Need a Clever and Cheap Way to Display and Sell Your Beaded Jewelry Designs?
With all the Christmas Craft Fairs in full swing, you may be looking for simple ways to display your original art jewelry that will set you apart from others at the fair… as well as increase the perceived value for your pieces.
Try making some of your own jewelry display cards for your earrings and pendants from card stock.
The tent style card pictured above has the added design feature of being able to stand up and display your jewelry. This makes for a much more interesting display from a distance than cards that lay flat on the table.
You could have these printed up for you or you could print them up yourself with an inkjet or laser printer at home. Because my laser printer does not handle heavy card stock, I created these cards with rubber stamps and ink.
These earring display cards were made with 2-3/4 inch by 8-1/2 inch strips of heavy card stock paper folded in half. A stiffer card stock is works best, especially for heavier earrings.
I used alpha stamps to print the names on the cards and I rubbed the edges with ink to give them a distressed look. The name I sell my jewelry under is Funky Girl, since my designs have a quirky and funky look to them.
If you are printing these cards on your computer, you can add all kinds of info about how your product is made as well as contact / website details.
Even if you are just selling your jewelry to friends and family, a display card such as this can up the professionalism and perceived value of the piece. You can give your jewelry an indie-artist look like I have. Or you may prefer something more designer in style. It’s up to you.
Don’t think it is worth your effort? A simple handmade display card like this can turn your $6 earrings into $15 ones… or your $15 sets to $25. Remember that your customers are often buying your jewelry designs for gifts. The recipients never had the chance to meet you. So add a little extra personality to your earrings and pendants by putting them on a great display card and watch your sales soar!
For more ideas on Selling Your Polymer Clay Jewelry, here are a couple of other articles you can read:
So do you think you will try and make some earring display cards for selling your handmade polymer clay jewelry? If so do you have any ideas you’d like to share?
Great idea! I’ve made some from hand-made paper but when I ran out of the paper, I couldn’t find anything like it that I could afford. Cardstock is always available! Thanks!
Thanks for the tip Cindy! Displaying earrings has been a problem for me since day one. I had no problems with necklaces or bracelets, but the earrings have always remained elusive. I promised myself that I would figure it out next year and one option was the tent card. I have a few other ideas too but have to work them out in my head first.
BTW-I love the earrings on the left…they look like little eyes staring back at you! : -)
@Gayle: Thanks! Handmade paper would be lovely, but you’re right, if you make it yourself, it’s not always available!
@crystalallure: Thank you! I love those earrings too! I’m calling those beads ‘Jungle Ninja’ because her face is wrapped in leaves and she looks like a ninja! Mother Nature’s warrior fighting those who harm the environment! ;-)
Cindy,
I absolutely love this idea! I never thought about it, but I have card stock, and am going to try to make some for my next craft show.
Thanks so much for the tip!
Kat
You’re welcome Kat! Thanks for visiting!
Do you have an idea for displaying necklaces? This would help me so much–I’m just starting out with jewelry at craft shows & could use all the help I can get. I love the idea of the earring cards. I’m disabled & only do one show a year, but work all year towards it. Thankx–DE BRADEN
I haven’t really figured out an ideal way to display necklaces, yet. I put a hang tag on them and lay them on the table. I do always wear a necklace so that people get the idea how they look on, which really helps. I would like to get one of those busts, or possible make one some how.
If anyone out there has a great idea for displaying necklaces, please share. Darinda and I would really appreciate it!
Good luck on your show Darinda!
that’s a really cool and practical tip for displaying your earrings! i’m sure these tent cards won’t cost a lot but will definitely add value and appeal to your products. this made me remember the greeting cards that come with handmade bracelets looped around one side of the card. i bought a few of those last Christmas which I gave away as presents. now perhaps these earrings on tent cards will be a good idea for this holiday gift-giving. an earring stand and a greeting card all-in-one!
thanks for the tips! :)
You are very welcome Liz! Glad to help!
I need to make display cards for necklace, earrings, and bracelets. The urgency is that I need to make them for a show that is being held this weekend.
I would like more information on the display shown on your site. Thank you for your consideration.
Are you talking about the cards in the photo above Sandra, because the info on how to make them is in the post? If not, I am not exactly sure what it is you are asking for.
Good luck with your show! Hope you make lots of sales!
Hi, just thought of an ideal way to show your necklaces like this. Where the two holes are for the earring, do slits on either side (or if your holes are big enough) slide the chain through and then just use a little tape on the back to conceal the chain. Easy peasy :) Hope it helps.
That is an excellent idea Sophie! I’ve done something similar though I used a piece of fine copper wire to secure the necklace like a twist tie at the back.
Thanks so much for sharing you display tips!
I have just packed a series of felt earrings with sterling silver findings, which I made myself using ss 20 gauge wire. My biggest problem with these is that when they’re lying around in craft shops and galleries, people do like to touch them and if anyone else has noticed, the wires can tarnish if they’re left exposed to the air too long. I thought I’d got around that by pushing the wires through a stiff card and putting it into a cellophane (do you get that in the States?) bag, but to be honest it makes the whole lot look homemade not handmade and I think devalues the earrings.
I do like your printed tent cards Cindy, I have a little polymer heart bead stuck onto the top of my card and I put a watermark label of our cottage with bead information on the back – but it still looks ‘tacky’.
So I’m still trying to figure a way out, but I have spent ages trying to find a solution.
.
Is it possible to coat the wires with some ‘non-tarnish’ stuff? I have never noticed this to be a problem with sterling silver in stores, ie. Macy’s etc. Certainly the store clerks wouldn’t have to polish all the sterling pieces….?
What do big jewelry company’s use to keep “sterling silver” coated products so tarnish free? Must be some sort of liquid to dip in?
Hope you can find an answer that is cost and time efficient.
Thanks Debi, I don’t know the answer to that, I did look up anti tarnish silver wire, but it was just craft wire not sterling. I wonder if its just a case of faster turnover, specially with the bigger stores. But I’ve certainly noticed tarnished silver earwires in my jewellery box.
There are anti-tarnish papers and cloths that jewelers place in drawers and packaging that emit some sort of fumes that slow down tarnishing. If you Google ‘anti tarnish strips’ you’ll be able to find them.
here is some info regarding the silver tarnish
found a blog on some ideas re silver with coating
beadingdaily.com/blogs/daily/archive/2009/06/29/how-to-use-silver-wire-and-findings-on-any-budget.aspx
Excellent Debi! Thanks for passing that info along!
Thank you Debi, I read that article, its made me want to explore the potential of craft wire. I use copper wire for findings as it is.
I know I can get anti-tarnish pads or strips to put in a drawer or box perhaps, but it was more to find a solution to earrings that hang in the open in craft shops.
I decided to repackage my last lot of earrings and I think they looked much better. Here’s what I did:
I cut 300gsm cardstock using stanley knife, cutting board and perspex sheet (the ones used for cutting fabric with the rotary cutter) to the same size as the cellophane bags, leaving a little over 1 inch to fold over.
On to that I stuck a swatch of denim on some and a swatch of felted shetland lambswool jumper, in a lovely Chartruese shade on others.
Made two holes using an awl. Put the earrings on.
Then folded over the bag opening and stuck it down with my watermark label and finally stuck on my signature heart bead.
I must say it was a great improvement and no tarnish!
.
@Polyanya: Some folks seal their work in that food storage vacuum system, especially when you can use it to dictate the size of the bag. Definitely something to consider in a moist atmosphere, it keeps the family silver Thanksgiving ready.
I’m not sure what you could do for metals in the open air Polyanya. I’ll keep an eye out for info on that.
Love your packaging idea! The swatches of fabric are an excellent idea. Bet it really gives your work a nice background to sit on.
Tarnishing happens because of Oxidation, so sealing them up in cellophane protects them quite nicely. Great job!
I have tried this method before and never been happy with it. The tent folds never stay firmly upright, especially with heavier earrings. However, I discovered a tri-fold technique that works very well! Take a 7-1/2″ long by 2-1/4″ wide strip of cardstock, make a folding crease 1-1/2″ from the bottom and another one 2 inches from the top. Fold the bottom one flat under and the top one down, and presto! You have an earring card that can support itself under almost any weight earrings! This fold pattern can of course be modified to any size that you need.
Hey Cindy, What a creative idea you have given. It’s amazing to present my earrings so elegantly through your creation. It’s really helpful in enhancing the beauty of my stuff and also I have saved lots of money which I spend on these items.
Glad this post was helpful for you Chris. For anyone who may be interested, I have a more in depth video tutorial here… Making Jewelry Display Cards Using A Die Cutting Machine
Hi there, I recently came across your site and it’s been very helpful. I am making earrings and I have two questions.
1. How do you get really clean edges, do you buff or sand? When I sand it leaves a very clear line that’s lighter than the clay color and doesn’t look very nice. Do you buff? If so with what kind of tool?
2. I can’t get the posts to stick very well. I made about 20 pair, then had to go back and remove all the posts. I sanded the posts and textured the back of my earrings so I’m hoping that helps.
Thank you so much,
Annette
Hi Annette, in regards to sanding leaving a white film, that is actually sanding dust being trapped in the scratches of the clay. It means that you haven’t down fine enough with your sandpaper grits to not see that any more.
Basically the first grit you use makes deep enough scratches to remove enough clay to remove the flaws (nail mark, fingerprint, edges from cutters). The next grit is finer and removes the scratches from the first grit. And the next one removes scratches from the previous grit and so on. If you get to a fine enough grit, you’ll reach a point where the scratches are so fine that the super fine dust doesn’t get stuck in the scratches any more and leave a white or gray haze behind.
The trick is to start at as high a grit as possible, that still does the work it needs to do, but isn’t so deep that you have to go through a ton of grits. I try and make the piece as perfect as possible before baking so I can start at a higher grit.
320g to 400g is for shaping
600g to 800g is for smoothing
1200g to 3000g is for polishing
Buffing is done after you have gone as high as you can go with sanding.
For you situation, the sides of earring… if you don’t need a high polish, I would start with 400g or 600g and sand the edges. If you don’t need a high polish or aren’t putting any finishes on the edges after, I would put a few drops of clay softener or baby oil on a paper towel and wipe off the sides to remove/disguise that dust and be done with it. If the edges are really thick and need to be polished, then I would not use the oil and just continue using higher and higher grits until the haze is gone.
In regards to the earring backs, watch this video… Lisa Pavelka Poly Bonder Glue … it shows how I add backs to earring studs. You don’t have to use translucent clay and Polybonder… any solid clay and a Gel Super Glue will work instead, but encasing it in clay is important. You’ll see what I mean when you watch the video.