Business cards are a necessity to any business, especially a small creative business like Handmade Hill. Since my business is small and just starting out, I was not sure how I wanted to create my business cards. Should I get them professionally done? Should I design them and have someone else print them? Or should I create them and print them myself?
Originally, I tried doing it myself with mixed results. I used clip art and Microsoft Word to create a template with a logo and my information. I was not very thrilled with this first product. It looked plain and it seemed to lack the personal touch, since the images I used to create my first logo were royalty free clipart. The cards had all the information but lacked the wow factor I was hoping for.
So I looked into getting my business cards professionally done. I couldn’t believe how expensive it was to have someone design something as simple as a business card for me. There was no way that I could fit that into my budget, so I opted for a compromise. If I could design it, maybe I could have someone print them! It would not only save me time and money, it would give the cards a professional look as well as a handmade feeling. I thought this was definitely the way to go.
The only problem was that I am very crafty when it comes to sewing, but drawing is not my forte. Luckily, my amazing sister is very skilled and generous. She designed and drew multiple (and I mean multiple) logos for me to choose from. And it was the last design that I fell in love with! I thought I was set. I had my information, my awesome design, and all I needed to do was to put them on a card and get them printed!
I wanted to give money to local businesses (being a local business person myself) so I set out to try to find a printing place that could put it all together and print my cards. This is when I hit another dead end. All the print shops I looked into needed the design to be a Photoshop file. Being technologically lacking and financially lacking to buy and learn the program or pay someone to make my logo into a ps file, I was stuck. I decided to widen my printing options to an internet printing company like Vistaprint.
I had heard great things about how quick, easy, and affordable Vistaprint was so I still had hope to get my business cards printed by a third party. I searched through their many templates for business cards (which are endless). But I couldn’t quite find what I was looking for. The business cards looked amazing but choosing a predesigned template seemed to decrease the handmade feeling exponentially.
So in the end, I decided to return to my original thought of making the cards myself. The results were amazing! I cut the base card from different colors of cardstock. I then printed the amazing logo my sister made on full sheet label paper so that I could cut them out as stickers. The last thing I did was print my information on colored paper in an inch wide strip. After all was printed, I wrapped the strip around the base and secured it with my logo sticker. Finally, I was satisfied. The cards are cute, handmade, and have the wow factor I was looking for. Since I did them myself, they are fully customizable and unique! It took longer to print and put them together myself but the effort paid off. And it was nice to enjoy a relaxing evening watching TV while constructing the cards.
What I learned from this is: Don’t be afraid to do it yourself. I made exactly what I wanted, stayed in budget, and was more pleased with the outcome then I would have been taking it to a third party. I guess with a business named Handmade Hill creating my business cards by hand is very fitting! Don't forget to use the coupon code BLOGPOST to get 10% off and I will include one of my handmade business cards in your order!!!
Originally, I tried doing it myself with mixed results. I used clip art and Microsoft Word to create a template with a logo and my information. I was not very thrilled with this first product. It looked plain and it seemed to lack the personal touch, since the images I used to create my first logo were royalty free clipart. The cards had all the information but lacked the wow factor I was hoping for.
So I looked into getting my business cards professionally done. I couldn’t believe how expensive it was to have someone design something as simple as a business card for me. There was no way that I could fit that into my budget, so I opted for a compromise. If I could design it, maybe I could have someone print them! It would not only save me time and money, it would give the cards a professional look as well as a handmade feeling. I thought this was definitely the way to go.
The only problem was that I am very crafty when it comes to sewing, but drawing is not my forte. Luckily, my amazing sister is very skilled and generous. She designed and drew multiple (and I mean multiple) logos for me to choose from. And it was the last design that I fell in love with! I thought I was set. I had my information, my awesome design, and all I needed to do was to put them on a card and get them printed!
I wanted to give money to local businesses (being a local business person myself) so I set out to try to find a printing place that could put it all together and print my cards. This is when I hit another dead end. All the print shops I looked into needed the design to be a Photoshop file. Being technologically lacking and financially lacking to buy and learn the program or pay someone to make my logo into a ps file, I was stuck. I decided to widen my printing options to an internet printing company like Vistaprint.
I had heard great things about how quick, easy, and affordable Vistaprint was so I still had hope to get my business cards printed by a third party. I searched through their many templates for business cards (which are endless). But I couldn’t quite find what I was looking for. The business cards looked amazing but choosing a predesigned template seemed to decrease the handmade feeling exponentially.
So in the end, I decided to return to my original thought of making the cards myself. The results were amazing! I cut the base card from different colors of cardstock. I then printed the amazing logo my sister made on full sheet label paper so that I could cut them out as stickers. The last thing I did was print my information on colored paper in an inch wide strip. After all was printed, I wrapped the strip around the base and secured it with my logo sticker. Finally, I was satisfied. The cards are cute, handmade, and have the wow factor I was looking for. Since I did them myself, they are fully customizable and unique! It took longer to print and put them together myself but the effort paid off. And it was nice to enjoy a relaxing evening watching TV while constructing the cards.
What I learned from this is: Don’t be afraid to do it yourself. I made exactly what I wanted, stayed in budget, and was more pleased with the outcome then I would have been taking it to a third party. I guess with a business named Handmade Hill creating my business cards by hand is very fitting! Don't forget to use the coupon code BLOGPOST to get 10% off and I will include one of my handmade business cards in your order!!!
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