Hi, Kat I’m not sure what you mean by a “professional edge”, but
I’ll tell you what I’ve been doing since I decided that my
cards are part of my jewelry, and a reflection of me. I went
to a large art supply store and found a beautiful, very large
sheet of French handmade paper of a good solid weight. The
paper was a great color and had flecks of other colors. I
thought it was expensive, but decided it was worth the
investment. Then I bought one of those scissors that cut a
pattern in the edge, like hand-torn. I cut out a number of
cards the size of business cards. It could be any size you
prefer. Then I selected a font from my computer that wrote my
name the way I like it and copied it onto the cards in an ink to
compliment the card color. 20 Granted it takes a lot more time
than buying cards from Rio, etc. But they are different.
I place my earrings in a custom made earring holder that my wife
makes, it will hold several pear of earings, and will go in the
lady,s purse, Ideal for out of town or overnight stays. They have
no advertizing on them, word of mouth is the best.
Greetings… I was wondering if anyone has tried the new high
quality ink jet printers such as the new HP 2000. Each ink color
is individual, so the cost is lower, plus one can use ink jet
business cards and fold them to use as display cards.
I’ve been using the HP 890C printer, a fabulous machine, coupled
with Corel 8 (a phenomenal program) to do all my cards (from
display to promotional material. It allows precise control of
the look and I can tailor the card for any new materials/metals I
employ. The volume of work, however, has become so great that
our printer now does certain cards, since cutting/printing
thousands of cards becomes uneconomical at a certain point.
Colleen: The earring holders are needlepoint stitching, in yarn,
on plastic canvas. Made like a book with two pages. Covers are
solid stitching, pages are just outlined. Size 3" by 2 1/4".
Have a tab and strap to hold it closed. Will hold several pairs
Thanks for the description of the earring cards your wife makes.
It sounds quite labour-intensive but I can see that a piece of
something like needlepoint canvas could be sewn inside a
decorative fabric packet the shape you describe and be quite
effective.
On another, but related, tack, has anyone found a source of
interesting coloured papers or lightweight cardstock, and also
blank cards and envelopes?
I’d really like to solve the "distinctive but inexpensive"
packaging problem this year! HATE forking out big bucks for the
standard cotton-filled boxes.
Yes – http://www.paperdirect.com/ – a wonderful selection of
papers, cards, brochures, letterheads, business card, all
designed to work with each other, and in fabulous patterns and
colors ranging from very formal to very funky. Excellent creative
resource.
(I am in no way affiliated – just a happy customer.)
Colleen There are a wide variety of printmaking and origami
papers commercially available from larger stores like Pearl
Paints. They have traditionally been unsuitable for earring
cards, as they tend to be too flimsy. To solve that problem
without using glues to adhere the papers to a heavier stock,
which usually results in warping one of the surfaces, use a
waxer. These are machines used for manual paste up in commercial
art establishments. A relatively inexpensive hand held version
is available from many art supply catalogues for about $50.00.
Just wax the paper and burnish it to a heavier stock. This can be
done relatively quickly over large surfaces. You probably won’t
be able to get these papers commercially printed though. I have,
however screen printed paper to run through an ink jet printer.
Haven’t tried to print any of the waxed papers yet.
There are also some easy techniques for marbled and monoprinted
papers, which might take a few hours to make a lot of stock but,
would be distinctive. If interested contact me off list.
One supplier(there are many) for the waxer is United Art
Education, Box 9219, Fort Wayne, IN 46899-9219 at 1-800-322-3247.
They also have an interesting selection of papers and a variety
of products to make your own papers. @linda_moughemer
I would add, don’t make your cards so interesting and colorful
that they draw attention away from your work. Subtle and subdued
is better. Speaking from experience here…
