Do-It-Yourself: Confetti Business Cards, Thank-You’s & Bookmarks

Have you ever handed someone your business card, or perhaps a thank-you card, and felt a sense of disappointment as they glanced at it? You were pretty certain they were about to throw it into the recycling bin (or worse, the trash), never to be seen again. Goodbye, $3. Goodbye, the few minutes I spent writing out a carefully thought out thank-you, or the hours I slaved away on the design of my business card.

But what if you could show off your creative chops at the same time as showcasing your business, or genuinely thanking someone? That’s where confetti and vellum come in.

This is my business card:

Business Card

Cute, simple, and to the point. It tells you my name, what I do (I’m a writer, editor, designer and photographer primarily, although I do more), how to contact me (that phone number is no longer mine, in case you’re thinking of stalking me), and where my blog is if you want more information and samples. But it tells you more than that. It tells you that I’m creative and I’m a risk-taker, because my business card is more than a boring card with my information. It’s vellum and filled with confetti. It tells you that I have sparkle and pizazz, and that’s why you should be working with me.

In this do-it-yourself tutorial, we’ll go over the basics of making this card, as well as how you can use the tutorial to create thank-you cards, bookmarks, and other trinkets for you and people you love.

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Crafting the Perfect Gift: Cheap and Unique Ways to Express Your Love

Okay, confession time: my girlfriend (and yes, to my politically correct readers, we use the term ‘girlfriend,’ but you are free to say partner as well, ’cause it makes me feel like we’re partners in crime and that’s kind of cool) and I have been dating for 6 years, and we don’t celebrate Valentine’s Day. We never have. Valentine’s Day, to me, means giving chocolate or cards to my friends and gifts from my parents when I was a kid. My mom used to give me a locket every day on Valentine’s Day, because lockets are my fave and they’re in abundance around the time.

We do, ironically, celebrate February 15, which has meaning to us – it’s the anniversary of our first kiss. So what do we do on Feb. 14? Nothing. We spend time with our friends, mostly. I make chocolate covered stuff for people, and bake cookies, or whatever.

The trouble with celebrating Feb. 15 is that our yearly anniversary is only a month beforehand, and it’s always an expensive ordeal. We’re doing photo shoots, going places, and we spend a lot on dinner and after-dinner drinks. And we’re also young, and saving for our future. So who can help but want a cheap, but creative, way to express your love to someone, whether it’s romantic love or not? This year, and every other year, I try to find ways to show her I love her beyond just a hefty diamond with an even heftier price tag.

Vcard2

(A photo of the front of my card to my girlfriend.)

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4 Things That Happen When You Lose a Parent Young (and How Art Can Help!)

I lost my mom when I was 11. It was August, and she had a seizure as a result of her back pain and depression medication. She was brought to the emergency room. Her death was sudden. It wasn’t expected, or part of a terminal illness like most people originally assume when they hear of how young I was. I’ve written about my mother’s death a lot – including this three part series (1, 2, 3) on Janice Beetle’s blog, and my memoir about losing my mom.

But I haven’t written about her in quite some time, and lately, I’ve been inspired to talk about this a little. Recently, I met up with one of my professors, a hilarious woman who, like me, lost a parent at a young age. And something she said about how it “shakes up your worldview” got me thinking about 4 Things That Happen When You Lose a Parent Young. I’m going to sprinkle this list with ways that art and writing projects have helped me to remember my mom and heal after losing her, because it is those projects that give me the strength and happiness that allow me to talk about it without breaking into tears.

Mothers Day

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