So by now I’m assuming you all have heard of Wordle- the online application that allows you to turn a string of words into a lovely word cloud. I think this program is SO neat- I have to admit I play around with it alot. Well, the idea struck me the other day that it could be used as a cute Save-The-Date! Just type in the details of your wedding, your names, date, location, time, etc- and voila! You’ve got a word cloud describing your wedding! I’ll walk you through what I did so you can see how I made it work!
First, I typed in the words I wanted to use. The more times a word is typed in, the larger it will appear in your Wordle. To connect words together like dates, you have to ad a tilde (~) in between. Ex: May~2~2009 or Eric~and~Jessica.
So then, I used wordle to get the color combination, font, and layout I liked.
Then I saved the file as a PDF. Instead of clicking on Wordle’s print button, I just went to File>Print in my web browser. Then this print screen came up:
Instead of printing the Wordle Cloud, click on the PDF button at the bottom left.
You will get a drop-down menu, then click Save as PDF. Save the file to your desktop or where ever is easiest for you to find.
From there, I took the file into Adobe Illustrator. For a free trial download, click here. You’ll want to download Adobe Illustrator CS3. I used Illustrator to delete the extraneous things from the PDF- like the menu items at the top of the Wordle screen, the buttons and page number, etc. Then, I rearranged my word cloud- made some words bigger, some smaller, changed the colros- and made them all go in the direction I wanted.
Then I created a new document that was 6×4.25- the size of a small postcard, and pasted my now custom formatted Word Cloud onto the card and sized accordingly. Now, you could save this out as an Illustrator file, a PDF or a jpeg and submit it to a postcard company for printing! I prefer OvernightPrints.com- they are great quality and are usually pretty fast. Right now they are running a special on their postcards!! You can get 250 for $29.95 (Normally $69.95!) I think this is a really great way to save some money on STDs- and they look really cute, too! What do you think, ladies?
Filed under: wedding | Tagged: budget, Save the Dates, STDs
You are the awesomest!! I think this would also be a great idea for Thank you cards! You rock!
Fantastic idea! Thanks!
love this idea! I had the same kind of idea but I wanted to make little tags for our Welcome bags.
Such a great idea! What kind of graphic design do you do? I am always interested in seeing what kind of jobs other designers have. I wasn’t a design major so the job I have now is this, “we need a designer, your new at it, so you can be our receptionist too” kind of job… which has worked for the last year, but I am interested in seeing what else is out there
So clever! I love it!
Brilliant! I’m planning a birthday party this month, I think this could work for that as well. You are so good!
Jessica, I love this idea! We’re thinking about an email save-the-date, and this would be the perfect header for it.
BRILLIANT!
This is a FANTASTIC idea!! Thanks for sharing.
One question, any idea if we need to up the resolution size of the JPG file for printing?
i love wordle and this is a great idea for a save the date!!! so adorable!
Girl, how have I never seen this blog before?!? It’s brilliant! I’m a total convert, and have added you to my reader and blogroll.
I love this wordle idea – very clever!
Broke-Ass Bride
What a great idea!!
Thanks for sharing all the technical info for all of us non-graphic designers out there!
That is such a cute idea. When Baddie and I were talking about whether to write our own vows the other day, one of my main thoughts was “if we do it we’ll be able to wordle it afterwards” – what a geek!
you are so creative! this looks awesome and is a great idea – when i finally find an apartment and throw a housewarming party i want to use this idea!
Oh my gosh! I LOVE this idea! I might just have to use it!
Just so you know…
Firefox doesn’t work with the saving-as-a-PDF and all. Use Safari.
Fantastic idea though!
[...] emails this weekend!) I also had a question about the Wordle Save-the-Date, which I talked about here. After you complete the steps from that tutorial, I just copied and pasted the word cloud on top of [...]
Um this is amazing!! You should make one for me! haha
Thanks for the recommendation we have a bailout on business cards, 500 for free perfect for saving money on weddings!
After finding your suggestion I used Wordle to create my Save the Date’s and just ordered them to be printed on magnets at VistaPrint for about $35 for 100. I’m so happy with them. Thanks for the idea!
[IMG]http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b360/immikimmi/SavetheDate.jpg[/IMG]