Monday, March 4, 2013

Let's make our own Blog Calling Cards!

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It is hard work defining your business or brand, and being unique is definitely one way to separate yourself from the pack. I have been hesitant to have business cards done up for my blog. My day to day life really does not revolve around my blogging career (not that I would consider blogging my 'career', you usually have to earn a living to call it a career and my blog revenue just barely covers a fraction of the projects I share or blog about). But that is not the point. The point is that once in a blue moon I do wish I had a card on me. Specially one that really portrays me and what I'm about! 

So I decided I should set about making a batch and discovered they were actually quite easy, specially for how fun and unique they are. If the mood should strike you to whip up a batch of your own blog 'calling cards' here is how I did it.

I wanted to do business card sized envelopes in vellum for a modern vibe, but you could do any paper medium (maybe even fabric?). I had a roll of vellum so I cut a few standard letter sized pages out of the roll.
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Next I created a template for where to cut and included my contact info on the print out and threw my paper into the printer. 
( I have a blank template below for you to use)
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Just using a pair of scissors I cut them all out. I may look into finding a punch if there is such a thing, but it really wasn't more than 5 or 10 minutes of cutting for all of them.
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Because I used vellum and didn't want template lines printed on my envelopes I removed the 'fold lines' from the template I originally made (also below) and used a ruler to do straight, sharp folds.
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All folded up!
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To keep the glue under control I used my glue pen, but you could use a glue stick as well. To keep the envelopes looking sharp I placed them under a stack of books while they dried.
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Next, I wanted to make a cute little filler for inside my envelope. This was one reason I loved the idea of business card envelopes, because it is hard to cram a ton of info on such a small surface, let alone portray your brand that clearly. 

These were just printed on white cardstock and cute manually into little flags.
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And because FUN is the name of my game I wanted to include a touch of the unexpected with some confetti hearts I punched out of scrap vellum from cutting the envelopes out.
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All packed up and sealed with a little swatch of washi tape.
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I love how the translucent hearts and envelope all layer so subtly. And I cannot wait to start handing them out!
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Click on the images below to see the original, larger sizes. To add your text use any editing program or go to pixlr.com if you don't have one. 

Template with fold lines:
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Without fold lines and in a lighter grey in case you want to use vellum as well.
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22 comments:

pretty little things said...

this is such a cute idea -- definitely a business card no one would forget! xo

http://allthingsprettyandlittle.blogspot.com/

Silver Lining Decor said...

Fun!! I would love to receive something like this and would love to give them out for my business! These really are gorgeous :)

Christina @ The Murrayed Life said...

What a great idea!!! I bet people are so charmed to get them too. Definitely would get me to visit!

ThriftyHabit said...

Such a great tutorial and they look fantastic. Well done!
xx, B

ThriftyHabit.com

Martha Sloan said...

Oh, I absolutely love these! They look like a mini present...

christine, just bella said...

Holly, you are so flippin' clever. I never would have thought to MAKE my own vellum envelopes. I love these so much, great job! If I ever run into you about e-town I'm asking for a card ;)

Stacey said...

These are hands down the cutest business cards I have ever seen!

xoxo
Stacey

Five Minute Style 

Anonymous said...

This is so cool! Absolutely one of the best business card ideas I've seen :) I'll definitely be trying these out!!

kat said...

What a clever idea! These charming cards would definitely pique my interest. I like the pink and gray combination too.

ali naqvi said...

This is amazing work..thanks for sharing..!! Plastic business cards

The Painted Chair said...

Those are the cutest cards ever!!

Sammy said...

They look so smart.

Unknown said...

Thank you guys!!! I hope you give them a try.

Christine, I will keep one handy just for you!

Lauren said...

Oh my Holly, these are incredible!

Lemonade Makin' Mama said...

okay girl those are all kinds of crazy adorable. I just love your talent for making all things pretty.

Shannon said...

SO creative! I love these.

Unknown said...

SO PRETTY!!!! Crushing on your pink DIY envelopes!!

Annie said...

This are so cute. With a couple of my friends getting married this year, these made me think of a fun way to make save the date cards.

Unknown said...

These are tooo cute. AND easy. I've pinned for future reference :) Thank you!!!

Mrs. Kelley Dibble said...

Hi! I couldn't get the original sizes to do anything when clicked. HELP!

Kelley~
mrskjdibble@juno.com

MrsSchneck said...

Yay! Your template is just the right size for my boys first hair cut clippings. Thank you!

CharmedCrownBlog said...

These are awesome but won't let me click on the image to view the original size either. :(

 
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