Category Archives: Crafts

Our Etsy store is growing—new products are up!

blog-post-image-with-new-etsy-products

Now available from our Etsy store are our greeting card boxes, elastic stretch loops, gold seals, adhesive foam pieces and glue tape—all great tools for making and packaging handmade note cards!

Several weeks ago we announced our Etsy store was live, and that we were selling a new kraft note card set; now we have five more products available, and we’re excited about reaching out to more DIY aficionados!

We’ve listed more tools for cardmakers, scrapbookers and other crafters alike: soft fold clear plastic boxes (in standard A2, A6 and A7 sizes), 10″ elastic stretch loops (in 18 metallic and matte colors), gold seals (in 1″ and 1-1/4″ sizes), adhesive foam pieces (squares, strips and circles), and the glue tape pen. Although our regular readers might already recognize these products from Oak Creek Printworks, we hope you’ll share the news with those you know who already use Etsy and might be interested in shopping from us.

Check out our Etsy store, and stay tuned for more updates as we continue to grow our Etsy product offerings!

Oak Creek Printworks is on Etsy

24 packaged note cards and envelopes

Our blank kraft paper note cards and black envelopes, sold in a set of 24, is sure to help inspire your creativity and showcase your own unique artwork. This product is only available through our new Etsy store!

4 sample cards

To help display the blank cards, we created some of our own sample designs using products that are already available from Oak Creek Printworks.

Design and create personalized greeting cards using products at our new Etsy store, where shoppers will find select items that aren’t available on the Oak Creek Printworks website.

A set of 24 blank kraft paper note cards and black envelopes is our first item in the new Etsy store. The black, square-flap, announcement style envelopes are uniquely paired with 80 lb. kraft paper cards for an acid-free, environmentally friendly card with a more formal look.

We’ve used some of the products already available on Oak Creek Printworks to create the examples shown here: gold seals, adhesive foam squares, black elastic stretch loops.

We hope these cards will inspire our readers to bring their own creations to life! To learn more about the blank kraft paper cards with envelopes visit Our Etsy Store.

We pride ourselves in helping artists market their cards and prints. Send us your creations by snail mail, or 300dpi .jpg,  and if we publish your art on our blog, we’ll link back to your website.

New Pastel Stretch Loops Complete Spring Note Card Sets

stretch-loop-yellow

Matte Yellow Elastic Stretch Loop shown around a clear plastic A2-1/2BOX. The single box of 8 cards and envelopes is displayed on a Clear Acrylic Small Card/Print Stand, CASPS.

Springtime is just around the corner, and Oak Creek Printworks wants to help you with your holiday packaging by introducing the 10-inch elastic stretch loop in two new spring colors. We’ve added a matte yellow and a matte lavender to the choices for dressing the A2 size note card box.

stretch-loop-lavenderLast year, we wanted to encourage our customers to try the metallic blue, purple, and copper, and the matte pink, baby blue, black and white stretch loops, so we gave away one free stretch loop, priced at $.21, with each A2-1/2BOX.

When customers realized there was no cost for the loop if they purchased a box, they began to broaden their choices beyond the typical gold and silver, by far the more popular selling colors.

So this year, when the latest colors, matte lavender and matte yellow, arrived in time for Easter and other spring holidays, we decided to extend the offer of one free stretch loop with any A2 size box, ranging in depth from 1/4-inch up to 2-inches. Just make a separate item purchase for each color stretch loop desired. For example, if you want 100 A2 boxes with four different color loops, place an order for four individual items, 25 boxes for each color desired.

To order these ten-inch stretch loops without the A2 box, (though we don’t know why you’d want to) we’ve provided links below to each of the product pages.

stretch-loops-13-colors

Matte colors line the top row of 10-inch stretch loops, while metallic colors are shown in the bottom row. Matte yellow and mat lavender are the newest colors in the 10-inch line of elastic stretch loops.

Choose from a wide selection of colors

Matte:

Metallic:

  • Gold
  • Silver
  • Copper
  • Green
  • Red
  • Blue
  • Purple

The single box of 8 cards and envelopes shown in the above images is displayed on a Clear Acrylic Small Card/Print Stand, CASPS.

Fall Fashion Tassel Set for Bookmarks and Sleeves

4-inch chainette tassels, fall colorsThese 4-inch chainette tassels will dress up your bookmarks in the latest in fall colors. The Pantone fashion color report for Fall 2011 highlights top fashion designers’ color picks and is a great resource for anyone who wants to keep up with current color trends.

Here’s how our bookmark tassel color selections compare with the Pantone picks. Bamboo-Antique Gold, Emberglow-Orange, Honeysuckle-Rose Blossom, Phlox-Very Violet, Cedar-Moss Green, Deep Teal-Deep Turquoise, Coffee Liqueur-Chocolate, Nougat-Cookie Dough, Orchid Hush-Lilac, Quarry-Silver Blue. Pantone’s fall 2011 designer colors are just a few of the over 40 tassle colors available in the Oak Creek Printworks store.

You may discover other uses for these multi-colored tassels. Glue them to greeting cards to add dimension to your designs using tassels to represent a myriad of items, from inanimate objects like trees and broomsticks to creatures large and small. Combine with pen and ink of other media to create unique composition. Attach tassels to small baronial cards, gift cards or gift packages to give them an added touch of elegance.

Click here to add a Fall 2011 tassel set to your shopping cart.

Customer gets free packaging

Jillian-by-Design

“I actually did not know that this contest was going on but I am thrilled that I won!  That is huge!” said Christina Groat, owner and operator of Jillian by Design.

hanging notecard bag

A2 Hanging Note card bag.

note card boxes

A2-1 note card boxes.

Jillian by Design, baby and toddler boutique, features handcrafted baby items and is named for Christina’s daughter, Jillian.

Christina was Oak Creek Printworks’ 10,000th online customer, and, in order to recognize this achievement, we announced we would give the 10,000th customer their order for free, up to $100, including shipping.

Christina’s order totaled $67.43. She used  the A2 Hanging note card bag to package her hand made “onsie stickers.Thank you cards were packaged in A2-1 note card boxes.

A2 is standard industry-speak for an “announcement” style (square flap) envelope and note card. The A2 card measures 4.25 inches by 5.5 inches when folded. The A2 announcement envelope is slightly larger, measuring 4.375 inches by 5.75 inches, with the A2 card box topping out at 4.5 inches by 5.785 inches.

A2 boxes come in a range of depths from .25 inches, holding two to five cards and envelopes, up to two inches, holding anywhere from 18 to 30 card and envelopes, depending on their thickness.

Christina recently displayed her handcrafted baby-themed products at craft fair near her home in South Lyon, Michigan. You can see all of Christina’s handiwork which is available for purchase at her website, Jillian by Design.

Michelle Luft

Michelle Luft
Jillian by Design

craft fair booth

Christina Groat

Christina Groat Jillian by Design

Add Natural Texture of Mulberry Paper to an Image

High resolution photos are hard to find without purchasing. If you are looking for photos to use as backgrounds in your artwork, look no further. To download this week’s image, click on it. When the high resolution copy appears, right click on it to copy or save it.

The 11×17-inch scanned image of mulberry paper can be used as a background in graphic design or photo illustration, crafts or greeting cards, and gives the appearance of natural texture. Any time you are printing and desire a paper color and texture other than white, consider scanning a natural, handmade paper, where each sheet is unique.

mulberry paper thumbnail

Terms of Use: You can use this image for anything you wish (e.g. advertising, printed materials, product packaging, presentations, brochures, greeting cards, postcards, book covers, etc.) as long as you do not copyright it or resell it. Oak Creek Printworks and Oak Creek Marketplace, Inc. are not liable for any damages incurred by your use of the image. ©2011 Oak Creek Printworks

Loretta Needs a Bookmark Sleeve

Loretta needs a bookmark sleeveWhat Loretta needs is a bookmark to save her spot. But Loretta’s kind of messy, so Oswald thinks she should protect it with a crystal clear vinyl bookmark sleeves.  Otis figures that Loretta would want to dress up her bookmark by adding a decorative 4-inch chainette tassel, which is available in over 40 different colors.

Save by combining the bookmark sleeve with a tassel by buying the sleeve and tassel combo set.

bookmark sleeve and tassel combo

 

Pantone’s spring fashion colors fill out new tassel set

pms spring 2011 fashion color tasselsBookmark enthusiasts will find 10 each of 10 new spring fashion colors in this brand new tassel set. Save 20% by buying tassels in sets and be prepared to display your artwork or photos on bookmarks complemented by trendy colors.

In addition to artists, photographers and printers, bookmarks are an inexpensive and useful marketing tool for all sorts of businesses.

The designer has complete control over what’s printed or crafted on the fronts and back of the bookmarks. Customize or decorate the bookmark to make a great gift, a gift adornment, or a stocking stuffer.

Both the small and large vinyl bookmark sleeves are sold in the Oak Creek Printworks store, and have a hole punched at the end to string an adornment of beads, charms, or, to keep the price down, a 4-in chainette bookmark tassel.

Fashion colors of 2011 highlighted

pantone fashion color report

“Designers take a painterly approach to fall 2011 by artfully combining bright colors with staple neutrals, reminiscent of how an artist would construct a stunning work of art,” said Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute. “Much like a painter’s masterpiece, there is a certain romance to this season’s palette.”

And because designing on paper and designing for fashion are so closely related, it’s worth taking a look at the fashion world’s color selection for 2011.

Cardmaking: Creating depth with cutouts

by Nancy Haberman

Recently I assisted a colleague who was learning the finer points of Adobe Illustrator’s pen tool. Our goal was to create images that would adorn products related to the sea. The resulting artwork of a seahorse was intricate and stunning, and a discussion followed about using it on a greeting card.

Commercial greeting card publishers have forever pushed the envelope when it comes to greeting card presentation techniques, relying heavily on high end print and print finishing processes. While holographic and lenticular printing are too pricey for the average working artist and crafter, other finishes like die cutting, embossing and engraving are now within reach of those willing to invest in new desktop equipment and take the time to learn how to use it.

The desktop publishing revolution turned artists and crafters into self-publishers. Fast forward 25 years later, and a trip to Border’s, Target or any greeting card store reveals that it takes more to excite the eye of a card buyer in 2010 than cheap two-dimensional Photoshop effects, long ago passé. Continue reading