Valentine’s Day is a day when we think a little extra about everyone we love. As expats, this means that it is one of those days that we have to miss our family and friends just that little bit extra. Because I have experienced this feeling repeatedly in recent years, I started thinking about what made me happy in these situations. Often, it was a simple WhatsApp message on which I received a sweet message back, which gave me the necessary energy to continue enjoying our adventure.
So I will help you with something even better than just a message. I made a Valentine card that you can personalize and send to everyone you miss so much. And don’t think that you will never succeed because you aren’t a graphic designer. I will explain to you step by step how you can do this. You will be very proud of your result. I promise you.
How did you celebrate the holidays?
Are you one of those lucky ones who got to go home for the holidays and spend some time with family? I’m sure you had a wonderful time. Being together with family during the holidays gives you a whole other start to the year.
Unfortunately, I also know that this has not been possible for everyone, and I know from experience that celebrating the holidays so far from home is different. We realize how different cultures are and how different everyone celebrates those holidays. At these moments, we miss family just that little bit harder.
Missing Family!
Missing family will always be one of the most complicated challenges in expat life. No matter how often we send messages and call each other, we can long for that warm hug.
This feeling comes and goes, and there are days where we enjoy all the good things that come with expat life, but there are also days when things are not going well. At that moment, we need people around us who understand us and cheer us up again. We can’t solve it, but we can help and support each other.
Personalized Valentine’s Card!
I’m going to help you make a personalized Valentine’s card. A card with which you can send love and get a lot of love in return. So start looking for a nice family photo that you can use. You can also leave a personal message on the card, so it becomes a bit of love from you for everyone you miss so much.
You can save the card as a digital file and send it by email. You can also post it on your social media or print it out at home and have it sent by post. The choice is entirely yours.
I will explain step by step how to download and edit this Valentine Card and turn you all into graphic designers for the moment.
Choose your favorite Valentine Card!
Choose the Valentine card you prefer below and download it to your computer. Of course, you can also use all three to have multiple variations. Or maybe you’d like to create a personal version and a version with the whole family. Everything is possible, and the choice is entirely yours.
Canva
Open www.canva.com on your computer and sign up for this graphic design platform. You don’t need a paid subscription for this. The free version is just fine to edit this Valentine Card.
You have to sign up to be able to use Canva.
Open the document
After you’ve done this, you can open the downloaded file in Canva by clicking the CREATE A DESIGN button and then clicking IMPORT FILE at the bottom right. You can now select the downloaded file and click OPEN.
The file will upload to your design overview page, and from there, you can open it by double-clicking
The file will open, and we can start editing. You can change the photo and the text at the bottom of the card. The other items are locked to make selecting the right items easier.
Upload and place your photo
First, we select the tab UPLOADS in the left bar of our screen and then the purple button UPLOAD MEDIA. Here you can upload the photo you would like to have on the card. The selected image will appear first in the left bar.
Then drag the photo of your choice into the photo frame of the design. Note that you will see the photo change and not the card’s background when you drag it. Your directional arrow should be on the photo to replace.
If you accidentally change the background, you can undo this with the undo function (command Z or CTRL Z).
Watch the video below for more information.
To move the photo so it fits nicely in the frame, double click on the photo, after which you can move it.
It is also possible to further enlarge the photo. Again, double-click on it and pull the dots on the corners. You can also lift and move the photo.
Watch the video below for more information.
Change the text message
Now that the photo is in place, we will adjust the text. You can optionally press the lock in the top right to lock the photo. This prevents it from being accidentally changed. You have to select the photo and then press the lock.
To adjust the text, select the text by clicking on it. A light blue frame appears around the text. Select the text and type your own text, don’t forget your name. Extend the frame to the left and right sides of the design. This way, your text is always in the middle, and you can use the entire space.
Double-check if everything is the way you like it and if your text is without mistakes.
Save your document
Now your Valentine Card is ready to save. If you are going to send it digitally, I recommend saving it as a JPG file. If you want to print it or let it print, use PDF.
JPG is also the most convenient format if you post it on your social media.
Click on the arrow pointing down at the top right of your screen and choose the following settings.
File type: JPG
Size: 1
Quality: 100
Then click on download.
The file is now preparing. A menu will pop up to change the file name and choose the location to save the file. Click SAVE, and your Valentine Card is ready.
Happy Valentine’s Day
I hope this was all clear and that you are happy with the result. Send your card to everyone who you miss so much and who you would like to send you some extra love too. You may be far away from your family, but the love for each other remains. I am sure that just sending this will give you a good feeling. And everyone will undoubtedly appreciate it.
Let me know below or in a message on Instagram if everything went well with creating this card and whether it might be an idea to place such cards on the website more often. I’d be happy to do it for you.
Happy Valentine’s Day from our family to yours.