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Sunday, January 29, 2012

Earring Cards for Less

With the start of the new year, I decided that I needed some new brand identity cards. And with the sweet deal that VistaPrint was having, I knew that the time was right.

I have used VistaPrint on and off for years to create branding and marketing materials, from postcards to banners, business cards to flyers. I wanted to freshen up my image while still keeping it recognizable as me. I could have started from scratch and used my (not so) mad skillz with Photoshop Elements to create a custom card that I would upload and get printed, but I knew that I wanted it to be quicker than that. So I started with one of their standard designs.

In the past I have used their 100 free postcards (just the cost of shipping) to create a layout with four cards that I would then cut apart, punch holes in and attach a self-adhesive plastic hanger to the back. In fact, from the first batch I did years ago, I still have about 1/3 left since 100 postcards would make 400 earring cards.

This time I wanted to use a business card and create it so that the top 1/3 was scored which would eliminate the need for the those little plastic things.

{Tesori Trovati Earring Cards - front}
I lucked out in finding a business card template (and matching pieces) that had this nice looking flourish on it and a different colored top part. I found the color number from the editing and adjusted my logo in Photoshop Elements to match the text and flourish. I uploaded and oriented my skeleton key logo upside down with my name in this top area. Below the line, I added my company name. Just below that I placed two tiny asterisks in the lightest gray I could find and still see when printed (sorry for no picture of that one, you will have to trust me 'cause it is the best tip ever!). That makes it far easier to punch the holes and keep them even.

{Tesori Trovati Earring cards - back}

There are usually different options for the back. I could have gone with blank for no charge or black and white for a small fee. The back I  used is one that had pre-printed lines on it and a faint image of the flourish from the front. I opted for the color, even though it was faint, to keep the continuity. The lines were for recording appointments, and had pre-filled tags, but I just changed the text, moved it where I wanted it and added a few more lines through their advanced editing tools. If you are familiar with Word, you can likely figure out how this works pretty easily, so don't let that intimidate you. I like to write the name of the earrings and a list of the components on the back, so these lines come in handy. Since I had room, I put some contact info on the back as well as my initials in the corner that would be useful for my coding system (i.e., EPH-12-001) and a dollar sign to indicate the price.


{Tesori Trovati earring cards - folded)

The best part is that with the colored box, I can easily find where to put my bone folder to score the line that the card is folded on. (A tip: score the line from the back. If you score it from the front, the bending will cause the crease to split.)

{Tesori Trovati earring cards - displayed}
These cards were meant to hang on a display, but happy accident! I found is that they work really well when sitting on a display case because they are angled. Bonus!

As I was going I decided to create a cohesive look by adding new business cards,

{New Tesori Trovati Business Cards}
new hang tags (with plenty of space for writing about necklaces and bracelets) that double as an alternative business card (which I might consider using as my primary business card),

{Tesori Trovati Hang Tags - front}
{Tesori Trovati Hang Tags - back}

as well as a notepad for writing thank yous and a rubber stamp of my return address. A lot of these items were free or greatly reduced. Knowing what I could have paid for all of these pieces, I saved a ton of money and I really like the look. If you haven't see a deal from VistaPrint that you like, just wait a week and a new one will come along!

For the cost of an uploaded logo ($4.99), color backside ($12.99) and shipping, I got 250 new earring cards that present a professional look that matches with my other similar branding.

{What do you think of my new earring cards?}
The result is a brighter, fresher look from my previous cards, which includes my consistent branding (the skeleton key) and allows me to display my products professionally.

What do you use for earring cards or to display your earrings? Do you name every pair of earrings that you make? Do you list the materials that you have used? Would love to know about how you do it!

Erin Prais-Hintz invites you to go on a journey of inspiration at her blog Treasures Found :: Inspiration is Everywhere. You can view a gallery of her work at http://www.tesoritrovati.com/ or purchase her new line of 'Simple Truths' in her Etsy shop.
 
 

21 comments:

  1. A fantastic post Erin. I love what you did and you explained it so well. My only problem is so many of my earrings are too long for folded business cards. Right now I make my own and do them double business card long so I can fold them and have each side full bus card sized. If I could find a way to do that on Vista I'd be all over it.

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  2. Awesome Awesome Awesome!
    I've been thinking about getting myself some earring cards and business cards and mini note cards for quite some time now. But never could decide which way to go about it. THIS is it Erin. You really made my day with this post. Now I am so excited to get going with my own set. I'll probably get to it within the nearest couple of months. Thank you so much for sharing this. Very very generous of you! And super nice cards you have made for yourself. Congrats!

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  3. Wow, lovely and professional, very memorable and although slightly different, still recognizable as you. The tip about the asterisks is awesome! I especially love the card where the bottom half of the flourish is a different color, that looks really cool! I like them displayed just sitting like that. I don't sell anywhere but online, so I don't use earring cards, but I like your idea of multipurposing! I don't really have an image for my brand yet, sort of working on it but nothing is saying "yes" to me yet. This makes me want to figure it out fast!

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  4. Great post! I designed my business cards on VistaPrint so could easily adapt these techniques for consistent branding.

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  5. I love those folded cards as a display. My earring cards are made from a price-tag shaped punch. I purchase printed card stock i.e. tapestry, faded colors, tiny wall-paper prints, etc... Once the tags are cut I use a stamp with my business name and emboss with gold. I have a small hole punch which I use to punch two small holes to hang the earrings. They look great and I try to pick card stock that compliments the earrings but does not distract.

    I use the same price-tag punch & gold embossed card stock to make the top of my 2 piece price tags. I have a larger price-tag shaped punch which I use on a solid colored card stock in a complimentary shade. I write the components on the bottom piece. I actually run the card stock through the printer for the components and then use the punch.

    Thus, I achieve a consistent look but each tag is different.

    I do not name each pair of earrings, but I always try to list the components. Sometimes I am reduced to "stone" and "glass."

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  6. Gorgeous, Erin! I especially love that it can work on a flat display as well as a hanging one - genius!

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  7. I've used vista print over the years...I love how you made what they had work for you! With some tweaking! Excellent job!
    I'd like to start to listing materials used...your set up makes it all so easy! Thanks for sharing!

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  8. Wow, so helpful for anyone who struggles with designing an earring card. I have used Vista Print as well and they have always done great work for me. I loved your explanation of how you went about designing these. Your idea of the score is fantastic! Thanks for sharing!

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  9. You've given me a lot to think about because I might be using earring cards for the next show. Thanks for such an informative post!

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  10. They look fantastic! I love the look and the continuity of the brand. I am actually working on the same thing with my sister, she is a graphic designer. Can't wait to see what will come of it!

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  11. Your entire collection is beautiful Erin, and so cohesive! Thanks for sharing!

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  12. Great post Erin! Thank you for providing such detailed information. The collection you created is gorgeous. I too use Vista Print for business cards, labels and postcards. In fact, I am in the process of reworking my business card. Great timing! Moo is another great resource for creating business cards etc.

    I love the business card designed as earring card-that is awesome! The tip about the asterisk is a really great idea. One thing I did at Christmas, as so many people were buying gifts, was provide a card that could be written on. One side had a design and the other was blank so they could write a message to the recipient. My customers really loved this little extra detail. This could be done year-round as well.

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  13. Love them! I make my own with a textured scrapbooking cardstock and round the edges so they don't get dinged when they're stored in plastic bags during transit to shows. They have a flap on the back so they slide into the shutter doors I use as an earring display (I can display about 200 earrings on this thing!). I also use the hole punch from Pack-A-Smile.

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  14. What great ideas! I have struggled with my earring cards. I make them from card stock and stickers that I print, but love your ideas. Thanks so much for sharing!

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  15. Love your idea! I will be looking into the company.:) I use a tomatoe cage mounted on a turn table so it spins. I use shipping tags that I have stamped and tie them on the cage. I also hang my charms the same way. It holds alot of tags with charms or earrings. I could also use your idea on my tomatoe cage & would be less time invested for me.:) Thanks

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  16. My newest cards are very similar in that the back is my earring card too~ The front is all the important info...I also find that I can use the earring side for handwritten messages ~ Great post & love the new look!

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  17. Absolutely brilliant - Thank You for posting this!

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  18. Thank you for posting this. It all looks very professional. I'm just starting, so can't justify making earring cards... yet!. However, I do have a unique way of listing components. Due to an unforeseen phone number change, I had a lot of useless business cards. My card is a collage of different pieces I have done over the years and I really like it. I cut off the part with my contact info (my cards are in portrait layout) and use the back of this to list components. The added bonus of this is that they now fit into the small size ziplock bags that I use to store my small pieces of jewelry, where my entire business card is too long.

    I will save your "how-to" for the future because it really is a great idea. Thank you!

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  19. Thanks for sharing this- I'm wanting to re-do how I package my earrings, and this is a GREAT tutorial! Pinned it so I can refer back :) Christie

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  20. You saved the day with the post. Im attending my first show this weekend. I have looked high and low for a unique earring card that was budget friendly. With your suggestions I was able to make my own cards~ totally unique and beautiful. I can't tell you how thankful I am. Wish me luck!

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