DIY business cards

I am a huge advocate for branding....personal and business. I honestly believe in it. Most of the time, the company (or the employee) who has devoted energy and time to brand themselves end up on top. I would be willing to bet that it is the reason I have gotten the majority of the jobs I have had in my life. I am sure there have been plenty of times where I was under-qualified for a position but was hired simply because I understood the importance of branding myself.

I did some searching around on Flickr and came up with several DIY/handmade alternatives to the traditional printed business card. If you are in need of some cards but don't have the budget to hire a designer and/or to have them printed, you have come to the right place.

The examples below can all be made from supplies found at a craft store or by ordering a custom stamp (just look in your local phone book for "stamp supplies" - the turn around time is usually only a few days and the cost is surprisingly low).

There are plenty of alphabet stamp sets in the scrapbooking section at places like Micheals, Hobby Lobby and even Walmart. The stitching above was done with a sewing machine but how cool would it be to add some simple hand-embroidery? Image found here.

The cards above were cut out of old menus using decorative scissors and typed with an old typewriter. Find the designer, Contrary, here.

The black cards above are so simple yet so powerful. Cut up some card stock and stamp away. Found this in a great portfolio set on Flickr.

Very cool. Very simple. Very handmade. Found here.

The cards above were actually intended to be table seating cards but they could easily be used as business cards. Found them here.

The cards above were hand stamped but you could also print your cards on your home printer and use a hole punch to add interest. Image above found here.

A few posts ago I wrote about my first attempt at carving my own stamp. It was very rewarding but it certainly requires patience. Found the image above here.

Go big. Very cool stamped cards above found here.

The cards above were screenprinted. I know we don't all have access to screenprinting materials but I thought they were too cool to leave out. There are plenty of resources online for creating your own screenprinting methods. Found the cards here.

The cards above are by far my favorite. They were made completely out of materials the designer had on hand. Image found here.

I really love this card. Found it here.

Many of the cards above were made out of materials you might already have in your craft room or office. I challenge you to look around at what you already have and see what you come up with. If this post inspired you to create your own business cards please share! I want to see!

Have fun!!!

EDIT: I just realized that I instructed you to look in your local phone book for stamping supplies. Why on earth would I do that??? I don't even own a phone book! Let me change my suggestion...you can check out yellowpages.com for local stamping supplies or you can google "custom stamps" and you will find a ton of resources for ordering online. Sorry for the silly suggestion.