A few months ago I attended a blogger’s conference here in Seattle. It was an interesting experience. We’ll be talking about these types of conferences and how to figure out which ones are right for you this fall. I think it’s important to share our experiences about these types of events so you can form your own opinion and make solid decisions.
Anyway! Because I had just a few days to prep for the conference, I created my own business cards. As you might now, I adore paper. I’m a paper addict. And I strongly believe in using the highest quality paper you can afford for your marketing materials, for gift wrap, for greeting cards, for everything really. It makes a huge difference! This is no different for business cards. For this project, I knew I wanted my cards extra thick. The downside was that ordering those cards professionally printed is expensive! I’ve ordered biz cards from Minted in the past and loved them, but the price point was too high and I would have had to pay a lot for expedited shipping. So I went to a local printer to look at the choices; they begrudgingly offered double thick cards. Since they weren’t too excited about it, I concluded that I should just make them myself. So I did!
My DIY business cards are actually three layers of paper, or triple thick. And I love them. They feel really sturdy and substantive in your hand. I used beautiful cotton paper from Paper Source, my inkjet printer, and scrapbook paper to make my cards. I should warn you, these cards do take some time to make. A lot of my projects in the workshop are simple and quick–this one takes some planning and a bit of patience.
Feel free to tweak the cards to fit your personality and brand! Maybe you only need two layers. Maybe your budget only allows for regular cardstock paper and not the heavy cotton paper. That’s okay! The most important thing is to make sure you to make the cards represent you and your brand. Everything else is variable. Ok, let’s get to it!
Materials
- Printer (I used my home inkjet printer but any type would work. Note: you do want to make sure the paper you choose will work with the type of printer ink, i.e. laser or inkjet).
- Thick, high quality paper–that will run through your printer. This could be tricky unless you work with thicker paper regularly and know for sure what type will go through. I recommend testing some sheets before committing to anything. I used Savoy Cotton Cover Weight paper from Paper Source. Warning: it’s not cheap: 10 sheets for $8.75. But it’s worth it.
- Decorative paper: use your imagination! It could be wallpaper, wrapping paper, fine art paper, scrapbook paper, your own design, etc. I used this paper pack
- Spray adhesive
- Paper cutter (I highly recommend using a guillotine cutter, but you could use a rotary cutter or Exacto knife too)
Basic Idea
- Design and print your business cards onto cardstock. Set up the cards so they print multiples per page. You can use Microsoft Word, Publisher, Photoshop, Canva, and others. There are a lot of options, paid or free, out there. My cards are 3.5” x 2.0” and the design is a vertical layout.
- Once printed, adhere your page of business cards to one blank cardstock page using spray adhesive. It remains tacky for a few minutes, so you have a few minutes to line up the edges of the two sheets of paper. Note: make sure you spray in a ventilated area.
- Adhere the decorative paper, the third layer, to the business cards. Think about using paper that fits your brand/company/blog. I used many different designs (partly because I could never pick just one!), yet they all have the same aesthetic and color palette.
- Cut all three layers with your paper cutter.
- NOTE: an Exacto knife or rotary cutter would work well here if you’re concerned about your paper cutter.
I’m really happy with how they turned out! And the best part? People have asked me where I ordered them from. BOOM! I left some space at the bottom of the card so I can attach it to a postcard or package with a cute paper clip or page flag.
Good luck! Show me your biz cards–I’d love to see them! Check out other paper DIYs here!
Until next time, friends!
