When pigs fly & Canva (not what you think)

I still love Affinity, I promise.

Recently my mom said my dad did a good job driving her to an appointment near a busy hospital. For context, my mom has always been a backseat driver and in 55 years of marriage (and my dad is now 90) she has never said he is a good driver. Quite the opposite. Excuse me while I look out the window to see if any pigs are flying past.

And if pigs are flying, then the next thing I am about to say will make more sense. A funny thing happened while I was taking some time off. I signed up for Canva Pro again for the first time in a few years.

Truth is, I never stopped using the free version—Youtube thumbnails and social media images being my main use case.

They got me with a 50% for 3 months deal. I have been loving using it for short videos for a niche site I have been trying to grow.

Their editor still lacks a lot, but for quick and easy shorts it’s great. I have had mixed results with their AI videos, but it usually at least creates a video that serves as a head start for me.

What I still don’t love it for? Journals/planners or books that will be printed on facing pages. I also still find it clunky for printables. I’ll stick with Affinity for that. And, even on Pro I don’t think I want to make anything to sell with it because I don’t want to have to keep track of licensing.

New Tutorial

This week I released two videos. The first is a design video for a notepad printable, with 4 sheets to a page. This goes over setting up guides, lines and shapes, and two ways to create a decorative border.

The second video is about taking that notepad and cutting and gluing it into a DIY notepad. This is actually really easy and doesn’t require special equipment, although a paper cutter and PVA glue are helpful. You can use Modge Podge, Tacky Glue or even white glue to do this.

You make also like

35 Best Selling Printables on Etsy. There are lots of these kinds of lists around, but I appreciated that there are a few different ideas on this one.

Making YouTube Thumbnails in Canva. Even if you don’t need thumbnails, this article walks through 4 different existing thumbnail designs and re-creates them in Canva. You can apply the lessons and tips to any design in Canva.

Finally, if you missed it last week, or didn’t respond, please take a moment to let me know what kind of content you are looking for. So far the results are more Affinity tutorials, followed by Maker tutorials, and then making digital products with Powerpoint.

Until next time,

Catherine