D.I.Y Business Cards

I am so brain dead sometimes.  For months now I have been searching for the perfect business card design online for my craft business.  It finally dawned on me that I have all the materials to make my own.  Why should I spend $30 or $50 dollars for only one design I only kind-of-like when I can create custom made cards whenever I want for less than $5.  I can make multiple designs at once and switch them up anytime I feel like it.  I guess there was a reason deep down that I never settled for buying business cards online....I hadn't made my own yet.  So here is a little tutorial on how to make your own business cards.

Step 1:  Gather your materials

3 sheets of 12x12 card stock (choose a light color so the writing will be easy to see)
3 sheets of printed card stock that has semi small patterns that will look good once you cut it down to business card size
Paper cutter
Ruler
Corner punch
Glue stick

Step 2:  Cut out your printed card stock into 3.5 x 2 inch rectangles using your ruler and paper cutter

Step 3: Print out your logo/information onto the plain sheets of card stock.  I used Photoshop to do this but it can easily be done in Word or Open Office.  I used Papyrus text for mine.  If you want to explore fun text options, http://www.scrapvillage.com/ offers tons of different fonts for free.  I use this site all the time when I am working on invitations or scrapbooking.

Step 4:  Use a corner punch to add some creativity to your card.  I bought mine from Michael's and it had 3 different designs to choose from.  Make sure you line your cards correctly into the punch or else it will come out lopsided.

 This is the step that you can really get creative.  Instead of a corner punch you could punch another little shape that is relevant to your business or use a stamp to add a flower, bird, whatever.

Step 5:  Assembling

Use the glue stick to glue your information onto the patterned card stock.  Add another patterned card stock piece on back for thickness and for more design detail.  If your cards curl up after you glue them, stick them under a heavy book for a few minutes to flatten them out.  Once your cards are assembled use the paper cutter to trim any uneven edges when the paper didn't line up all the way.

This project probably took 2 hours from start to finish once I figured out what paper to use (that part took several weeks to decide).  Now I have three different designs to hand out.  I even made a Christmas business card for the Holiday season.

This one is for my Christmas crafts

This card is for my sewing designs

And this one is for all my general projects that I create