Did you know you can create professional slides and animation effects using just PowerPoint? Better yet, you don't have to do it all from scratch. You know by now that I'm a fan of re-purposing everything. Here are some templates from Office. Microsoft.com that you can use and customize for your self.

Not sold on this idea just yet? Watch this.

• Picture effects 15 templates
• Combined picture and text effects 23 templates
• Animated picture effects 20 templates
• Static text effects 18 templates
• 3-D shapes and objects 25 templates
• Animated text effects 20 templates
• Animated charts and graphics with SmartArt 25 templates
• Backgrounds for PowerPoint slides 11 templates

Excel: Weight-loss tracker

Each month I post a tip about Microsoft Office. This month I'm a little slow in my post, but I found a great post about an Excel weight loss tracker on the Contextures Blog. Instead of recreating something, I decided to share this with you. Thought it would be fitting for the new year. Enjoy!

Example slide effects for PowerPoint

Looking for some really nice templates in PowerPoint that will allow you to just insert your own text and have some cool designs and animation pre-programmed? Check out these downloads on the Office.Microsoft.com website.