Business cards are the bane of my... business, I guess. I bought a set of business cards the first time I needed them--Moo cards, back when they were brand-new!--and I did love them, but they just seemed like such an easy thing to DIY that I couldn't bring myself to buy them again. My tiny business is profitable enough for my purposes, but only if I don't add a bunch of extra little expenses, you know?
So for over a decade now I've made all of my business cards, and it is a tedious, boring activity. To keep myself entertained sometimes I'll purposefully try to thing of something new to do to make them--check out all these tutorials that I've written on this very topic:
- business cards with Perler bead embellishments
- business cards sewn from recycled papers
- mixed-media business cards with recycled papers and scrap fabric
- business cards embellished with strung beads
- decoupaged paper business cards
--bus mostly I make them out of old cardboard or record album covers or other recycled cardboard. They turn out cute, but, again. Boring to make. Tedious.
In related news, the kids were recently cleaning the walk-in closet where we store our homeschool supplies, open-ended materials, and random bits and bobs for projects (this sounds amazing of them, but they were only doing it because in the week prior they'd made such a ridiculous mess of it that I couldn't even walk on the floor in there), and they discovered a packet of photographs that I'd surely taken a decade ago, at least, back when I was still doing craft fairs. I think that I was considering making postcards or greeting cards, but when I saw the printed photos I didn't really think they'd suit, and so I put them back with my other stash supplies, and then, goodness gracious, I must have MOVED them at some point instead of simply tossing them in the recycling like a normal person, and then just shoved them into this closet with all my other junk.
Is it worth it to store something for a decade instead of tossing it into the waste stream if you eventually find a use for it?
Apparently you know how *I* would answer!
It turns out that these photographs are super easy to make into large-format business cards. Another option, of course, would be to simply fussy cut them to make them the standard size, but I'm using these solely to go out with Pumpkin+Bear orders, so I have the space to add this larger card.
All you have to do is find some stash scrapbooking or colored paper--anything that has a plain, solid-colored back--and trim it so that it's about 2" wider than the photograph for both length and width. If you're using printer paper and 4" x 6" photographs, you can get two of these from every page:
Next, center the photograph on the paper backing, and adhere with acid-free double-sided tape:
I have a customizable self-inking stamp that has been working perfectly for me as long as I've been making my own business cards, so it's easy to stamp my business card info on the back of each card. There's plenty of room to write your information by hand, however, or at least to add embellishments with paint pens, washi tape, or stickers. That's a good way, by the way, for an artsy kid to fill her time if she's stuck with you at a meeting or an office.
And now I have a good two dozen more business cards made from stash! I also have some motivation to go through more of my old photos, too, in case I find more fodder for making these quick and easy business cards.
In case you're looking for even more DIY business card inspiration, here are some examples that I've collected over the years to inspire ME!
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