After gaining the inspiration from my blogging friend, Emily, and following the tutorial she used online, I finally made my very own DIY painted edge business cards—and although I am a tad biased, I think they turned out great.
Like the others recommended, I purchased my business cards on Moo.com and opted for the Luxe Paper, which is perfect for painted edges. The color options on Moo are very standard, and none worked well with my brand. So, I thought a little touch of teal—couldn’t help myself, y’all—on the edges would do the trick.
Supplies //
2” Clamp—I picked mine up at Home Depot for about $5.
Paint—some recommend paper paint, but I used Martha Stewart acrylic paint in two colors to get the result I wanted and didn’t notice a lapse in quality.*
Sponge Brush
2 Paper Plates
*In the future, I’d probably make my edges more teal-blue than teal-green since that’s how the picture on the front turned out when printed at Moo. But since it’s just the edge painted, the color difference is not noticeable on a single card. If this happens to you, don’t sweat it—we can’t all be Pantone!
Directions //
Start out by taking a stack of your cards and making sure all the edges line up perfectly—now is the time to channel your inner-OCD self! You’ll lose the front and back card to the paint, but I kept mine for the future batches so I only lost two cards in the process. A word to the wise—if you don’t line them up correctly, you’ll end up losing more than that.
I mixed my paint on a paper plate, and then dabbed off any excess. Then I dabbed the color onto all four edges of my cards. It’s really crucial to use the sponge brush like a sponge so that the paint doesn’t bleed. In addition to the clamp, I also held my cards together while I was painting them so paint couldn’t sneak into the cracks because my super OCD not-so-inner-self came out to play. I painted all four sides of the cards while they were clamped, and just snuck my brush underneath the clamp to get that side.
It’s important to let your paint dry some before unclamping the cards, but you don’t want to give them time to completely set otherwise it will be hard to separate your cards without ruining some. After about twenty minutes mine were dry to the touch, so I pulled them apart and then stacked them back up them to dry overnight.
Come the next morning, voila! You’re ready for your next networking event.

these products i never try!!! very cool post sweety 😉
Come to check it out my new post:
http://honeyandcotton.org/come-fare-capelli-a-onde-perfette/
Kiss from Rome.
You should give it a whirl sometime! It’s so easy! xo
These look amazing, Katie!! Great DIY 🙂
lovejoanna.com
Thanks Joanna! xo
I really love this idea!! Looks really nice 🙂
http://floralsandsmiles.blogspot.ca/
twitter.com/floralandsmiles
Thank you! If you give it a whirl, let me know – I would love to see.
This is SUCH a great idea Katie!!! Once I order my new cards, I will definitely have to do this. Maybe add a touch of gold, ha!
Thanks for sharing 🙂 XOXO
Kristyn
Primp & Proper
http://www.kristynalysse.com
You should add your touch of gold! Could be a spinoff ;]. So glad you enjoyed them! xo
That is a GREAT IDEA!!! And you remind me.. I really need business cards for my blog!! Ack! Yours look GREAT! – http://www.domesticgeekgirl.com
So glad you enjoyed the tutorial! There are so many good predesigned ones out there! Check out Minted. xo
Ah, this is such a fantastic tutorial! I never thought of painting the edges of your cards yourself. It fits your branding perfectly!
Thanks Alicia! xoxo
These look so amazing!
Hannie at SOMETIMES I FEEL LIKE ALICE.
Thank you, girl!
LOVE this idea and tutorial! I am definitely going to try this out! So cute and original! Thanks for sharing!
–Samira xx–
http://www.stylemesamira.com/
So glad you enjoyed them! Let me know when you’re done with yours, I would love to see! xo
Love this idea! 🙂
Thanks Ashley! xo
THESE ARE SO CUTE!!!! Love love love this DIY, thanks for sharing!
xx, Mikkaela
Glad you enjoyed them!! xo
Those look great! Nice work!
Melanie @ meandmr.com
Thanks Melanie! x
Such a wonderful business card! First impression goes a long way. I think you got it!
That’s great idea!! Thank you.