Tutorial: DIY Watercolor Business Cards

This tutorial was originally posted in Crafting a Green World back in 2017.

 I have a small handmade business, and it's important to me to use handmade, eco-friendly business cards for it. 

That doesn't mean that I LIKE to make business cards--it's tedious, you have to make, like, a thousand at a time, and all you're going to do is give them away so you can't even enjoy them AND you have to go and make a thousand more, sigh... 

 So I am a huge fan of handmade business cards that take as little time as possible to make. And these watercolor business cards may be the quickest! I cheated a little with these cards, as I usually prefer to hand-cut my business cards from recycled cardboard, such as cardboard food packaging or old record album covers. But I scored a half-used stash of these Avery business card sheets (thank you, Freecycle!), and the fact that these cards are white, for a change, is what makes this tutorial work. 

 To make your own watercolor business cards, you will need: 

  white heavy cardstock or business card printer sheets. If you don't mind seeking out one store-bought supply, these printer sheets made for business cards are the poop! Get the kind that are uncoated and come away with clean edges, and your life will be so easy. Otherwise, look for a super-heavy cardstock or upcycle some thin cardboard that's been bleached white. 

  watercolors. You can use solid watercolor palettes and a paintbrush, but in these pics I'm using liquid watercolors, both in miniature spritz bottles and with eyedroppers. Yes, we ARE still using this DIY liquid watercolor spray paint that I first set up for my kids six years ago! 

  printed or stamped business card information. You could print your business card info onto the back of your sheets, but I use this customizable stamp set for all of my handmade business cards. 

 1. Watercolor your business cards. I spritzed a little paint onto my business card sheets as a background, then used an eyedropper to add more drops of color. I let some colors bleed into each other, and I inclined some of the pages so that the colors would run. Just go for randomness and let the chaos take control! My darker colors, when dropped heavily, left a very light shadow on the backside, where I'm going to put my business information. I like this effect, as it carries over the watercolor theme, but if you're using a different type of paper than I am, you might want to test it first to see how much color the backside shows. As you're working, you're going to think that what you're doing does NOT look cute. Just carry on--I promise it'll look cuter in a minute! Leave the pages to dry. 

 2 Seal the card fronts (optional). If you're going to use these cards at craft fairs or otherwise out and about, give them a quick coat of your clear sealant of choice, and let them dry. Watercolor is water-soluble (duh!), so you wouldn't want a customer to pick up your business card, walk out into the rain, and then get paint all over their hands. 

3. Separate the business cards. Don't they look a LOT cuter now? The chaos of the random watercoloring translates very well to a small canvas. I especially like how the color carries over to the edge of the cards, so that they look pretty even from the side. 

 4. Add your business information. If you didn't print your business information onto the printer sheet, then add it on now to the backside of the cards. This leaves the front side as its own miniature work of abstract art!