From Text to Treasure: My First Adventure with Canva's AI Image Generator

Ever wanted to design a completely custom e-card but felt held back by a lack of design skills? I recently dived into the world of AI image generation, and I was amazed at how simple and powerful it is. It's a true game-changer for creating personal and unique greetings.

Today, I want to walk you through my very first experience, showing you the exact steps and the prompt I used to create a beautiful floral birthday card with Canva AI.

Your Starting Point: Canva AI

To begin this creative journey, you don't need to be a Canva expert. The specific tool I used is on Canva's dedicated AI page, which you can find here: https://www.canva.com/ai

This is where the magic starts. The process is incredibly straightforward:

  1. Once you land on the page, click the prominent "Create an image" button. This takes you directly into the AI generator.

  2. Here, you'll see a text box where you can describe the image you want to create. This description is called a "prompt."

  3. For my card, I chose the "Smart" style and a 4:3 size, which is a great aspect ratio for a card layout.

The Power of a Prompt: My First Creation

The prompt is the most important part—it's your instruction to the AI. You can be quite detailed to get closer to your vision. For my first attempt, I wanted a watercolor-style card with a specific floral and color theme.

Here is the exact, word-for-word prompt I used:

"a watercolor painting of purple flowers in a vase, soft purple background, greeting card, birthday card, to me, yellow glowing background, golden background with flowers, card, purple background, silver and yellow color scheme, card frame, yellow and orange color scheme, background is white and blank, marigold background, yellow calibri font, happy birthday, card template"

After I entered the prompt and my style settings, Canva's AI generated a few image options. I simply chose my favorite to use for my card.

The Fun of Experimentation: How One Word Changes Everything

What's truly amazing about AI is how you can create endless variations just by tweaking a single word in your prompt.

First, I wanted to see what would happen if I changed the primary color. I went back to my original prompt and simply swapped the word "purple" for "pink." This small change resulted in a card with a completely different, softer feel.

See the pink version of this card here: [Link to pink card]

Next, I decided to get more specific with the type of flower. I replaced the general word "flower" with "sunflower." This instantly transformed the design into a bright, cheerful, and sunny greeting card.
See the sunflower version of this card here: [Link to Sunflower Card]

This was the very first prompt I ever used, and it opened my eyes to a universe of creative possibilities. You don't need to be an artist to bring a unique vision to life. I highly encourage you to go to Canva AI and give it a try—you’ll be amazed at what you can create.