wanna make a movie?

...well, not quite a movie, but an animated slideshow set to music?  for free?  animoto is an online service that enables you to upload your photographs and turn them into a super cool 30-second animated slideshows.  you can choose music from their library to accompany your piece, and add captions as well.  upgrading the service for a small fee will allow you to make slideshows longer than 30 seconds.

 here's a hint:  when making a 30 second (free) slideshow, choose a song from the music library that is relatively slow:  since the pictures and text change in time to the music, a slower song will allow you to fit more pictures and text in! 

here's a slideshow i recently created for cranberry corners in dahlonega, ga:

want to import your animoto slideshow onto your website or blog?  you can do this by first - creating the video on animoto, next - uploading the animoto video to youtube, and last step - link your slideshow's youtube url to your site or blog.  this was a helpful online tutorial explaining the steps in more detail... 

vista print rocks

i love vista print.  love them.  they do affordable marketing material such as business cards, postcards, and even websites.  here's an example of a business card i recently designed for oh, happy day (marysville, oh) using one of vista print's free business card templates:

vista print has gazillions of templates to choose from - i fell in love with this owl design's bright retro-modern graphics and fun font.  using the "advanced editing" option i was able to create and move text boxes around, which allowed for a bit more customization.  the text was arranged so that the business card could be folded in half, and also to function as a tag that works like this:

after you place your first vista print order, you'll frequently receive emailed coupons for free products and shipping, making this company an even better value.  another tip for defraying your cost: place your order far in advance and the shipping charges are more affordable.  my experience has always been that they finish and ship your order several days quicker than their initially quoted timeline. 

a special thanks to oh happy day!  vintage accessories + gifts.  ohhappyday@gmail.com