Roundup of Favorites, 004: I've Been Into Metallics Lately

In April I marveled at the quantities of gold-hued business cards available in the Zazzle marketplace and shared some fun examples in this blog post.

Recently, without really thinking about that long-ago discovery, I've once-again been enjoying the process of working with faux metallic textures. Particularly where little packs of cards are concerned. Turns out I like them rather a lot. Today I thought I'd share some links here to a few of the recent favorite designs I've posted in my Paper Muserie Zazzle store. And the other thing they have in common? They're all printed on little cards typically distributed as business cards but, as we know from when I shared this post, this is fortunately a typical practice but certainly not a rule! Thank goodness. There are enough rules running around keeping people in order, without mandating that Business Cards Must Be For Business! Of course some of these ARE for business. But take a look at how many options are available just in this small selection:

As you see, the "lowly business card" is truly quite versatile! I've created the above with a variety of intentions. Pictured here are actual business cards for traditional use, drink tickets for parties and wedding receptions, and Save the Date card inserts, for folks who prefer a little handout to the larger, more traditional option. You also see wedding website detail card enclosures and little thank you gift tags.

On any given day, one of the metallic treatments I've used above is my favorite. Of course four bases are covered: gold, silver, rose gold and copper. I love combining a smooth faux copper foil effect with black marble as you see in the wedding website on the last row. It's also fun to add a glitter effect, such as you see both in the background of the silver drink ticket on the second row and in text, as I've used in the gold glitter-enhanced one beside it. The Save the Date card on the left of the bottom row has a more textured, traditional gold foil leaf effect and there's plenty of texture in those letters.

I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the rose gold-enhanced faux marbling I added to the texture seen in the background of the third business card on the top row. Marble surfaces are very trendy and I thought it would be fun to see what resulted if I added color like this to one of those marbled textures that looks more liquid than stone. Here's just one of the results. More are in the store and still others are on their way!

Whatever your need, if you're into metallic surfaces and like to have handy little business, enclosure or gift cards to hand out as you go your way, these are definitely worth your consideration. I can't wait to see what comes from my next design sessions when I get to work with metallic surfaces again!

For those who are truly curious, here's a direct link to all the business card-based designs in my Paper Muserie store right now.

Using "Business Card Technology" for RAOK and Other Uplifting Purposes

It occurred to me one day a few years ago that the tiny size of business cards could be really handy for other things. Soon thereafter, I created a truly unique gift for my honey, using the impressive "Printfinity" technology offered by Moo to create a collection of 100 one-of-a-kind cards.

These days I've been creating a slightly different kind of card. Blank-on-the-back business cards through Zazzle. Getting ready to place an order for a pack for myself, it occurred to me that I should write a little something about it here on this site, too.

You can use these notes to write a simple, heartfelt message on the back and:

  • Surprise your honey with a note tucked into his pocket,
  • Tell your kids you love them when they open their lunch box at school,
  • Share a pick-me-up with a co-worker by leaving a note on their desk,
  • Participate in the "ROAK" movement by leaving a card in a public place for a stranger.
  • Write a note as a gift tag then include it with your wrapped or bagged present,

I'd be interested to hear how other people use these cards. Until then, check out my growing collection of wee blank-on-back cards through Zazzle. Some of them are set up so that you can add just your name, using the template settings. Others allow you to change the message entirely. (You CAN change the message of my cards, either way - just click the "Customize" button Zazzle provides in their setup. Sometimes I use their template system just to make it extra easy for you to change the text fields. You decide how DIY-friendly a card's design is for you.)

Roundup of Favorites 003: Really Digging these Products Today - My Designs

In keeping with the growing tradition of showing what I'm in love with on a random day in this blog, I really dig these designs today. Maybe you'll like them too! You can click the images of the photos to be taken to the shop where they're available for purchase. Lower in the page I've written little blurbs about each; you'll find links there too.

A Few Notes About the Merchandise in this Group

  1. This postcard features a digital art design I created on the fly a few nights ago. The worst part is that I made a really novice mistake and wrote over the file with another design. So I don't have the original artwork on my computer. I can design hundreds - maybe thousands - of different products with this design using Zazzle, but right now, not through anyone else. Why does that bother me so much? a) Mild OCD tendencies, b) I really want this design on a kimono wrap from Art of Where. One day I'm sure I'll cave and see what Zazzle can do to help me get my hands on the high resolution version of the art. For now, I'll just buy some postcards like these to keep it fresh in my mind.
  2. A mug with the same artwork as the postcard. I have several of my designs printed on mugs but don't think I won't eventually cave and get this one, too. Because pretty!
  3. Maybe you have some friends turning 50 soon? This coozie is a fun gift or party favor for the Fifty & Fabulous party!
  4. Last year my honey bought me a sweet little Wacom tablet to try out and see what I could do. This postage stamp is printed with the results of one of the earlier things I did with it. All the circles make me happy. I always think what if river rocks and constellations had a baby.
  5. Another of the tiny, square notes I design on business cards, this one says Thank You on the front. It features a rich pink watercolor background with a subtle, organic mandala over it. I wrote more about a set of these over here.
  6. Somehow this specific design of leggings - out of something like 69 pairs in my Zazzle store alone - became one of two that ended up on the right radar. I've sold 3 pairs of this one. In fact it's one of two different pairs that keeps showing up in my list of royalties. Fun and whimsical and simple. Thank you to those buyers!
  7. Another of the friendly cards for leaving notes. This one has a purple and blue abstract watercolor background.
  8. I kept running into merchandise that said "I am silently correcting your grammar" and one day after a friend who is also a client and I had talked and I'd explained something to her having to do with an improved way to word something on her forthcoming blog post, I realized the original phrase really bugged me. I added the thought of morning snark without coffee and came up with this: "I am not silently correcting your grammar. I just need more coffee and then I'll explain how you need to fix it." The phrase and the design printed on this mug, specifically, made me much happier than the original and my clientfriend who happens to have dyslexia agreed with me. The first sentiment isn't at all friendly, but this one works brilliantly! Yay English majors!