Paint Chip Card Holders!
A bunch of ya’ll that have met me have asked me about my card-holder. Well, here it is. I grabbed a few of those free paint chips ya find at paint stores (home depot), made a few bends here and there, and bahm, you have your very own colorful hand-made paint chip card holder. I made a DIY guide after the jump, though the template’s custom to my cards size (3.5″x1.9/16″). The the home depot chips I used can just barely fit a basic 3.5″x2.5″ card with some changes in the template. Lots of pics after the jump along with the DIY instructions.
To start off, go grab some paint chips(home depot, or any hardware paint store). Pick your favorite color or name. I went by the name, and went with the chip “Green Shimmer”, “Spirit Whisper”, and “Key Lime”!
Here’s a template I made. I changed it up a bit, but you can download the updated version below. The Grey section is what you cut off. The white you keep, and the red lines are where you scribe and bend the card.
Note: Put clear packaging tape over the printed template to avoid ink transfer to your paint chips face.
This is the updated template for my custom card size.(click it and download it) To change the size of the template, make “A” the height of your card, and “B” the thickness that you want the card holder to be. The current design allows about 16-25 cards. You can shift the outlines around based on how you want to graphics from the chips to show up.
Update: Here’s an updated template for a regular 3.5″ x 2″ biz card. In this template, you will have to glue or double tape the final side internal flap noted as “tape or glue”. Enjoy!
Take the template, and flip your paint chip upside down onto it. This allows you to make the scribe marks on the backside of the paint chip.
Once ya got it down, tape down 3-4 sides.
The tools you’ll need are simple: A ruler(straight edge), exacto knife, and scribe, or a rounded point(something that will crease the paper, but not cut).
Scribe all the red lines.
Be sure to avoid scribing over the entire back. It’s not bad if you do, but it just makes a much cleaner back surface.
Cut away the Grey areas. The really small offsets are to give room for the paper to fold into each other, and also for a nice slot for the flap.
Bahm! Everything is cut out, bent, and ready for some folding.
Fold everything inwards, 90 degrees. Do not bend tooooo much in case some paint wants to flake off.
Put a long piece of tape on the bottom part where I labled it “tape”. This is placed to give your cards a nice slide into your holder.
Take that long piece of tape, and lay it down all the way through the top flap. If you can cover a majority of the length, it’s good, as long as it makes it up to the “top flap”. Otherwise, use extra tape, and cut off the excess afterwards.
After you get the tape down, the rest of the folding should be pretty easy to figure out. The side flap is the 2nd to last step. The last step should be folding in the “Inside Flap”. Once this piece is folded in, the whole thing should be locked all together without any tape.
Pop your cards in, and make sure it fits! The inside flap acts as a spring in a way, to keep your cards snug even when theres only a few cards left inside.
Now you might notice this buldge on the side. If you want, stick a piece of double sided tape inside before you fold everything together. Otherwise, it holds together nicely without any tape. You can also use glue or something. If you are using the same paint chips I used(5″x6″) and plan to make a card holder for a 3.5″x2.5″, then you will need to use tape since there is very little extra once you expand the template to fit the larger version.
Bahm! Here is what you get as a final product after sticking in some tape!
I made a bunch of them. On the right side is an example of the 3.5″ x 2.5″ card holder.
A different color for every occasion.
These might also work great for the wonderful Flickr Moo MiniCards I posted about before!
November 13th, 2006 at 3:10 pm
this is just the project i’ve been waiting for–i just finished painting our house but have a guilty 6-inch stack of paint chip cards made from rejected colors.
November 13th, 2006 at 4:46 pm
[…] Nifty Business Card Holders You Can Make Yourself Here’s a fun DIY project to create your own business card holders out of paint chips found at your local paint or hardware store. Posted on November 13th, 2006 in Stefan Bean by Stefan […]
November 13th, 2006 at 4:49 pm
That’s pretty nifty. I don’t know the exact dimensions of an iPod nano, but it seems if you added some foam padding in there it could be a cool little nano case as well.
November 13th, 2006 at 5:01 pm
[…] Check out these recycled business card holders. DesignVerb has a set of instructions on how to make one yourself from paint swatches that you find at home improvement stores. November 13th, 2006 @ 03:00 PM • Filed under Design […]
November 13th, 2006 at 5:40 pm
I’m sorry this just looks a little unclear w/r/t what size paint chip we should use for a ’standard’ business card. Great project though!
November 13th, 2006 at 6:06 pm
Wonder if I can feed these into a inkjet printer and do some more customization on them. Has anyone tried that?
NJTrout
November 13th, 2006 at 6:24 pm
I am very excited about this, thanks a lot.
Now all I have to do is figure out what I am going to use them for, hmm.
November 13th, 2006 at 6:29 pm
These are too cute. I want to make some little ones for my moo cards.
Time to go raid Home Depot!
November 13th, 2006 at 6:48 pm
that is cool!
i think i need to make me one of them.
nice recycling idea.
November 13th, 2006 at 7:34 pm
hey all!
- For the regular biz cards, expand “A” in my template to 2.5″ and lower the red lines some. I didnt have time to make a template for it. Maybe I’ll make one if enough ppl ask for one..
- The ipod idea is awesome!!! if only i had a nano
cheers,
_tango!
November 13th, 2006 at 8:44 pm
VERY nice. Love it! Gonna make a bizillion of them and sell them on my website. Just kidding. Just gonna make one for me-self.
November 13th, 2006 at 8:57 pm
This is great for designers who need to get paint chips all the time, good way to store them and know what colors are inside. (just cut up the same color card into individual colors). Good job.
November 13th, 2006 at 10:51 pm
Came here via Lifehacker, what a great idea, thanks for sharing.
Reminds me of the Moo Skype cards packaging on the postcard, another great idea, but yours gives them portability!
Will be sharing with my craft loving wife.
November 13th, 2006 at 10:59 pm
hello all.
Rock on!, make some of thes paint chip holders, and send me your pics! If you happen to make an ipoid version, be great to get as well!!! Maybe I’ll buy one now that I have another inventive to.
Spread the love!
_t
November 14th, 2006 at 12:14 pm
[…] Here is a cool idea for a Business Card holder: designverb.com […]
November 14th, 2006 at 2:15 pm
Thanks to the LifeHacker link, now I have something to do with all 50 of the paint chips I got last time we did our renovation. Nicely done!
November 14th, 2006 at 3:59 pm
can you post a template for a 3.5×2 business card?
November 14th, 2006 at 4:36 pm
:) yes!
thank you, I shall use this walkthrough for my cards, which are somewhere in the mail right now!!
**excitement**
November 14th, 2006 at 4:58 pm
Looks great for Moo (www.moo.com) Cards,
For those who don’t know Moo MiniCards are wicked looking 28mm x 70mm Cards you can print from your Flickr photos.
November 14th, 2006 at 8:35 pm
[…] designverb (tags: design Business art tips reference projects) Posted in News | Fatal error: Call to undefined function: utw_showrelatedpostsforcurrentpost() in /home/jeremoi/domains/jeremoi.com/public_html/wp-content/themes/wda-10/comments.php on line 25 […]
November 14th, 2006 at 11:39 pm
i’ll post up a 3.5×2.5 template later this week once i find time to do it.
Otherwise, send me picks of your moocards or ipods in these holders!
_t
November 15th, 2006 at 5:05 pm
Nice idea. It reminds me of my card holders from when i was in elementry school and didn’t want my b-ball cards bent or marked by rubber bands.
November 15th, 2006 at 6:34 pm
[…] Business Card Holders Need a good business card holder? Use paint samplers. People will remember and tell their friends, “Oh so you are the paint sampler dude, rock on.” Actually a paint sampler would be quite nice as a business card in it self. […]
November 15th, 2006 at 7:34 pm
[…] designverb A bunch of ya’ll that have met me have asked me about my card-holder. Well, here it is. I grabbed a few of those free paint chips ya find at paint stores (home depot), made a few bends here and there, and bahm, you have your very own colorful hand-made (tags: howto design diy) […]
November 17th, 2006 at 3:57 am
[…] Considering painting the house, with natural paint or otherwise? The task will inevitably leave you with a stack of rejected paint chips. Rework them into these slick card holders. They’d suit the business cards of an eco-aware designer, or use them to store postage stamps or other odds and ends. (If your name happens to be “June Vision” or another colorific moniker, all the better.) The how-to instructions are sized for swatches from Home Depot, but they could be modified to work with whatever your last paint project spawned. ::designverb via Make […]
November 19th, 2006 at 10:00 am
[…] Feeling a bit creative? A bit DIY? Build yourself a Paint Chip Card Holder. Cheap and interesting to boot. Perhaps you want something different that you can show off within your home. Build a Photo Wall and converge your creative and DIY sides. Then again perhaps a more functional and evolving feature wall is more up your alley, check out Pixel Notes and allow your work to create without you realising it. […]
November 20th, 2006 at 8:55 pm
[…] designverb (tags: art cool design) […]
December 8th, 2006 at 6:28 am
Popular 4…
Information about 4…
December 8th, 2006 at 12:08 pm
this is amazingly fun!
what a grand idea!
kudos to you!
December 11th, 2006 at 11:02 pm
I am looking to make these card holders for gifts. I am not able to figure out how to reduce the template to fit a standard business card. Currently when I print it fills a 8.5″ x 11″ piece of paper.
Any help will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!
December 11th, 2006 at 11:53 pm
Sloop,
hi there. thanks for giving the template a try.
First off, for the standard business card size, use this template:
http://www.designverb.com/wp-content/images/2006/11/paint.chip.template.3.5×2.jpg
Next, the print out should print a template that is 6 inches by 5 inches.
If it prints out any larger, your printer is probably scaling up the image to fit the page. If it does this, you will have to go into the Printers properties to turn this feature off.
From there, just follow the instructions and hopefully you’ll be rockin a bunch of theses holders as I have soon. let me know if you still have trouble..
cheers,
_tango!
December 12th, 2006 at 10:36 am
Thanks much tango! I was able to resize the template. Now we’ll see how well the other steps go.
December 12th, 2006 at 11:33 am
Sloop, no problem..send me pics of your results!!!
_t
December 12th, 2006 at 2:41 pm
Will do Tango.
December 12th, 2006 at 11:20 pm
After messing around with this for a couple of hours I was able to figure out how to position the paint chip so you could read the paint names. Trial and error. I also found that I needed to cutout the piece in between the cutlines above the top flap area. Additionally I rounded the opening flap to match the other side. There seems to be more ways than one to construct these boxes.
December 17th, 2006 at 12:28 pm
yup, there are all kinds of variations to mingle with….lines go sideways, upwards, text appear, or are hidden, flaps inside act as a spring, etc… Lots of fun for such a simple project. I still have yet to come up with the the design that will launch one card out at a time!(bond style)
December 20th, 2006 at 4:55 pm
[…] Step-by-step… Design Matters. […]
December 26th, 2006 at 11:25 pm
thanks, that looks like fun! May have to go steal some paint chips though… (came here via whipup.net)
December 27th, 2006 at 12:30 am
kelly,
heya… thanks for the link to whipup…i’ll check it out…have fun with the paint cards..let me know if ya need help.
_t
January 3rd, 2007 at 10:02 am
[…] i thought this was a terrific idea for anyone who hoards paint chip cards (hmmm…did i just admit something?) for color inspiration. a how-to for making little boxes for the cards…from the cards. i’m up for anything that will help me stay organized. […]
January 3rd, 2007 at 9:22 pm
[…] No need to purchase a business card holder, these can be made from junk you have hanging around your home: Acorn Studios has instructions on how to make a business card holder out of an old cassetter case. designverb has a template and instructions on how to make a business card holder out of old paint chip sheets. […]
January 17th, 2007 at 5:29 am
http://www.beholder-art.com/dyn.php/shop/product_detail/385.html
cools, looks like thise person uses the same paint chip card holders that I snagged at Home Dept!!
January 22nd, 2007 at 1:05 pm
[…] Originally Syndicated via RSS from del.icio.us/tag/diy […]
January 29th, 2007 at 2:59 pm
You are SO cool!
January 30th, 2007 at 10:56 am
Sweet
February 3rd, 2007 at 1:56 pm
[…] Looking for simple, original, and unforgettable way to carry your business cards? Check out the Paint Chip Card Holder. […]
February 6th, 2007 at 6:03 pm
[…] Update: Blogland delivered this treat from Design Verb: paintcard business card cases! […]
February 6th, 2007 at 6:04 pm
[…] I’ve decided to start a list of crafty projects that I want to try. It’ll be in the right side column on my website blog, Indie Shopper. First up…designverb’s Paint Chip Card Holder. […]
February 16th, 2007 at 12:12 am
[…] This site gives you complete photo instructions. […]
February 16th, 2007 at 12:16 am
[…] Originally Syndicated via RSS from del.icio.us/tag/diy […]
February 18th, 2007 at 9:49 am
Good design
February 21st, 2007 at 3:18 pm
[…] Paint Chip Card Holders This cool project reminds me I need to get some business cards made. (del.icio.us tags: neato craft design DIY howto) […]
February 22nd, 2007 at 12:15 am
super cool! i love this! thanks for posting!
xxxox
February 22nd, 2007 at 4:44 pm
[…] Check out these business card [1] holders at designverb: Card holders! By KevinP, February 22, 2007, 3:43 pm o’clock […]
March 2nd, 2007 at 12:41 am
[…] Paint Chip Card Holder So I’m not the only one who gets a little out of control when they’re in Home Depot’s paint chip isle. I don’t have any rooms that need painting, but now I have a reason to grab some paint chips. Although I’m sure this is not what paint manufacturers had in mind. Read the tutorial here, designverb.com […]
March 2nd, 2007 at 1:06 am
[…] Follow any comments here with the RSS feed for this post. Post a comment or leave a trackback: Trackback URL. « Spotlight on a Designer: Claudine Hellmuth CHA Display Question» […]
March 14th, 2007 at 12:29 am
[…] designverb (tags: diy Design howto Paper Craft card make) […]
April 17th, 2007 at 5:46 am
I added it to my paper model directory.
April 28th, 2007 at 9:18 pm
[…] paint chip business card holder. His site has a link to an article about design schools being the new business schools. […]
May 3rd, 2007 at 12:26 pm
[…] Apparently someone at designverb came up with a cool idea for a paint chip card holder. I wish I had seen this before I threw out all of our old paint chips! […]
May 5th, 2007 at 1:26 pm
I like this idea. All 200 of my 5th graders will be making Artist Trading Cards next year. I was wondering how we would keep track of them. We might give these holders a try first. THANKS!
May 21st, 2007 at 4:54 pm
wow! what a GREAT idea!! thanks for sharing it to the world!
June 29th, 2007 at 8:52 am
I’m just finding this now… These are so great! Thanks! ~D
July 4th, 2007 at 8:04 am
fantasticcccccccc…:D
August 10th, 2007 at 1:31 am
Fantastic!
August 20th, 2007 at 1:27 pm
Muy bueno!, no sólo la cajita sino los diseños son cheveres, saludos de Perú,
August 20th, 2007 at 1:27 pm
Muy bueno!, no sólo la cajita sino los diseños son cheveres,
saludos desde Perú.
August 21st, 2007 at 1:19 am
this is just simply brilliant! i am gonna make me some of these ;D
cheers,
cindy
September 2nd, 2007 at 9:53 am
[…] Last year there was a tutorial being shared across the Interweb for making little boxes that hold business cards. I recently came across the site again and I decided to make some too. […]
September 21st, 2007 at 3:43 pm
I discovered those boxes some days ago. My box didn’t really look like yours - so i decided to try a matchbox-design which worked out really great. Thanks for those ideas!
September 28th, 2007 at 6:26 am
[…] Packaging http://www.designverb.com/2006/11/12/paint-chip-card-holder […]
October 4th, 2007 at 6:13 pm
Wow, these are great.
October 5th, 2007 at 2:00 pm
[…] I’m constantly tossing interesting websites into what I call my blogpile. Some of them find their way here in the form of regular posts, but more often than not they languish and get buried deeper in the pile. The end result is that I have to go back and do a bit of shoveling. Today’s item is Paint Chip Business Card Holders! digg_url=”http://havecoffeewillwrite.com/?p=4985″; digg_skin = ‘compact’; […]
October 9th, 2007 at 4:27 pm
[…] Paint Chip Card Holders [Designverb] I grabbed a few of those free paint chips ya find at paint stores (home depot), made a few bends here and there, and bahm, you have your very own colorful hand-made paint chip card holder. See here […]
December 13th, 2007 at 12:01 am
Amazing!
December 21st, 2007 at 2:19 pm
I love it! ¡¡Thanks!!
January 28th, 2008 at 2:42 pm
Love this idea! Blogged it on Crafting in a Green World http://craftingagreenworld.com/2008/01/28/new-life-for-leftover-paint-chips/
February 16th, 2008 at 4:17 pm
This is great! I was just shopping for a card holder and didn’t want to shell out $30! You rock!
February 28th, 2008 at 9:39 am
cool idea, any chance it gets easier though?? my kids wanted to try it, but it was too difficul for them, but iluv the idea!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
March 2nd, 2008 at 4:17 am
Really cool. I love thi sboxes.
Best regards,
Kalender
April 13th, 2008 at 3:29 pm
This looks like a fun idea before you try to make it, but your pictures and directions aren’t very helpful. I was left wondering what to do with all the thin pieces sticking out… in your pictures it doesn’t show you what to do with them. More detailed instructions would be helpful.
April 13th, 2008 at 4:10 pm
beth,
sorrie for the confusion. The thin pieces sticking out are to stick under flaps…much like you would in assembling an envelope or box. Think of the loose ends as “tabs” that you stick under thigns for support or places to put double sided tape.
April 14th, 2008 at 10:20 pm
Awesome!!! very creative !!!