold greeting cards at home, using ARCSOFT PRINT CREATIONS. In this selection, there are a variety of holiday templates. With the spectacular quality of the KODAK All-in-One Printers, creating holiday cards at home is the perfect solution that will save you time and money. The screenshot below shows a sample of the many different templates you can choose from in ARCSOFT PRINT CREATIONS. Depending on how you originally downloaded EASYSHARE Software, you may not have received all of these templates. You can download a package of additional free templates at www.kodak.com/go/downloads. If you prefer to make half-fold cards, you can use the 15-day trial or purchase the full license of the module through ARCSOFT.



For my Christmas card this year, I decided to send postcards to save money on envelopes and postage. I designed my own, but if you don't have the time here's a neat little trick. Select a template in ARCSOFT PRINT CREATIONS, insert your picture, and then click share so that you can save the card as a picture.



Bring the image into KODAK EASYSHARE Software v7.1 using the add pictures workflow, and use the 4x6 crop option in the editor to trim down the image to postcard size.


 
Now use the Add Text tool to create your own personalized message on the card.



Use the Print at Home tab and your KODAK All-in-One Printer to create borderless photos that dry instantly and last a lifetime.

Now that your holiday cards are done, what about invitations and name place cards for your dinner party?

Take a picture of your holiday decorations to use as a background for your invitations. Be creative and test out the different modes of your KODAK Digital Camera. Take pictures of your tree using the night setting, candles using the candlelight setting, and ornaments using macro mode.

Once you've chosen your favorite, use the Add Text tool to write the details of your dinner party for the invitation. You can only use a single font, size, and color within each text box, so if you want to have different sizes, you'll need to make multiple text boxes by finishing the first, clicking accept, and selecting Add Text again.



Once you save the file, you can just attach the jpeg to an email and send to your guest list!

Finally, when it comes time for the table seating chart and place cards, it's a great time to have some fun with your guests. Find pictures of them in your collection. If you don't have any on you computer, try looking on a social networking site. You'll be sure to find some pretty interesting and funny pictures of your guests. Use the Add Text tool to print their name at the bottom of the image. It's fun way to spice up what could be some pretty boring name place cards and might even spark some interesting stories and conversation.

Since you'll want the cards to be smaller than a normal print, choose from one of the variety of sizing options that you'll find in the Print at Home tab. I used 2.5 x 3.25 inches which is a wallet-sized photo.
 


You asked for it, you got it! KODAK EASYSHARE Software v7.1 now with more editing tools and creative options that will save you time and money this holiday season! And don't forget that ARCSOFT PRINT CREATIONS offers templates for a variety of holidays and occasions including Hanukkah and Kwanzaa. Happy Holidays!
 

Part 4 of 4: New Creative Projects Tab

For those of you who still haven't downloaded the latest version at www.kodak.com/go/downloads, I'm sure this entry will send you over the edge, as I've saved the best new feature for last! We've redesigned the Creative Projects tab to make it even easier to get creative with your photos. It's just so exciting that words aren't enough, so check out this demo. (make sure your sound is on)

So you are probably pretty familiar with how you can use KODAK EASYSHARE Software to create photo projects at the KODAK Gallery, but I bet you didn't know about the ARCSOFT PRINT CREATIONS projects! New with this release, EASYSHARE Software will ship with PRINT CREATIONS Software to offer users a full array of home print projects.

If you visit the Creative Projects tab, you will find that there are 8 home print projects, each button takes you to a different project module. The first two, Quarter Fold Greeting Cards and Album Page, are completely free. Pre-downloaded on your computer will be a handful of templates, and through the PRINT CREATIONS application, you will be able to download over a hundred more templates, free of charge! Ever since we first decided to work with ARCSOFT, I've been playing with the software, and let's just say, I've gone a little crazy. Here are some of the album pages I've made:


 
I started out making cards for actual upcoming events like family birthdays and Halloween, but it was just so addicting that I went card crazy making designs for all occasions: Mother's Day, Father's Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Independence Day, Sports, thank you, Valentine's Day... (I think you get the point).
 


There are also buttons in the software to make other home print projects like photo books, calendars, scrapbooks and different sized cards. These modules are free for the first 15 days. After that time period, your trial of those extra modules will expire and in order to keep using the ARCSOFT PRINT CREATIONS Software, you will need to purchase the full-license. There will be a prompt when you start the application that will lead to you their site to make the transaction.

I've been printing out all the designs that I've made using my KODAK ESP 5 All-in-One Printer on KODAK Ultra Premium Photo Paper. The quality is out of this world. I mailed copies of my beach album page to relatives, and they couldn't believe the quality of my home printer.

The ARCSOFT PRINT CREATIONS Software is the ideal solution for creating last minute birthday cards and printing out multiple invitations or album pages. If you want to create merchandise or gifts with your photos, then you might want to check out the offerings at the KODAK Gallery.

Regardless of how you want to share and be creative with your pictures and videos, it all starts with KODAK EASYSHARE Software. Download the latest version today! www.kodak.com/go/downloads