I was shopping in a local Seattle thrift shop a few weeks ago and found a package of printable business cards. In my mind, the line between art supplies and office supplies is blurred, so I grabbed the business cards and brought them home.
Even if you've had zero art training, and have zero art talent, and zero art skills, you can do this. Seriously, if you passed kindergarten, and know how to cut or tear paper, smear paint around with your fingers or a brush, and doodle simple shapes, you've got this.
I shared in this post on how to create your own mixed media master board, that I sometimes use master board to make business cards. I decided to treat the business card sheets as if they were master board substrates, and use them to create... wait for it... business cards!
I loved that the printable cards were already scored, so they would be easy to break apart, and they would be perfectly sized to fit in someone's wallet.
If you decide to do this project, be mindful of the score lines on the printable sheets. You want to avoid pasting layers on top of the score lines, as this will prevent you from being able to break the cards apart when you finish. You will probably want to print your business contact information on one side before creating art on the other side. Alternatively, print your contact information on a separate sheet of cards (especially, if your printable sheets are flimsy), and adhere them to the backs of your finished mixed media cards.
If you decide to do this project, be mindful of the score lines on the printable sheets. You want to avoid pasting layers on top of the score lines, as this will prevent you from being able to break the cards apart when you finish. You will probably want to print your business contact information on one side before creating art on the other side. Alternatively, print your contact information on a separate sheet of cards (especially, if your printable sheets are flimsy), and adhere them to the backs of your finished mixed media cards.
If you look closely at the painted sheet shown above, you can see that there are torn pieces of book pages underneath the painted layers. You may also notice that there are pen and marker marks on top of the acrylic paint layer. If you decide to add pen or marker on top of acrylic, be sure the paint is completely dry, or you run the risk of clogging pen tips, and getting paint on marker tips.
When I was creating the first couple of sheets, I use the above paper (it was the instruction sheet for printing the business cards) as a blotter sheet underneath, to protect my table. When I was cleaning up, after a work session. I was about to throw it away then realized I could doodle on it a little bit, since it already had so much beautiful color, and have a sheet of collage paper.
Of course, I stopped cleaning up, and sat back down, and created another sheet of business cards, using the blotter paper turned collage paper. Because, I was addicted.
When creating patterns on printable business card sheets, pay attention to scale. You're not creating one piece of art from each sheet -- you are creating ten pieces.
Even if you've had zero art training, and have zero art talent, and zero art skills, you can do this. Seriously, if you passed kindergarten, and know how to cut or tear paper, smear paint around with your fingers or a brush, and doodle simple shapes, you've got this.
Change it up, experiment, and have fun. You can't fail. If it turns out ugly, paint over it.
When your business card sheets are dry, break them apart and hand them out!
I do recommend letting the paint cure for several days before stacking the cards together in your wallet -- especially if you live in a humid climate.
You might also like this post on choosing materials for mixed media projects.
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Thanks for stopping by!
Amanda
Thanks for stopping by!
Amanda
