I will be the first to admit that I am terrible at sending cards. I never seem to remember until the birthday or event is already here or past. I would like to do more than just send a quick e-mail saying "Happy Birthday". I think that I now have the tool I need to help me do that.
I was asked to evaluate and review Hallmark Card Studio 2009
Installation
The disk is a dvd and needs a dvd drive. If you only have a CD-ROM drive, you can exchange it for a cd version for free. Details are on an insert with the dvd.
Installation was easy. After putting the disk in the drive, I just followed the prompts on the screen. One of the prompts asks if you want to setup a kid lock. Some of the cards have content that is inappropriate for children. So I chose to set a password for that content. It took 14 minutes to completely install. If you register after installing, you will be able to download a bonus collection of birthday cards.
Card Making
There are thousands of pre-made cards that you can click on, personalize and print in minutes. There are cards for birthdays, holidays, and special occasions. There is a day-by-day section that has cards for thank you, friends, secret pal, bon voyage, sympathy and get well. There are also cards in Spanish and for step-families.
If you would like to start from scratch, you can choose the art studio. The art studio allows you to use their clip art and sentiments or use your own.
If you wish, you can personalize cards by adding your own photos.
Other Projects
You can make more than just cards. There are options to make photo cubes, frames and mini albums. You can make announcements and invitations. There are also calendars, gift tags, stickers, envelopes, labels, stationary and note cards. You can even make scrapbook pages.
Event Planner
HCS has an event planner built in. It is an onscreen calendar that has most holidays already on it. You can add your friends and families birthdays and anniversaries. I am hoping that after I finish entering all the information in it, it will help me remember who I need to make cards for.
Conclusion
I found this program very easy to use. I was able to find cards for most occasions I could think of. I found it easy to create a card from scratch. I was pleased with how fast the program moved from screen to screen. I look forward to making some of the other projects.
I would recommend purchasing card stock to print the cards on. It gives the cards a more professional, finished look.
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
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