I've been working on some recycled jewelry cards/holders for the upcoming Dunwoody Art Festival this May 7th and 8th. Jewelry cards make it a lot easier to keep track of your inventory, because you are looking out for a 2 1/2 inch to 3 1/2 inch card instead of a tiny little trinket that can easily get misplaced. I find the benefits are really worth the effort put into making these, esp. since they are recycled and help with branding.
I make mine out of recycled cereal/frozen pizza/cracker boxes. Any type of thin cardboard will do. I use a papercutter to cut them into uniform sizes, fold them over, staple them, and personalize them with handmade stamps.
The cards shown here are still in progress. The final step is punching holes through the cardboard, so that necklaces can be put through them or earrings hung on them. The hole punching part is not necessary, though.
I hand-carved my stamps from a tree design that I've been wanting to use as a logo for a while now. I learned stamp carving and basic printmaking in college, but you can find a really awesome hand carved stamp tutorial at Geninne's Art Blog.
Some views of the recycled-ness, from the side. I choose to fold my cardboard over for a more uniform look, but you could always let the print show through. Customers usually really appreciate that they are reused.
When I have some more time I plan on posting a full tutorial on this if anyone is interested.
