Thanksgiving is a great holiday to spread some corporate cheer! Let your clients know how much you appreciate them with some gorgeous artwork using vectors that you can turn these into social media messages, postcards, or even email blasts. With Thanksgiving you’re free to send a nice “Thank You!” message as a token of gratitude to everyone!

In this post, I’m going to show you how to create some cheerful artwork you can easily customize for your message using vectors and illustrations. With unlimited downloads, you can design several versions to be used throughout the fall season and even extend it when Christmas season approaches.  This recipe card tutorial will be very useful as a slip-in to your greeting cards or to be shared around your social network. We’re using a Pumpkin Pie recipe but feel free to use any of your other favorite recipes. Try it!

Step 1:

Download this awesome selection of Thanksgiving icons (1522781). Use the .eps version since you’ll be editing this file for your own custom graphic.

Step 2:

Open the .eps file in Adobe Illustrator. Since the art is grouped, first Ungroup the art (Shift+Command+G if you’re on a Mac), or by going to the Object menu and selecting “Ungroup”.

Step 3:

Select the pie image for your recipe graphic. Copy (Command+C) and paste (Command+V) the artwork into a new document.

Step 4:

Adobe Illustrator’s toolbox allows you to create different shapes. For this art, a box with rounded corners will help lend a cozy feel, so select the “Rounded Rectangle Tool”.

Step 5:

When using this tool, hold the “Shift” key down so it forms a perfect square shape. Select a nice, creamy yellow for the background. (If you want this precise color, the CMYK values for this color are C=0, M=9, Y=65, K=0).

Step 6:

Scale the pie graphic with your scale tool, or simply enlarge by clicking and dragging the object while holding the shift key (so everything is scaled proportionately). You’ll want to be sure the square you made is in back of the pie graphic, so if needed you may have to send it to the back of your layout by going to the Object menu, and selecting “Arrange”, then “Send to Back”.

Step 7:

Position and scale the pie within the rounded box you created, and add your text.

(Here’s a tip: For small amounts of text that I need to justify (equal space on both sides) I find it easiest to type these as separate words, rather than a 2-line sentence. The type is much easier to manipulate this way, and eliminates lots of kerning and leading adjustments you’ll have to make if this was one text block.)

Step 8:

Choose a fun font. While the default font is Myriad (the plain print you see above) small graphics like these offer a great opportunity to use wild looking fonts. So get creative!

When it’s boring black type, even a great font needs more. So play around with size and color.

*Tip: Great layouts work with the colors within the layout, or work with complimentary colors. The complimentary colors for this palette would be in hues of blue (especially dark blues), but adding cool colors will destroy the warm feel I wanted to create for a Thanksgiving theme. So, I decided to use the Eyedropper tool in Adobe Illustrator to assign colors to the fonts that are in the graphic, so I could stay in a warm orange and brown color range.)

In Adobe Illustrator, to change the color of the font to a color in the artwork, select the text and position the Eyedropper tool over the color you want, and click. The type is automatically converted to that color. For the word “EASY” I selected the darker red of the cherry. “FAST” is the same color as the rim of the pie tin in the illustration. “PUMPKIN” is the color of the center block of orange in the pie tin. “PIE” is the same color as the brown outline of the top of the pie.

Step 9:

Arrange the type by enlarging it, stretching it, and centering it. (I decided I didn’t like the all caps text, so I changed to upper and lower case.)

Step 10:

To make the recipe area, simply clone the square you just made by clicking and holding the Option key as you drag it.

Step 11:

Use the Eyedropper tool to select a nice orange color for the new box, then create your recipe text and instructions in an easy-to-read font, such as Myriad Pro. Make sure the color you choose for the box is light enough you can still see the recipe clearly.

Step 12:

Since this is vector artwork you have a lot of flexibility when it comes printing. You can use your new layout for printing Thanksgiving postcards, or enlarge the art to create large posters without sacrificing quality. Or, export the art as a PNG or JPEG in Adobe Illustrator for use with social media, blog posts or email blasts. Vector art helps you keep a consistent marketing message since you can use the same artwork for a variety of marketing channels.

And that’s it! What do you think or what recipes would you share this season? Do tell us on the comments below!=D