When I attended Alt Summit this past June, I knew I wanted to spice up my previously plain business cards. After doing a massive search for business card ideas, I knew that something simple was definitely more “me.” I didn’t include many fancy graphics or images on my cards — instead, I invested in thick paper and spiced things up by edge painting the sides of my business cards. Today I’ve got a quick tutorial so that you can do the same!

Supplies: Perhaps the most important ingredient is the thickness of your business cards. The thicker the better! I decided to go with Moo’s Luxe line and was really pleased with the cards I received! You will also need a clamp (I used this one), some paint, and a sponge brush.

When I was researching business cards, I found that if I got them professionally edge painted, it would be around $100 extra. To purchase all the supplies above (not including the business cards), it was less than $10! 🙂

Step 1

Get a stack of cards together and make sure the edges are all lined up as evenly as possible. Clamp them together as tight as you can! Keep in mind that you’ll ruin the top and bottom cards, but you can always reuse them each time you edge paint, so you don’t waste too many cards. Tip: I’ve seen tutorials suggesting that you could use heavy books to squish the cards together, but honestly, I thought the clamp was pretty vital! It was only six bucks and very worth it in my opinion.

Step 2

Using the sponge brush, gently paint your cards. Even though they were clamped, I found it useful to push them together in the area I was painting, just to make sure no paint would leak through.

Step 3

Give your cards a few minutes to dry, then un-clamp them and separate them with your fingers. Tip: The cards might stick together a bit. Instead of separating them one by one, try breaking the deck in half, and then continuing to break it into halves until all the cards are separated. It’s quick, I promise! I found that separating them one by one pulled too much on the individual card and caused some of them to fray. It works a lot better if you separate them into big chunks first and then gradually get smaller. Hopefully that makes sense. 🙂

Voila! All finished! I was really happy with the results and lots of people commented on the uniqueness of the cards. If you’re like me and enjoy simple, modern designs, then edge painting your business cards is an easy way to add a little somethin’ somethin’ that helps people remember you and your blog or business. One final note: I bought a few shades of pink paint prior to painting my cards, because I wanted to make sure the color matched my branding. I encourage you to find a color that matches your blog or business’ brand, too! It will help people remember you and will give you a consistent look.

Branding question! What color would you edge paint your business cards?

p.s. A full view of my business cards + The creative business cards I collected at Alt Summit