How to Make Catholic Banners

Welcome parishioners to your next church event, celebrate a holiday or let your party guests know they're in the right place for a Feast Day with an easy-to-notice banner. You can make Catholic banners for a variety of festivities, with religious and festive decoration, all from your home computer. Take advantage of one of a couple different computer programs to help you make banners; each takes just a few minutes and can be as creative as your imagination allows or as simple as time permits.

Things You'll Need

• Microsoft Publisher
• Microsoft Word
• Adobe Photoshop

Instructions

Using Publisher

1. Save time with a pre-designed banner in Publisher; open the program and click "Publications for Print." Click the "Banners" option and scroll through the templates. Double-click a banner and it opens in your Publisher workspace.

2. Click inside the banner placeholder text, which becomes highlighted, and start typing your own, such as "Sunday School Starts Today!" or "Happy Easter!" Highlight the text and use the text toolbar at the top of the page to change the font, size, position and color.

3. Right-click one of the placeholder images on the banner and select "Change Picture." Click "Clip Art." Type a word or phrase, such as "cross," "Christmas," "prayer" or "stained glass" into the "Search for" box and click "Go."

4. Scroll through the results and double-click an image; it appears in place on the banner. Repeat to replace the image on the other side of the banner.

Using Word

1. Make a banner using Word by opening the program, clicking "File" and selecting "New." The "New Document" panel opens; type "banner" into the "Search online for" box and click "Go." Note: You can type "Catholic" into the search box, but it may limit your results.

2. Scroll through the template options available and click a link to preview a banner. Click "Download" and in a couple of moments, the banner opens in your Word workspace.

3. Highlight the text of the banner with your cursor and type directly over the top of it to replace it with your own, such as "New Catechism Class Starting" or "Singles Group Meets Tuesday." Use the text toolbar at the top of the page to change the words' format.

4. Click a design element graphic on the banner to highlight it and press the "Delete" key, which removes it from the banner. Pull down the "Insert" menu, click "Picture" and select "Clip Art." Type a word or phrase into the "Search for" box and click "Go." Scroll through the results and double-click an image to add it to the banner.

Using Photoshop

1. Create your own Catholic banner from scratch by opening Photoshop, clicking "File" and selecting "New." Name the file "CatholicBanner" and set your preferred dimensions, such as 60 inches by 10 inches. Pull down the "Mode" menu and select "CMYK Color." Click "White" under the "Contents" section and click the "OK" button. A large white banner workspace appears.

2. Click the "Type" tool, which looks like a "T" on the "Tools" palette on the left side of the screen. Select a font, size, position and color from the text toolbar at the top of the screen and position your cursor over the banner box. Type the banner headline.

3. Click the "Paintbrush" tool on the "Tools" palette and double-click the "Color Picker" under it; the "Color Picker" is the top left square of the two overlapping colored boxes. Select a paint color and click "OK."

4. Pull down the "Brush" menu at the top of the screen and select a solid, round brush, such as #13. Position your cursor in the white space of the banner and draw a cross. Switch paint colors and draw more crosses or other design elements, such as praying hands.

References

• In Pictures: Microsoft Publisher
• Baycon Group: Microsoft Word Tutorial
• University of Washington: Photoshop Type Tool