I am trying to design an invitation to my 50th birthday party next
month.  I would like it to be a template of a broadsheet newspaper,
with a suitably impressive masthead.  The New York Times, the
Washington Post spring to mind.

I would like to have an easily editable, i.e. I won't have any kind of
help desk to call on, front page.

Basically I want to do a headline of 'Mary McNamara turns 50!'  The
subhead will be something like "World Leaders celebrate this important
event'.

I then want to be able to introduce other stories with headlines,
calling on quotes from world leaders, as well as people who will be at
my party.
Above all, this has to be intuitive and easily usable.

The most important thing is that I need your help in the next two days.

The prize, along with payment for this job, is that the researcher
will be able to make their way to Australia and come to the party.

Thank you very much,

Wombat

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Request for Question Clarification by easterangel-ga on 29 Mar 2003 01:28 PST

Hi! What editor are you going to use?

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Request for Question Clarification by mosquitohawk-ga on 29 Mar 2003 03:34 PST

Call me dense, but I'm not really sure what the question is? Could you
be more specific as to what it is you're asking. Thanks!

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Request for Question Clarification by tutuzdad-ga on 29 Mar 2003 16:22 PST

Is this the kind of thing you are looking for?

http://www.ppgift.com/birthday_chronicle.htm

tutuzdad-ga

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Request for Question Clarification by tisme-ga on 29 Mar 2003 16:29 PST

Hello marymac,

I think I understand exactly what you are looking for (a template)? My
question however is what software program are you using? Microsoft
Word? WordPerfect? StarOffice?

Also I do not think I will be able to make it to Australia for your
birthday, but perhaps you could set up a webcast of it so all
researchers who are invited can be there in heart?

tisme-ga

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Request for Question Clarification by pinkfreud-ga on 29 Mar 2003 16:37 PST

If you'd like to illustrate your newspaper with composite photos
showing you with famous people, or place your head on someone else's
body, I'd be glad to offer my services.

As an example, here's a previous question in which a customer wanted a
photo of himself with the Pope:

http://answers.google.com/answers/main?cmd=threadview&id=110783

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Clarification of Question by marymac-ga on 31 Mar 2003 00:18 PST

Thankyou for the many responses/questions.  I only have MS Office, so
all I can work with is Word or Powerpoint, and am using a PC.  I am
trying to design an invitation for a birthday party.

Basically I want to design a dummy front page of a newspaper (A4
size), with the ability to enter, or copy and paste, my own headlines,
sub-heads, copy and photos.  I want the masthead to be a major
international paper, such as the New York Times or the Washington
Post.  I could design from scratch, but as I have not tried this
before it would probably not be ready before the following birthday.

Look forward to any help you can provide.

Happy Birthday, Mary Mac!

How does this look?
http://www.darkfriends.net/~misc/MaryMac.doc

It's all set up in Microsoft Word, so you should be able to modify and
add to it as you please. If you need a different masthead or different
pictures, a different layout, need help making changes, or have any
difficulty accessing the document, please post a Request for
Clarification here, and we'll take care of you.

I hope that this Answer provides you with exactly what you needed to
make your birthday invitations memorable, and that your party is a
great one!

Best wishes,

ace

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Request for Answer Clarification by marymac-ga on 04 Apr 2003 02:50 PST

Ace, the response to my invitation has been fantastic.

Lot's of feedback on the newspaper.  I humbly reply that Ace is my
secret weapon.  Thanks so much for your help in building anticipation
for what will be a great party.  This has come at a great time in my
life after a couple of fairly tough years.  I've just started a new
job two weeks ago, so my 50th party has even greater resonance.

You're contribution has made a HUGE difference.

Whoever you are, I really appreciate your help.

Best regards,

A nearly 50 (and loving it!)

Mary McNamara

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Clarification of Answer by aceresearcher-ga on 04 Apr 2003 03:07 PST

Oh, Mary, I am just thrilled.

If you e-mail a copy of your finished invitation to this good-looking
guy, he will make sure that I get to see it:
http://www.searchenginez.com/about.html
Also, I'm not sure where you're located, but do try dragging him out
to your party!

Best wishes for a lovely Birthday and many more to come,

ace

Ace, this is perfect.  Thank you so much.  I only expected advice on
where to look, not to be given the exact solution I was looking for.

This is my first question on Google Answers, and I am really
impressed.

G'day Wombat,  I'm doing something similar for my husband's 50th next
month except I'm using the cover format for the 'Over 50s' magazine
put out by the Australian Pensioners Insurance people (don't tell
'em!).

In order to get your invitation sorted, it might help the researchers
if you tell them
what type of computer you're using (i.e. Mac or PC) and 
what application you're going to create this document in (i.e. MS
Word, Corel, Quark etc),
whether you're going to print it out in colour or B&W and 
what size paper you're going to use (A4, A3). 

That way, someone might be able to create a 'dummy' of an typical
front page by copying the newspaper masthead into an image box (easy
... I went to The Age website and clicked on their masthead and saved
it as a GIF). Then, they could create some text boxes with headlines
and subheads and body copy for you in appropriate fonts. After that,
you can just type in some existing newspaper stories and substitute
your name for one of the 'stars' (e.g. instead of "Nicole Kidman wins
best actress" "Mother Theresa wins Nobel Peace Prize", etc) and get a
couple of scans of photos of you and put them in. Once you've done
that, try and save it as a PDF and that way you can print it out
easily on your printer or at any printing place as well as being able
to email it as an attachment to all your friends. Hope you have a
great birthday. :)

Mary,

Thank you for the excellent Rating and the generous tip.

It always just makes my day when a Customer is delighted with their
Answer.

Best wishes for a great Birthday Celebration!

ace


P.S. As I am in the U.S., please invite this Oz-man in my stead. He
spends WAY too much time on his computer, and needs to get out more.
http://www.searchenginez.com/about.html

Mary,

Thanks for forwarding the finished copy of your invitation. It turned
out great, and I am so glad that I got to see it!

Best wishes for a very Happy Birthday!

ace