Ready to create your own animated holiday invitations with Canva?! It’s super fun, easy, and will wow your holiday guests. It’s an easy way to send save-the-date invites via email as a GIF.
Below is an example of the GIF I created in Canva, which was created in three minutes. Don’t believe me? Watch the recorded tutorial further down in this post.
The animated GIF was created with Canva’s already made animated text and snow. I used an existing template that was red and deleted the text to add Happy Holidays. I searched for snow and voila an instant holiday card. I used two pages to transition a cover to the body of the invite. You can change the speed of the animation by clicking on the speed in seconds. This particular GIF is set at 6 seconds.
In order to use the animated invite via email, you must download it as a GIF. Canva will default it to an MP4, be sure to make sure to change it to GIF. Insert the image directly into the body of your email. You may have to adjust the size to bring it down to size.
Hello Canva Friends! I’ve created presentations in Canva many times and I always had to convert it into a PowerPoint deck. I have to say it was a tedious task but Canva has finally listened to several requests on creating a presentation in Canva and publish it as a Powerpoint presentation. It’s one of those requests that I waited on for so long! Five years to be exact. I created a YouTube video at that time and I had many comments so I know I wasn’t the only one with this struggle.
Then not too long ago, I was checking something out on Canva for a presentation and lo and behold the publish option was there in all its glory.
YES! You can publish your presentation in Canva directly into a PowerPoint deck. How amazing is that?!
Create Presentations in Canva
Creating presentations in Canva is super easy because they have done all the hard work in designing templates for you for different topics. When you log into your Canva account. You’ll see the screen below. The fastest way to get to a presentation canvas is by searching for the one you’d like to start creating with.
The first option is the typical presentation style 16:9 widescreen size. When you choose your option, you’ll find numerous designs to choose from. It goes on forever it seems! If you click on the three dots on the top right hand side of a design, it’ll open up to a preview as shown below.
It’ll display the various slides that come with the design. If you see some you don’t like don’t worry, you can delete what you don’t want. You can also change out any of the elements, colors, and text.
Creating Presentations in Canva is Easy
I don’t know what other platform that helps users create presentations with such ease. Canva has really stepped up with making it efficient for presenters with beautiful design options and various publishing options. If you don’t use PowerPoint, no worries! You can present directly from Canva or download as a PDF. Will you try Canva for presentations? Let me know in the comments!
This has been a long time coming… five years have past since I last posted about how to create a free ebook download and PDF worksheets using Canva. Five years! Canva is still going strong and it’s new and improved in so many aspects. Let’s just stick with ebooks and freebie downloads today. Lots more to talk about in upcoming posts.
I’ve created many free ebooks, worksheets, PDF documents, etc. using Canva and it’s been a great learning experience over the years. There are a couple of major things that have changed from the last post. First, the user interface is much different now and that’s mainly why I felt I needed to update the post because I have lots of old images that people may wonder which program I’m actually using. It sort of looks like Canva but they’ve improved so much, I can see where people may get confused. Canva also has some very intuitive options for publishing your opt-in freebie so I’m excited to show these new options.
If you’re not familiar with Canva, you’re in for a treat, especially if you’re a business owner or teacher. Canva is pretty much for anyone who would like to create fun graphics, marketing materials, or documents.
Why do you want to create an ebook or worksheet?
Ebooks and PDF worksheets are essential for online businesses. It’s one of the easiest ways to obtain email subscribers and eventually customers. When someone visits your website you’ll want to be ready to offer them something for free to learn more about your business. If you’re a fitness coach, you can offer healthy recipes for free in exchange for an email address. Your website can have the variety of traditional pop-ups that say “Wait! Don’t leave before getting these free healthy recipes”. Then the email field pops up or the person can click on the ‘no thanks’ button. The idea is to have an enticing freebie to get the visitor to sign up to your email newsletter.
Now that you know why you need to create the ebook or worksheet let’s get started with the Canva tips!
How to Create an Ebook using Canva
The first thing you need to do is have your ebook typed up in a Google doc or Word document. It’s better to have it all written out before you get started in Canva so it’ll be an easy copy and paste.
When you enter your Canva account, the easiest thing to do is to select a template. Click on the Templates section on the left hand side of your screen. You can use a Magazine Cover or Report type. Find the template you’d like to work with and select it.
The best reason to use the Magazine Cover or Report type is because the templates will provide multiple pages to work with not just the cover but the content pages. Set paragraph text boxes will be provided and it’s easy to paste your own information into the text box. When you click on a template you will get a preview if the template has multiple pages or just the cover.
See the multiple pages below the large preview.
What to Do After You Select a Template
Whichever layout or design you choose, the following elements are the same:
Cover Image
Table of Contents
Text and Linking
Cover Image
If the ebook will be a PDF download for your opt-in then create a cover image with your own photo or use high-res photos (which can be purchased or chosen from the Canva image library). Add the title of the ebook and you’re now ready to continue to the next page.
Table of Contents
It’s always nice to reference to a specific page for a particular topic. The only down side is that you can’t link the table of contents to certain pages in your document, only external websites. That would be the ULTIMATE feature and would save so many headaches for people. If you do feel that it is imperative to have a clickable table of contents then I suggest using Adobe Pro.
In my opinion, since it’s a short ebook or toolkit/guide then it really shouldn’t matter as your content is going to be so juicy your readers will want to get through it all.
There are templates with table of contents pages all set so all you’ll need to do is adjust the page numbers and chapter titles.
Click on the existing text to activate the text box.
Text and Linking
Okay so this where it gets GOOD. You’ll be providing valuable information in so many ways when you link from your document. If you’re creating a toolkit or guide, this is an awesome way to give your audience an enormous amount of information on a few pages. I suggest typing everything out in Word, Pages, or a Google doc and have the links handy that you’ll need.
Take a look here at how quickly you can link your document.
You must click on the ellipsis next to Spacing to open the link tool.
Other Tips to Consider When Creating your Ebook
When using a template, it already has the typography set to make it look appealing. Try not to change the font and size too much. You’ll want to keep your fonts consistent throughout. Also, the photos in the ebook should be changed to appropriate photos related to your ebook. Remember you should keep your ebook as original as possible for your customer’s needs.
Publishing
Here’s where Canva has changed incredibly! There are so many different ways to publish your ebook. Yes, of course you can publish it as a high quality PDF but there are other options to now consider. In order to publish your finished product, click on the Download button on the top right for other options click on Show More. There are so many integrations to other services!
They have a MailChimp integration, which is amazing for MailChimp users as I am, I can easily publish and save my ebook to MailChimp in my files. I can create my thank you email to subscribers with a link to my ebook and it’s all set. Super easy for automation!
If you use another email subscription service, you can save your document to Google Drive, Dropbox, or even HubSpot. You can also use their printing options! So many different options… they now have a website option, which I have not tried but it may be a great opportunity to do a sneak peek of your ebook to show off a few pages, then add in the opt-in box to get the full ebook. Just an idea! If you do this, let me know I’d love to know how it works for you.
Are you ready to create an ebook or worksheet with Canva?
You’re probably wondering… hey what about worksheets?! Guess what – Canva has a ton of worksheet templates. Just type in worksheets in the template search option and you’ll have an amazing amount to choose from. Select your text boxes to update the text and change images/photos. Link to appropriate websites to add value to your customers and publish it as a PDF. That’s it!
Canva makes it that easy now. Let me know how it goes for you in the comments.
I’m excited to start the year off in video – literally with InVideo! InVideo is an easy to use tool to create promotional videos, blog post to video, and convert mini video shots into one video. A great feature about InVideo is its templates, they make video creating and editing super easy. Check out my tutorial below for all the details to create videos.
Click on the InVideo image below for a FREE trial or watch the video for the promo code.Pin this!
I’m not one for splurging myself with massages and nail appointments like many women. Sometimes taking care of yourself seems like hard work. However, self-care doesn’t mean you have to pamper yourself physically. You may find the self-care you really need is what helps you emotionally and mentally to reduce your anxiety. Here are some simple self-care tips you can try.
Self-Care Tips to Reduce Your Anxiety
I came across an article regarding the daily habits of highly successful people. Nearly all of the daily habits were self-care tips. I thought this was quite astonishing. Every successful person listed something they did for themselves and as a result helped them become successful.
Self-care can mean something completely different from one person to another. Hopefully, you can find something on this list that resonates with you and you are able to practice on a daily or weekly basis. One thing to notice is that self-care has to be consistent in order for it to really have lasting effects on you physically, mentally, and emotionally.
CONNECT WITH A PERSON YOU TRUST
Connect with a person you trust who won’t devalue your thoughts and emotions. It can be a friend, family member, therapist, or anyone that can hold secrets and won’t judge you. Take the extra effort to meet them for coffee or tea or a simple phone call will suffice. Try to schedule a weekly meeting with them. When you have someone you can count on to speak to, you’ll know you’ll get some sound advice when bad situations come up and it’ll be less stressful on you as time passes.
HAVE QUIET TIME BEFORE ANYONE WAKES UP
This is an absolute must for me. Before the kids or my husband wakes up, I need to have quiet time to pray, meditate, and journal. When I don’t do this I find myself depressed or unsettled for the day. It truly makes a difference to set the day up for positivity.
READ A BOOK FOR PLEASURE
Read something that you’re passionate about or something completely new. Maybe it’s not related to your work or business. When you learn something new it can be refreshing. Read a chapter or a few paragraphs daily.
WRITE DOWN ONE THING YOU’LL GET DONE FOR THE DAY
Many people love the satisfaction of deleting or crossing off items on a to-do list, myself included. Sometimes a to-do list can be a bit overwhelming especially when there are 10 items listed for the day. Get one big thing done for the day and if you’re having a bad day you can say you’ve accomplished something. Some days this is the best way to take care of yourself.
CREATE A MUSIC PLAYLIST
Music is an incredible gift. It can uplift your soul and encourage you to move forward. Create a music playlist in Spotify or YouTube. Keep it simple.
These are my favorite Spotify playlists when I need encouragement to frame my state of mind that I have a purpose in this world or just to get some energy flowing. I have an eclectic taste for music from rap, gospel, to salsa so you may or may not like them. Create your own playlist. It’s a simple self-care item.
Tigerlily 