Event & Party Ideas From Studio Style

Easel-back cardstock paper frames like the ones shown above are perfect for holding and displaying 5" x 7" spin art card inserts.

Spin art is a popular activity at carnivals, birthday parties, school fun fairs, summer camp, festivals and events. Also called twirl art, spin art machines can be rented at carnival and party rental supply companies.

Paint (and sometimes glitter) is squeezed or dripped onto a paper card that is attached to a spinning platform creating an abstract piece of art. For decades, spin art has been a carnival staple because it is a fun and interactive arts and crafts activity that results in an instant novelty souvenir that can be taken home. It is also a proven money maker at fundraising events.

Most spin art cards measure 5″ x 7″, which fit nicely into one of our 5″ x 7″ cardboard or paper photo frames. Spin art card holders can also be personalized with your event name or logo!

“Say cheese! Download our free template to create DIY photo booth strips.”

We love photo booths. Old is new again, and photo booths are seeing a resurgence at wedding receptions, bar/bat mitvahs, birthdays, bars, restaurants, parties, and events everywhere. It is instant photo fun, what’s not to love?

While nothing can replace that old school fun of jumping into a photo booth and hamming it up with your friends, sometimes you just want the old fashioned photo strip look without renting one.

We know the feeling, and that is why we created  this freebie just for you.

Download Free Photo Booth Strip Template

This download is a layered PSD (Photoshop) file, just open and place your photos behind the template layer. Try making your pictures black and white or sepia tone for a vintage look by applying your favorite Image Adjustment or Photoshop Action.

Be creative! Print and cut them out to make your own DIY save the dates or wedding thank you cards, birthday party favors, or simply combine your favorite photos to post to Facebook and share with friends.

Need custom printed photo booth frames? Picture strip folders are perfect for photo favors, handing out as photo souvenirs to event attendees, wedding guests, or using as a thank you card. Customize one for an occasion!

We’ve compiled a list of 2012 holidays for photographers. If you know of any others, please feel free to add them in the comments below!

• Worldwide Pinhole Photography Day – April 29, 2012

• National Photo Month – May 2012

• Nature Photography Day – June 15, 2012
• Camera Day – June 29, 2012
• World Photography Day – August 19, 2012
• World Toy Camera Day – October 13, 2012 (unofficial date)

• Help-Portrait Day – December 8, 2012

Do you do anything special to celebrate these photography holidays?

“Turn your homemade goodies into treats worthy of gift giving with FREE printable cello bag toppers.”

Giving homemade gifts from your kitchen are a heartfelt way to show others that you care. A lot of love and hard work that goes into making these treats, why give them away on a paper plate or zip-loc bag? Gift packaging makes the first impression! Present your cookies, chocolate bark or granola in holiday themed crystal clear food-safe cello bags to give a sneak peek of whats inside. Top each bag with a personalized treat bag topper for the finishing touch.

Homemade treats or candy are great for gift giving during the holidays. Fill a bag with goodies and finish off with a bag topper for an instant gift.

We’ve created DIY printable bag toppers to match our most popular holiday cello designs in 3 template sizes (favor, small & medium). Simply print, cut-out, fold & attach to the tops of cello bags using double-stick tape or staples.

Click here to download FREE printable PDF treat bag toppers.

Here are some of our favorite ideas for homemade edible holiday gifts that work well for filled cellophane bags:

• Homemade Granola
• Spicy Asian Snack Mix
• Whoopie Pies (chocolate filled with peppermint)
• Chocolate Dipped Pretzel Rods (always a classic)
• Gingerbread People (or try other shapes, like reindeer)
• Chocolate Bark
• Biscotti (great for coffee lovers)
• Peanut Brittle or Toffee
• Fudge or Caramels
• Roasted Nuts (sweet or savory, or a combo of both)
• Almond Roca
• Cake Pops (the new trend in sweet treats)
• Sugar Cookies (another classic)
• Dog Treats (don’t forget your furry friends)

Packaged treats from your kitchen are perfect for hostess gifts, co-workers, classmates, friends and family. Don’t leave out others like your hair stylist, running or workout buddy, mail deliverer or your child’s teachers. Little packages of homemade goodness make festive stocking stuffers and also work well as party favors for weddings, bridal/baby showers & events.

What kind of homemade goods do you like to create for the holidays? Tell us in the comments below.

“Wonderfully elegant, classic & timeless, linen weave paper stands the test of time.”

An example of linen textured paper. Here, this speciality paper is used to make a Black Contemporary Dual-Easel Photo Frame.

Linen weave paper is paper that has a subtle embossed, crosshatch-textured finish that resembles woven linen fabric. Makers of fine stationery, invitations, report covers & presentation folders have long used this paper stock to achieve an upscale look. At Studio Style, we use linen weave paper to create many of our readymade picture frame & portrait folder products.

• Linen Texture Grandeur Fold-Over Frames
• Dual Easel Photo Frames
• Award and Diploma Frames & Certificate Folders
• Conventional Portrait Folders (also Classic & Contemporary)
• Double Sided Photo Folders (excluding golf texture)
• Linen Weave Proof Holders

We offer most of our linen products in black or white, both neutral colors that look good with any photograph.

Choose products made with this paper for a professional look. Linen textured paper never goes out of style!

“Need an idea for nightclub & bar promotion? Try nightlife photography!”

Nightclub photographers are hired to walk around and take photos of people enjoying themselves at events. While posed shots of couples or groups of friends are the most popular type of photo, dance & party candids also make great shots.

An example of the type of paper frames that they put pictures in at the club.

Paper picture holders are great tools for nightlife photogs & event promoters to sell the pictures in. Photo frames add value to ordinary photos. Set up a laptop and a printer on-site, print photos & slide into an inexpensive photo holder to sell at the end of the night. Some event promoters also choose to give the pictures away for free as photo souvenirs.

Photography can work anywhere, but the bars & restaurants in popular tourist areas do best. Often times the people there are on vacation, at a special outing or celebrating a birthday or other occasion and are eager to have their picture taken there.

Another situation where club photography works well is if your venue is having a special event such as a company sponsored party or theme night.

Nightclub photography can add excitement and fun to a night out and are a memorable take-home keepsake for party goers. The use of custom-branded photo frames will also boost brand awareness and serve as added advertising for your next big event.

“Mailable vacation bible school follow-up photo frames are a valuable outreach tool.”

Looking for an idea to connect with families after VBS (vacation bible school) ends? Paper & cardboard photo frames are a fun & effective outreach tool. Take individual photos of the kids participating in crafts & activities, or take a group shot of the entire class. After VBS or church camp ends, mail each child a souvenir photo frame with their picture inside!

Send us your art, and we'll print custom photo frames for any VBS theme! Add your church's name, a thank you message or anything you'd like!

Photo frame mailers can be foil imprinted (hot stamped) or printed with your church name, or use a stamp or sticker to personalize them yourself! Add additional text to thank the child for coming and to invite the family to come back. Suggested text would be “Look at how much fun you had at VBS!”, “Glad you came, we hope that you and your family will be back for more fun activities!” or include info on upcoming programs.

Sending VBS follow-up frames as a gift shows your appreciation for the child’s enrollment, and at the same time reaches out to the family. Photo keepsakes are often hung on a refrigerator door or propped up on a desk, and serve as a constant reminder of your church and how much fun they had.

Custom photo folders are available for 4″ x 6″ and 5″ x 7″ photographs. We offer both Photoshop & Illustrator templates that you can download and lay out your own art, or send us a JPG or PDF to work with.

If you are looking for a pre-designed folder or a different size, we have those too! Some of our pre-designed folders include both a Western theme & Hawaiian Luau theme. We print custom folders for customers everyday and are experts at what we do! Give us a call to talk about creating cardboard or paper picture frames for your VBS or other church event.

“Dual easel frames have two separate easels to display both horizontal or vertical photos.”

Many picture frames come with an easel attached to the back to prop up the frame for display on a flat level surface, most commonly a desk or table. The easel is what helps the frame stand up on its own.

A frame that is described as having a dual easel simply means that there are two easels attached to the back. These dual, or two easel frames are designed for propping up the framed photograph horizontally for landscape photos or vertically for portraits.

Here is an example of a dual easel frame displayed using the vertical easel:

A classic (gold border) dual easel frame using the vertical easel.

Here is the same style of frame using the horizontal easel:

A conventional (black border) dual easel frame using the horizontal easel.

With their two easel options, dual easels make it easy to display either picture orientation.

“Make money doing what you love by selling greeting cards of your photography.”

Taking photos of nature & wildlife is a passion for many lovers of the great outdoors. Nature photographers spend hours outside at parks composing beautifully proportioned images of landscapes or the vivid and crisply detailed macro shot of a single flower. Some are fortunate enough to work for National Geographic or have thriving careers in the photography industry. However, for many others photography is just a hobby. How do you take your hobby to the next level and make an income stream from it? An easy way to get started is by selling photo cards. It’s easier than you think, and we’ll show you how.

Examples of nature photo cards. Blank greeting cards with a "picture frame" style front cover make it easy to insert your own photographs.

How To Make Nature Photo Cards

• Select Your Best Photos & Make Prints – Take inventory of your photo collection and narrow it down to just a few of your strongest images. Make prints (usually 4″ x 6″) of these photos.
• Assemble The Cards – With pocket-style photo insert cards, the front cover has a window opening to slide your photo in. This makes it easy to create instant photo greeting cards, and if you change your mind, you can remove the photo without damaging the image or card.
• Add Your Personal Touch – Don’t forget to include your name, web address and the title of your photo and location. Some photographers like to handwrite this on the window border or back of the card, some create printed labels to stick on the back while others choose to have us foil stamp their cards for a truly professional look.
• Consider Product Packaging – While not necessary, it is a good idea to insert your cards into a clear cellophane sleeve to protect it from fingerprints & moisture.

Where To Sell Your Nature Photo Cards

• Parks & Forests – A great place to sell photo cards is within gift shops at parks & tourist areas. Many larger parks & wildlife areas have gift shops on site to sell souvenir pins, walking stick medallions, iron-on patches, ornaments, commemorative pins and other souvenir items. Greeting cards of photographs taken at the park are the perfect compliment to these other items! Visitors love to take home visual reminders of places they’ve been.
• Local History Museums – An often overlooked place is your local history museum. People visit museums to learn more about specific regions, so selling cards featuring photos of that area is a natural fit.
• Tourist Areas – There is great opportunity to sell your photographs to tourists visiting your area. Take photos of the natural surroundings in town, perhaps even expand into local architecture & landmark photography. We’ve seen photo cards at coffee houses, fudge shops, ice cream parlors, apple and pumpkin farms & general gift shops. Photo cards also do great when merchandised at the front counter of locally owned restaurants that require you to pay at the cash register.
• Farmer’s Markets – Setting up a booth in a farmer’s market is a great way to meet new people, sell your cards & get fresh air all at the same time. If running your own booth is too much work or money, see if another vendor would be willing to partner with you. For instance, selling cards at a booth that also sells fresh cut flowers or handmade gifts is a smart idea.
• Etsy.com – Etsy offers photographers a place to easily sell their photo cards and reach a wide audience. Try setting up your own Etsy shop and promote it with your blog, website or Facebook page.

Other Tips

• Display Your Goods – For offline (in-store) sales, in most cases you’ll be responsible for your own card display. This can be as simple as a basket filled with your cards or a bigger, eye-catching wire greeting card display rack.
• Welcome & Inform With Signage – Try creating a sign with the name of your photography business, price and a short bio. Make it personable by including a photo of yourself. Any little bit of information can help make a connection between you & the customer. If selling to a local market or if your work has been acknowledged, make that a selling point. Example: “Martha Williamson – Award Winning Local Photographer”
• Take Photos of Your Cards – For selling online, you’ll need crisp & attractive photos of your cards. Set aside an afternoon to do a product photo shoot. Optimize your images in Photoshop using the “Save for web” feature to create quick-loading optimized images.
• Determine Your Selling Price – Do other photographers in your area also sell cards? Do some research and find out what they are charging and price yours accordingly. Generally speaking, you can easily sell cards in most markets at a price point between $6-$9 per card. Anything over $10, and people are less likely to buy. Buying your insert frame cards & prints in bulk can help cut costs and keep more money in your pocket.
• Think Seasonal – In most parts of the world, nature changes with each season. Varying your photo card selection by season will keep your work fresh & current. Don’t forget the time of year people send the most cards – Christmas! Create seasonal winter & holiday theme cards and make these available starting in early November.
• Be Patient & Positive – Like with any new adventure, results can take time. Don’t become frustrated if your cards don’t sell right away, give it time. If your cards still are not selling, evaluate your photo choices, selling location & marketing efforts. Make adjustments & keep a positive attitude!

Selling photo art greeting cards is a great way to make extra money, express your creativity & gain exposure of your photography.

Related: Don’t forget that June 15th is Nature Photography Day!

Do you have any photo card selling tips or ideas? Feel free to share your experience in the comments below!

“Cardboard photo frames & mats cut with a beveled edge add a polished look to photographs.”

Last month we defined a deckle edge, describing the difference between natural & machine-cut. Today we write about the beveled edge, another specialty edge treatment that customers often ask about. Common with mirrors, cabinets, tile & countertops, you’ll also see the phrase beveled edge to describe a characteristic of paper, most commonly mat board used with photo framing.

A bevel cut on the inside edge of a mat board photo frame.

Any edge cut at less than 90° degrees can be called a beveled edge, however in order to create a bevel cut the paper needs to be fairly thick to cut it on a slant. A thin piece of notebook paper would not be able to produce this look. Within the realm of paper products, mat board (the thick paper or cardstock frame that surrounds a photo) & corrugated cardboard are the two main types of paper that are thick enough to produce a bevel cut. Our beveled mat easel frames are a great example of a product that uses this cut.

Beveled edges are a highly desirable feature for picture frame mats, as it gives a polished and finished look to photos. Since the slanted cut edge surrounds the image, it draws your eyes towards the photo. It is this subtle detail that really accentuates framed photographs.

Simply put, paper that has a beveled edge is not cut at a 90° right angle.