Myriam

Just thought I'd report on my home-printed cards. I used Avery's Ivory Two-Side Printable Clean Edge Business Cards and my Epson Stylus Photo R2400 printer. I don't know if it's Avery's paper and/or the inks in my printer, but the cards are smudge proof. I even wetted one so much that now it's wavy. No amount of pressure could get the ink to smudge though. The package doesn't say how thick the cards are, but it's the same thickness as most business cards around. The paper surface is matte and baby-skin smooth. It takes pen or pencil beautifully if you want to write on them. In regards to being smudge proof, your mileage may vary depending on the type of printer (inks) your have, but I would definitely recommend Avery's products, especially the Clean Edge series. You really can't tell that the cards were not printed by a print shop.

Took a while longer than I expected but I finally have a new version to show. I've made the following modifications: - card front: reduce the size of the picture and give more leading between the names and phone numbers; - card back: added "leather" in the first paragraph and changed "We do a variety..." to "We make a variety..." in the second paragraph. A big thank you to all who have commented so far. Your ideas really helped me think about the cards and some things I hadn't thought about or noticed. I guess we're ready to print them now, but I'll wait a bit, in case someone here notices a big boo-boo I missed

Hi Karen, Unfortunately, I can't help you with the rawhide, I haven't worked with it yet, but I wanted to take the time to welcome you to the forums!

Ken: I totally agree with you about the quality of the card stock. I have a high-end photo printer that I will use to print the cards. Still looking for the right paper though. I want something that'll last (good thickness and smooth on both sides) but not too expensive either. We currently have more urgent expenses so I don't mind cutting a 100-200 cards by hand to start with if it means saving the cost of professional printing. Janne: Glad to hear I nailed the font for the business name. I lost track of how many fonts I tried! I added more leading between the phone numbers and it does make a big difference. I guess I stared at the card for so long that I didn't even realize they were too close together! I also tried shrinking the picture on the front side and it does make everything breathe better. I'll have to take another picture of the braiding though 'cause I don't have more showing on either sides and I'd like to keep everything looking like a it's in a rectangular shape rather than an hour glass shape. Will do that tomorrow when the sun's up and will post a revised version. Bar C Leather: Like I said to Ken, we can't afford professional printing for now. But I'll keep the idea about the gloss, even though I'd prefer a semi-gloss. It would still have the more professionally done side without making the cards too hard to read under harsh lighting. Good idea about using "We create" or "We make" instead of "We do." I'll discuss with my hubby which one of your suggestions we want to use and I'll implement the change.

Hi Jim and welcome to the forum!

Bump! Anybody else have comments/suggestions?

Beautiful work! Really nice tooling and I love the coloring you did. Makes your tooling stand out. Only thing I'd critique on is the stitching right above the T, looks like it went a little off course there. But otherwise, I don't see anything wrong. Good job!

Just finished reading this thread and my head is spinning! Lots of good information though.

This is beautiful work! Love the eagles and very well painted too. Good job!

Hi Maikial and welcome to the forum! I don't know if they carry the same exact buckle mechanism, but I would check http://www.ohiotravelbag.com/. I haven't ordered from them yet, but have seen them being recommended many times in the forum.They offer a huge selection of items so if you can't find the same exact thing, maybe you'll find something similar.

Beautiful work, Ferg! And there's nothing, weird. Sometimes inspiration comes from the most unusal places/events/circumstances.

Ferg: Thanks. I'm eager to know what your daughter thinks. I'll be posting a revised version at the end of my message, so be sure to grab that one too! Bruce: Good idea about putting our names. I totally agree, gives it a more personal feel. About the phone number format, it's been around for a few years. I'm glad you gave me some insight about it though. Don't want people wondering what the heck it is, I want them to call! We'd rather not put our mailing address on there. Personal preference. If enough money starts coming in from this, then maybe we'll get a P.O. Box and put that on there. Big Gun Doctor: Good idea too about being a little more specific. At first, I didn't want to list anything so I wouldn't limit ourselves or have some people not call because what they want isn't listed. But I think I figured out a way of going around that problem. Mike: I agree. I just posted a revised version. To everyone (whether you have replied or not): I've taken in the comments received so far and came up with a revised version. Here it is. What do you think? Am I going in the right direction?

Hello everybody! It's been a long time, too long, since I've been here but I have to get back to what I like the most and try to get the business going. I've been fiddling with a design for a business card. Tried many things for a long time without coming up with anything satisfying. However, I think I finally have something worth showing. I'd like to hear your opinion/suggestions!

Thank you, sorethumbs. Yup, the top is a 4x4 of Douglas Fir. Don't know what the 2x4 (used for the base) are. Now that's something I hadn't thought of. Thank you for the idea, yaklady!