Happy Friday! Just wanted to drop in quickly today to write an *official post* about the next installment of beach plastic greeting cards that I launched last Friday: Valentine’s Day cards! There’s 8 cards in the series - all hearts comprised of different selections of litter I’ve collected over the last few months. It was a little bit of a different process creating these than the Christmas cards because these required me to sort the trash by color and fit them into a uniform shape. It was kinda like trying to puzzle fit pieces together that didn’t necessarily go together, but overall I’m really happy with how they turned out and generally excited about how this greeting card line as a whole is growing!
I feel like with this set of cards, I really learned how challenging creating a series can be! Each card design not only had to stand strong on its own, but also work together with the others as a series. I found that when I changed the background color of one card, it would affect the rest — and that ultimately resulted in a bit of a longer post production period (and a later launch) than I was anticipating. 😅
I’m also excited to say that envelopes got an upgrade! Each card comes paired with a kraft paper envelope now (that is much better quality than the white ones from Christmas). AND - they are made from 100% recycled content! 🙌🏼I had to dole out some extra $$$ to make it happen, but that’s often the trade off to run a more sustainable business of any kind. 😬♻️💸
Someone recently commented asking if the cards themselves are printed on recycled paper with eco friendly inks - and the honest answer is: as of right now, no they aren’t. Eventually, I do hope to make this happen, though! The truth is - I haven’t found a printer (yet) whose recycled paper / print quality / price is one I am both 1) happy with and 2) can afford at this time.
A lot of people don’t realize that launching a new product line is expensive. There’s a lot of trial and error that happens behind the scenes to find the right sources for everything. Good things take time!
I really didn’t want to talk myself out of creating the cards all together until waiting for the *perfect* amount of funds or finding the *perfect* printer. If that were the case, they still may not be out in the world - and there’s a good chance I’d even talk myself out of it all together maybe. Done is better than perfect - because you can always go back and work to improve! That’s the path I’m taking as I venture into greeting card design. Every set of cards I release, I feel like they will get better and better. 🤗
A heartfelt thank you to those of you who have expressed support + excitement for these new cards. The next series of cards will likely launch sometime in March - stay tuned! 😊
PS: Cards are available for purchase on my Etsy shop HERE! 😘