My DIY Business Cards
Hello lovelies! As you might know, I am headed off to the Altitude Summit in Salt Lake City next week. I am ridiculously excited and more than a little bit nervous (eep - so many amazing people in one place). It's been recommended that attendees bring along a hefty stack of business cards to pass out. The last cards I had made up are woefully outdated, so instead of putting in a rush order for something generic at an online printing source, I decided that I'd tackle making my own.
To make them I designed the text for the card backs in Photoshop. I then printed my design out onto heavy-weight watercolor paper (Canson 140lb - purchased at my local craft store) and cut each card out using a rotary cutting tool, self-heeling mat, and ruler. Next I took acrylic paint (DecoArt brand in "Melon") and painted a splotch of color through the center of each card (nothing too precise). Acrylic paint dries quickly, so once they were fully dry I quickly penned in the feather details and little borders along the outside using a Micron Pen in dark blue. They only took about 40 seconds per design.
All in all I'm pretty happy with how they turned out. I was kind of worried about making something that looked too home-ec gone awry, and even though they aren't perfect I've made the conscious choice to just let it go. I had fun making them, and I think it will be great to have a card to give out that is infused a bit of my personality. If I have the chance I might try making up a few using watercolor paint as well).
Next on my to-do list — figuring out what in the world to wear for my trip! I just might pass out from the stress. Is that silly, or do you sympathize?
Oh, and as a side note I feel like I need to explain that the smudges and scuffs all over my aqua table are not dirt, but "love marks" from the many many craft projects created upon it. Now I feel a bit better. Pheww.
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| by Ez Thursday, January 13, 2011 
Reader Comments (94)
oooh! these are so so lovely!
i want one!!
gorgeous!!
so very cool.
These are gorgeous! Great job. =)
Oh, I love these - they're absolutely gorgeous. I think you may have just inspired me to create some DIY business cards myself..!
Thanks so much for sharing.
FJM
x
P.S.
Maybe you should make custom calling cards for others as a side business! And charge plenty!
I heart your mind, Ez.
Oh goodness! Thank you all SO much! I'm positively giddy that you like them and it might take a me a little while until I can float back down from cloud 9. Thanks again! xox Ez
What a wonderfully simple idea, they look so beautiful and elegant. : )
Wow, those turned out so beautifully! Now I'm of to improve my biz cards stat, thanks for the inspiration.
I think these are super cute. I think the not being perfect is a good thing.
Oops...forgot to answer some of your questions earlier. I plan to make around 100-200 cards but ran out of ink for my printer and paint (it was more than half empty to start) a little ways in. So far I have only around 25 done. Wish me luck! xo Ez
These are beautiful...see you at alt!
These are so lovely! Love the handmade aspect combined with "professional" printing on the front.
they're so beautiful. frameable even! lovely to have hand made business cards - like a little gift more than a business card. Good luck at Alt. I'm sure you'll be great
Those turned out so well!
Those are absolutely beautiful! (As is your aqua table ;)) I recently ran out of my hand-stamped business cards, but haven't decided what to do next. Thanks for the inspiration to get them done!
Those are some of the best business cards I've ever seen! If I hadn't read your words, I would have never known these were handmade. Lovely! Try to relax and have fun on your trip!
oh my lovely! these are gorgeous! and way to inspire me to want to get out and make some cute little DIY things now!
Gorgeous! A worthwhile endeavor with lovely results. I bet everyone at Alt Summit is admiring your cards!
they turned out beautifully! wishing you all the best at alt. it sounds like an amazing time.
Great cards! And, to answer your question - it might be silly to be stressed but I guarantee I would be at least as silly (and stressed) if I were able to attend Alt. Have a great time!
What a lot of work that must have been! They are beautiful and classy, as are you.
xox
I love these! What a great way to stand out and add a bit of 'love' to your cards. I sure wish I was headed to ALT SUMMIT! I live in SLC and it sounds amazing! good luck with everything there :)
ez, these are divine! You clever thing you. Would you mind sharing how you created the card template? Or did you just mark out the cut lines with a ruler and pencil? You are going to have a blast at ALT. I bet people are nervous about meeing *you*!
PS. spotted these on Pinterest