It’s time to make that leap from the tabletop in your workspace to the display shelf of a stationery store. Here’s how to get going:

(above: cards on display at Rare Device of Park Slope, Brooklyn)

1) RESEARCH. Come up with a list of stores you’d like to have your products available in. By that, I mean the stores whose style and aesthetic are similar to your creations, which may not necessarily be the same stores that you like buying stationery items from.

Check to see if the stores have websites, and if they do, whether there are product submission guidelines. More and more stores have this nowadays. I’ve compiled a list of boutique stores which might be helpful.

Look for contact information — unless there’s a specific submissions e-mail address, most likely you’ll be writing to the store e-mail, which the owner usually checks. If possible, find out the name of the storeowner(s) — that way you can address them directly when you are writing, and there’s a lower chance that your e-mail might be overlooked in the flood of strange correspondences and spam that stores often recieve.

2) WRITE. Your e-mail to the store should “pitch” your product to the storeowners:

-  a clear description of your product (materials, colors, measurements/dimension)

- the retail price (the price your products will be sold at) — storeowners who are interested in carrying your stuff will probably make their suggestions on pricing based on their store experience, but it’s important to start out with a pretty good idea of how much your products should cost and stick to your prices as much as possible. Pricing can get a bit tricky, so here’s an article on how to price your work.

- the wholesale price of your product (this is usually 50% of your retail price and is what you will actually get paid if your product sells in the store)

- a short description of who would be interested in buying your product, and why

- the names of other stores, if any, that are carrying your products

- you might also want to include a brief bio telling them more about yourself and the story behind your stationery line

3) ATTACH. Your writing may spark the storeowners’ interest in your stuff, but it’s the photos you attach to your e-mail that will make them press the reply button and tell you they’re interested. Either attach 2 to 3 good photos of your products (as jpgs, of no more than 75KB each), or else send them a weblink to another site where your products photos are. You could put your photos on an image-hosting service like flickr, on your own website or blog, or on an online shop like etsy.

4) SEND. After you’ve proofread everything, attached your images, and made sure it’s addressed to the right person, press “send”!

5) REPLY. Stores that are interested in your work will reply to your initial email within a couple of weeks and probably request samples from you. Send one or two items that best represent your products. You’re almost there!

Good luck! 

[We’d love to hear your experiences in submitting your work to stores, so please share those with us in the comments section!]

You’ve spent days, weeks, months, conjuring up those great ideas, and then meticulously making replicas of your products. Finally, everything’s branded, packaged, ready-to-go, and it’s almost time to get in touch with stores to see if they’d be interested in carrying your stuff.

WAIT. There’s one thing you should do before you start spreading the word about your new stationery line. DECIDE ON YOUR RETAIL PRICE.

Yes, it’s tricky. But here are some pointers to make it a bit easier:

1) Take a look at what’s already out there. Do some thorough research on how products similar to yours (in terms of style, material, method, size) are selling, and what the price range on those items is. You should set a retail price (the price it sells for) somewhere within that range. [To make this research a bit easier, I’ve compiled a list of online boutique shops that carry stationery by independent designers.]

2) Calculate the cost of materials for each item. If you’re a little mathematically-challenged (like me), you might want to take out your calculator. Add up the price of all the materials you used to make your products. If you had a printshop do some work for you, add in how much they charged you. If you had to rent a studio to work in (e.g. for letterpress or silkscreening), add in that fee. Divide the material total by the number of items you were able to make from them. That’s the material cost per item.

3) Think about how much time and energy you put into making each item. For example, you would charge more for your time if you’re cutting, gluing and pasting a design onto each card than if you were screenprinting them. You’ll have to look at how other stationery items that are currently on the market, that are made in a similar way to yours, are priced.

4) Your retail price would be the sum (total) of your material cost per item + cost of your time per item + a little bit extra (hopefully a teeny profit). Also, keep in mind that if you plan on having stores carry your items and selling them for you, what you actually get to keep is only approximately 50%, yes half, of the retail price.

Don’t think that just because you’re a newbie in the field of stationery design that you should charge less for your products. Your work speaks for itself, and people who want to buy your things could care less whether this is your first line, or if you’ve been churning out stationery for years. They’ll pay based on the quality and craftmanship that goes into your work. So set your price, and stick to it.

Why am I making such a big deal about this? When I first started showing my stuff to stores, I didn’t have a set retail price. I only offered a price range, so some storeowners chose the lowest numbers (which meant I was making almost nothing after the 50% cut)and some were willing to try the higher. Luckily, the higher pricepoints worked. Then I found myself having to run around negotiating price adjustments so that I could have a uniform retail price in every store that carries my products. It’s such a hassle, and I’m so thankful that the storeowners I’ve worked with have been so understanding about it. But if I’d known from the beginning how to go about things, I wouldn’t have caused so much inconvenience for myself and for them.  For me, it really has been all about learning from my mistakes. Hopefully, those of you who read will be able to go about it much better than I did. Good luck!

There’s something really enticing about a nicely wrapped package. Whether it’s a gift for a friend or something you bought for yourself, the extra details of the package — the box, the tissue paper, the ribbons — they make opening the bundle a treat in itself.

It’s important to have a good packaging design for two main reasons:

1. it gives your product a “finished” look, adding to the value of your work — it catches the attention of those who are just browsing, and people immediately see the extra time and care you spent on it

2. it protects each item from wear and tear of being on a storeshelf, being touched by curious customers, and from the bumpy (and sometimes rainy) rides in the mail truck

Here are some tips for how to come up with package your stationery:

- clear plastic envelopes are great for card-and-envelope notesets, especially if you’re selling them individually

(Screenprinted notecards and matching envelopes by Good on Paper are packaged in clear plastic sleeves with an informational sticker on the front that has her brand name and logo.)

- if you’re selling sets of cards and envelopes, custom-sized boxes are great — besides protecting the cards, people often save them after they’ve used up all the cards (especially if they’re nicely decorated) to put their own trinkets in

(The postal decorativ collection of 1201am consists of a set of 8 postcards packaged in a clear plastic box with a logo sticker.)

- if you don’t want to have a box or envelope, you might consider some type of ribbon or vellum strip that binds the cover and pages together so the pages will be protected from poking fingers of people who are “just browsing”

(Herman Yu’s cards, above left) are packaged in a die-cut box that shows the card design through the square window. All This is Mine’s sewing cards and matching envelopes (above right) are held together with a strip of satin measuring tape.) 

Be creative with the materials you use. If there’s a theme to your items, have the packaging match that. Try using different types of papers, like old maps, art papers, newspaper, and comics. And you could seal up your package with things like string, ribbon, gardening wire, or whatever else you have handy. This tutorial by Dawbis shows a great way to use old paper shopping bags. Remember though, don’t go overboard with the packaging, and have your brand clearly visible on the outside packaging.

Some extra things to keep in mind:

- if you’re sending your stationery via mail, it’s a good idea to put some type of plastic protective wrapping around the products before you put them in the box or envelope for shipping. Besides being bumped around, you never know if your parcel is going to be delivered on the rainiest day of the year — to arrive in the hands of an anxious customer who opens it up to find that, because there was no waterproof wrapping, all your beautiful goods are soggy and curled. (For more on this, check out these pointers for how to prepare your parcel for shipping by ehow.)

- if you’re preparing your items to be sold in a store, you might want to provide an extra sample item that isn’t wrapped up like the others that can be used for display. It’ll draw more people to look at your stuff, and once they’ve decided they want to get it, they can pick out a brand new packaged one from the stack beside the sample.

For some more great ideas on how to package things, or to share what clever ways you’ve chosen to wrap things up, stop by the flickr group nice package.

When I first began to supply boutique stores with my handmade journals, I didn’t think too much about branding. Each handmade book was packaged with a vellum strip with my brand printed across it, and a little informational insert placed inside for the person who buys the journal to later discover by him/herself. Besides that, any other mark showing my brand on either the front or back of my journals was conspicuously missing.

One of the storeowners who was interested in the handmade books gave me a bunch of suggestions as to how to place the brand on my product, what information should be visible, and how branding that is well done can raise the value of the product. Here’s what I learned from her about product branding:

- have the name of your brand clearly visible (if you haven’t thought of a name yet, choose one that represents you and that is easy for others to remember — it’s always fun to have a story behind it that you can tell others about when they ask you.)

- you could choose to have only text, or you might also want to include a logo/symbol or tag words as part of your brand identity design. whatever you choose, make if clear, consistent and highly-recognizable on all your products. you could even add your website address (you never know, someone might come across your work in a store and want to contact you directly later on to make a large or custom order)

- branding can be applied on your product in a number of ways, such as: stamping with a moveable type or custom-made stamp, embossing, pre-printing onto your paper surface, or attaching an adhesive label that has your brand identity printed on.

- the branding should be part of the stationery item even after all the protective packaging is removed. it can be located anywhere on your product, as long it can be found easily, depending on whatever you think looks best.

(above: 16 Sparrows screenprinted her intricately designed logo onto the back of each envelope)

You may have to try out a whole bunch of different styles before you find the right look for your brand. Keep in mind that whatever you choose, the design should be consistent with the overall aesthetic of your actual product. For example, it wouldn’t look very good if you chose a flowery gothic font to write the name of your brand on a product that is playful and cute. And it would look strange to use an inked stamp (which gives a very earthy, crafty look) when your design is something very sleek and modern.

(above: lovelydesign uses different types of stickers and labels to put on each of her products)

Whatever you choose, your brand will add value to your product. When people see that there is a clear brand identity, they’ll immediately assume that there is a sophisticated, well-organized studio churning out all these great paper products. They won’t at all suspect that it’s just you in your living room with your scissors and ink pad, in the company of a yawning cat.

(above: The Small Object alternates between using a custom embosser and printed logos, based on what type of material she is working on)

Even if you aren’t going to have stores carry your products, whatever cards or other things you make for family and friends should still have a little bit of branding on it to show that you created it, and that it’s part of your own line of stationery designs. This is something you’ve made, so don’t be shy — let others know that!

For the longest time, I kept noticing the acronym ATC show up on blogs and webpages of illustrators and designers. From the context, I could tell that there was some type of trade or swap going on, but I still didn’t quite get it. So I snooped around some more and soon realized that the buzz is about artist trading cards (ATC).

Each trading card is a tiny piece of original artwork. The idea behind them is to trade, swap, and collect. Just like sports fans trade cards of the favorite players, people collect ATCs by their favorite illustrators and designers.

(Above: Artist trading cards by Katey Nicosia, of One Good Bumblebee)

The advantage of ATCs over collecting an assortment of postcards and small-size prints is that they’re all the same size, measuring 2.5 inches wide and 3.5 inches high. This makes it easy for the collector to put them in boxes or special albums to save and look at conveniently without damaging the artwork on each card.

Also, what makes an ATC more special than a postcard reproduction is that they’re available in very limited numbers. Their values lies in their being one-of-a-kind originals, or a small batches of the same image — numbered editions. That information, along with the artist’s name, contact information and the title of the piece, are displayed on the back of each card.

(You can see the artist and image information written on the back of this stamp and collaged trading card by Monique (moki). This card was one of the ATCs traded in a recent swap with the theme of “fairy tales and fables.”)

When trading cards, artists often add an extra note telling more about themselves and the image pictured on the card — so that whoever receives it will find out more about them. The biggest draw of ATCs is that they’re a great way to share your work and get to know more artists, in your own community and worldwide.

Here are some basics to keep in mind when making your own artist trading card:

Use sturdy material for the card base, such as cardstock. If you don’t want to be wasteful and would like to get the most number of cards cut from a standard-size sheet (8.5 by 11 inches), take a look at the artist trading card cutting diagram by Mirkwood designs. If you’re interested, there’s also an artist trading card envelope template.

Once you have your blank cards, take out your art supplies and get to work! Draw, paint, collage, sew, you can do anything and everything that’s possible to the little card.

When you’re done, you’ll find that there are some pieces you like more than others, and some cards you won’t even want to part with! Just think — other artists you trade with will be in the same situation, and wouldn’t you rather receive one of the their favorite pieces rather than the ones they don’t like?

Before you part with your cards, remember to take some high quality photos of every piece of work. You might even want to scan images onto your computer. Even though you’re trading your original pieces, you can, if you choose to, make prints of those images onto your own cards, envelopes, and notebooks.

(The Small Object’s Collector Cards are copies of her original art pieces. The collector cards are sold in a set of 9.)So it’s time to start swapping! You can either look around in cyberspace for an open call to swap, or e-mail a group of crafty people you know and suggest a theme for your own ATC swap.

If you’d like to see more about ATCs, including forums, tips, and trade circles, check out these two sites: ATCards.com and Artist Trading Cards: A Collaborative Cultural Performance.

To see what other ATCs are out there, take a look at the ones on the flickr groups artist trading cards and atc’s. Remember to share photos of your own work, and send us a link to tell us if you do!

After many months of cutting, folding, pasting, printing, and over half a dozen prototypes later, you finally have it: an impressive little line of paper products. You’ve gotten the nod of approval from your family and friends. And you’ve done your research looking online at the other stationery items that are currently selling in stores, so you have a good idea of how to price your goods and what type of people might be interested in buying them.

It’s time to start thinking about the business side of things. While opening your own brick and mortar store might be somewhere on the horizon, that’s a little bit larger of a playing field than you might be able to handle at the moment. Instead, it’s much more practical (and much less stressful) to start by opening your own little shop online. Here are some main things to include when you open your online store:

- an easy-to-remember (and easy-to-type) domain name

- good product photography

- detailed product descriptions and prices

- ordering and shipping information –  what services are available at what costs, if there are any discounts for ordering over a certain amount, do you provide gift-wrapping for free or at an additional rate – you’ll need to do some research on these things and decide which work for you and how much you want to charge your customers for these features

- information about your stationery line, your store, or yourself — besides having a great product, it’s always a plus to have a great story to go with it!

- your contact information  — yes, you will be answering questions about the products, accomodating to different payment and shipping options, and handling all other types of correspondence you might get from people interested in your products

- a shopping cart to process payments – there are a quite a few reliable options out there, and you’ll need to do more research on which suits you. Of course, they all charge you a fee, but that’s reasonable considering they take care of complicated financial transactions for you. Paypal is one of the most reputable for this service.

So now that you know what your store needs to have, how do you actually go about constructing it? You have three choices:

(pictured above: Susie Ghahremani’s Boy Girl Party Shop)

Build, from scratch, a personal website with complete online store functions. If you’re tech-saavy, or know someone who’d be willing to help you with web design and programming, you might want to consider this.

Pros: you have your own domain name, making it easy for people to find your store, and you have a completely customized site that you can update and change however you want.

Cons: if you’re not doing the technology part yourself, you’ll need to wait till your programmer has time to help you; and it gets costly — payment for your web designer (unless you can figure out a fair deal, like you making a bunch of stationery items for him/her in exchange for help with building your site) hosting fees, software fees, and transaction costs.

It’ll probably take several days or weeks before your store is ready for business. In the meantime, instead of having an “under construction” sign on your homepage, you might want to put up some product photos and descriptions, and a contact e-mail. 

Another way to build a customized online store, without having to keep track of so many things on your own, is to opt for the next closest thing. Sign up and pay to use online store-building software and services to create a template-based shop.

Pros: you get the basic functions of a store with a package that includes a reliable shopping cart and product-display software; you pay your fee per month (Yahoo! Small Business offers 3 different packages for varying storefront needs) so you can upgrade if you decide you need more features, or if you decide you don’t want to work on your store anymore, you can simply close up.

Cons: you’re charged a set fee per item you sell; the functions are limited — you can’t add links to other sites that might be selling your stuff, and there are only cookie-cutter templates for you to choose from (so you’d have to get a web designer to help you if you want a more unique look).

If all this sounds mind-boggling, you might want to consider something on a smaller scale: open a small online shop that’s part of a larger selling community. Think of it as if you’re one of the shops inside a big shopping mall. You’ve already got tons of people in the mall window-shopping, so as long as you can make your catch their attention, they might stop by, take a look, and buy a thing or two.

(above: hundreds of small handmade boutique shops are thriving on Etsy)

Pros: it’s free to setup! And the listing fees are so low that you can add new products as often as you want at very little cost. It’s so user-friendly you’ll hardly ever run into problems with uploading product pictures or editing descriptions.

Cons: you don’t have your own domain name and there’s very little customization so you’ll have to stick with their templates. With CafePress, they do the printing and mailing for you, so you don’t have much control over the production quality of your designs, nor of the way the items are packaged and shipped to the buyer.

With some thorough planning and attention to detail, you could have your own online store up and running in matter of days. Then it’ll be time to put your energy into promoting your website, getting people to stop by your shop to see, and buy, the things you’ve made!

I’ve been musing over what to do with a set of photos I’d like to display. I’ve also got some postcards I want to store for safe-keeping while still being able to take them out to look at once in a while without having to shuffle through a messy pile. And I’ve got envelopes filled with tickets, receipts, and other souveniers from recent vacations that I’d like to put into a book. I’d been stuck over what type of portfolio, display book or scrapbook to use, spending too much time inside art supply stores looking at their pricey selections when I realized I’d completely overlooked one of the simplest but most sophisticated-looking book forms out there — the accordion.

(Pictured above, photographer Carlos Motta’s “SOA: Black and White Pain-tings I” is a letterpress printed and handbound accordion book created while in residency at the New York Center for Book Arts)

The accordion book (also known as the concertina) is one of the most popular forms that is used by book artists because it is one of the best ways to display images. The book expands when you pull out the cover, and you can stand it up to get a full view of each page, just like the long panels and walls of a gallery exhibit. And when you’re done admiring the pictures, your entire collection can be tucked away safely and put onto the bookshelf.

(Pictured above: Book artist Dennis Yuen’s Atlas Accordion and miniature books)

If you’d like to try making one yourself, I’ve put together these instructions for how to make an accordion book, based on instructions from hgtv and a high school art class handout:

Materials: 2 pieces of bookboard or thick cardboard, very long sheet of paper (this will be the full length of your book when open, and the height of this sheet should be at least the height of the largest picture you want to stick on the page), 2 sheets of decorative paper (for the front and back covers), glue, scissors, bone folder

1. Folding the accordion: Cut the long sheet of paper to whatever height you choose. Fold the paper in half. Then fold each half to the middle. You should have a mountain/valley fold sequence. (If you want to make an extra-long book, make two of these long folded sheets and join them together with either glue or tape.) Use a bone folder when folding to get crisp clean folds.

2. Making the book covers: Apply glue to one piece of the book board. Attach it to the backside of a sheet of decorative paper, centering it on the sheet of paper. Trim triangular corners off the four corners of the paper, then fold the edges of paper over the book board and glue them down. Repeat the process for the back cover.

3. Assembling the book: Apply glue to the top page of your folded accordion. Attach it to the backside of the front cover. Use the bone folder to smooth down the paper. Repeat for the back cover.

4. Attach your images to the pages of the accordion book using glue, rubber cement, double-sided tape, or photo corners.

You might want to make a whole series of accordion books to hold artwork with different themes, or start a separate one as a scrapbook for each vacation you take. Besides being a great way to exhibit pictures and memories in your own home or workspace, it’s also a great book form to use as a portfolio — hence, you sometimes hear the accordion book referred to as an artist’s book. Also, for all you moms, dads and teachers out there, this is a good one to make with kids and students. It’s easy for them to put together themselves, and it’s a great way for them to display their artwork and writings.

Iced tea with mint and honey, sparkling water, and freshly-squeezed juice — some of the things you can’t do without as the summer heat settles in. As your refreshing, icy drink sits on your tabletop, you can’t help but notice the little pool of water that forms around the bottom of your glass, bottle or can. It’s time to get yourself some fun summertime coasters.

Milkfed Press custom-makes letterpressed coasters with unique, quirky designs (pictured above, left). The Paper Monkey’s nature-themed coasters come in a set of eight. I really like the spunky look of their avocado green bird coasters (above, center) because of the square shape and combination of image with text. Recycled magazine coasters (above, right) are a clever and resourceful way to put glossy pages of old images and print to good use.

Brooklyn-based Sesame Letterpress makes coasters with intricate designs, my favorite of which is the peacock coaster set (shown above, left). The designs are letterpressed onto heavyweight, absorbant beverage boards with rubber-based inks, making each coaster durable and reusable. They’re sold in a set of eight. Snow and Graham makes a line of coaster invites (above, center) that are a great two-in-one idea. Available for a number of themes including cocktail parties, girls’ night out, and wedding celebrations, the invites come in a set of six with matching envelopes. The best part is that the recipient gets to use the invitation as a coaster — doesn’t that solve the problem of nice invites just getting thrown away? Bob’s Your Uncle’s disposable paper coaster pad (above, right) has 12 fun designs with offbeat, humorous quotes. The 48 sheets (coasters) come as a tear-off pad for you to conveniently store in the kitchen cabinet and throw away after you use them.

If you’ve got a good design that you want to show off and a little bit of time on your hands, you might want to try making your own coasters. Here are the instructions for how to make your own coasters, based on the instructions by Microsoft:

You’ll need: your design, cardstock, scissors, glue, sheets of cork, x-acto knife and ruler (optional), spray-on paper protectant (optional), compass or corner rounder (optional), self-laminating sheets (optional)

1. Transfer your design onto the cardstock. Make sure that the design fits on either a 3.5 to 4 inch square or circle. Cut out the coaster. If you want to have rounded edges on your square, use a corner rounder.

2. If you want a glossy surface for your coasters, then cover each with the self laminating sheet and trim off the excess on the sides. If you prefer a matte look and you applied your design with waterproof inks, skip this step. Instead, when you’ve added the cork backing (Step 3), finish each coaster with a spray-on paper protectant (remember to follow the safety instructions when you use it!).

3. Cut out pieces of cork in the same dimension as the paper coasters. Glue the paper coasters onto the cork backing. Let the coasters dry.

After all that hard work, it’s time to pour yourself a nice cold drink, add a couple of ice cubes, and admire your new coaster as it sits under your glass!

You probably had your first encounter with paper-cut art as a child, when you folded a piece of paper into fourths or eighths, snipped out pieces, and then reopened your paper to get a big, clumsy snowflake.

If you liked your childhood snowflake experience and you’re comfortable with using sharp little scissors, x-acto knives and glue guns, then you might want to try making some paper-cut designs. Of course, keep in mind that the detail and precision to that goes into creating paper-cut artwork is mind-boggling. 

A couple of weekends ago, when I was at the Brooklyn Museum of Art, I saw one of the paper-cut and mixed media installations by street artist Swoon. Seeing her work reminded me of the versatility that lies in paper-cut art. Instead of protecting her laboriously-crafted paper sculptures with frames and shadow boxes, Swoon places her work on walls, lamposts, street corners. The wear and tear of the elements becomes as much a part of her style as her intricately cut patterns and designs. By combining such a fragile artform with urban graffitti, she makes a marked change in how paper-cut is viewed in the art world (think: Henri Matisse). The image pictured on the left is one of Swoon’s pieces in Soho, New York.

If you’re up for the challenge, you can get started by following this simple tutorial on papercutting from the Guild of American Papercutters:

1) Get a pair of scissors. Fingernail, cuticle or any scissors will do. Begin by using what you have, and what you’re most comfortable with.

2) Get a piece of paper. Typing paper will do just fine, just so it’s not too heavy weight for the scissors. Paper is always a prime topic when papercutters get together. But leave the details until later. Use what you have.

3) If you have already thought of a subject, fine, but if you are undecided look out your window. What do you see? A swingset, a bird house, a car, a tree, a bird, anything will do. Imagine it’s dark and there is a light area behind the subject. There you have a silhouette. Reduce it to as few details as possible.

4) You can trace your outline on the paper, or you can be especially adventurous and just pick up the scissors and paper and start.

5) To make a design with a mirror image, fold the paper before you start to cut and sketch your design on the outside. Cut through the two papers at once. Don’t make it too detailed. Now, open the fold and look at what you have done. It’s probably not a masterpiece but its a start. Practice by working on larger designs and then as you get better, you can begin to add intricate patterns and shapes, and adjust the scale of your design accordingly.

To see what others have done, and to share your own paper-cut art, take a look at the flickr groups silouhette — paper cut and cut paper illustration.

You might also want to spend more time looking at resources, artists and books recommended by The Guild of American Papercutters and the links on Papercutters’ World.

Some of my favorite paper-cut artists include: Greenbeanbaby’s Ellia Ana Hill, who uses carefully cut and assembled pieces of colored and patterned papers to create whimsical illustrations (above, left); Turquoise Creative’s Misha Zadeh, who cuts shapes from colorful translucent vellum and layers the pieces onto smooth cardstock (above, center); and Saelee Oh, who uses paper-cut designs to decorate accessories, make stationery, and create larger pieces of framed paper-cut artwork (above, right).

Here are some stationery items with collage designs that you can find at boutique stationery stores and online consignment shops:

The Paper Princess’ June 1968 collage-style noteflats (pictured above, left) are created with vintage bits and pieces that are digitally scanned and reprinted on professional quality finished paper. Paper Relic’s collage postcards (above, right) combine a number of vintage pieces to create a picture of a whimsical world. The rounded corners complete the antique feel of the card.

Cavallini’s Papers, carried in many major paperies and stationery stores, features vintage-style prints on their entire line of stationery products (above). They’re a large company that’s been open for over 17 years, with their designs being made in San Francisco and the high-quality products manufactured in Italy.

On a smaller scale and made in limited numbers, are Sue Prue’s handmade cards (pictured above, left). They are created by combining fabric, exotic paper and woodchips to produce three-dimensional pieces. And Sprout Studio’s one-of-a-kind collages spice up what would otherwise be blank white rescued art journals.

How you layer, mix and match, what paper (or fabric) textures and color you choose — they’re all part of what make your design look good, and unique. The handmade collage card tutorial on hgtv uses many different materials and might give you some ideas.

The flickr photo pool collage images has a large collection of pictures, graphics, and fonts that are alright for artists and designers to use in derivative works of art. And if you want to share your collage designs or see what others have done, be sure to take a look at the flickr group, collage crazy.