I have been running my print and greeting card business for a few years now and I realised the other day that while I don’t stop banging on about cards, I haven’t yet spoken about how you can actually display them!
I used to be from the school of just put them wherever you can, which generally means squeezing them onto already cluttered shelves or mantlepieces. Now there's nothing wrong with this but they can get visually lost and with space now at a premium (how do kids have so much stuff?!) this is getting harder and harder.
As it was my daughter Vivi's second birthday last week I thought it would be a good opportunity to find some better ways of displaying them. I have tried a few different methods of doing it and wanted to share my top three with you.
These methods really make your cards to stand out so you can enjoy them and at the same time create a wall feature that guests (when they allowed in your house again!) will comment on.
1. On string and pegs
All you need to do is tap in a couple of nails one or two metres apart (depending on the space you have available). I used copper nails as they have wide heads and look lovely and shiny. (They are also used for killing trees apparently, so if you have any trees you don't want then there's another use for them!) Now get some string. I used leather cord as it looks great but any string will work. Attach one end of the string to one nail and the other end to the second nail. Leave a bit of slack in the string so the cards hang nicely. Now get some pegs to attach your cards to the string. I used mini wooden pegs but you could use mini bulldog clips or anything else you can get your hands on. With the backdrop of an uncluttered wall, each card really stands out. I love this methods to display them because when it's time to take the cards down I use the same setup to hang Grayson and Vivi's art. It's much better than sticking them all on the fridge door using magnets, as they always fall off right when I'm in the middle of cooking dinner!
2. On a copper grid
There are loads of variations of these available online. They are another multifunctional display method as you can put kid's art on there or make a display of treasured photos. Mine came with copper clips to hang the cards but you can use the same mini wooden pegs as above or any other pegs you like. It's elegant and as with the other methods means that the cards are able to stand out for you to enjoy without being hidden amongst other household clutter. Another benefit of these first two methods is that when you open a door or window and a gust of wind blows through the house all your cards don't blow over. Come to think of it you don't even need the wind, this has happened to me when Grayson ran through the house particularly fast while re-enacting his favourite episode of Go Jetters (a cartoon on BBC iPlayer if you've never heard of it).
3. On shelves with some plants
Now I know that I said putting them on shelves is what I always used to do, but bear with me on this one. There's no need to reinvent the wheel and this is something you could try at home without too much effort (that's always a win for me!) The difference is that you clear all the clutter off the shelves. Then collect a few plants from around the house. Fill the gaps between the plants with the cards and they will really stand out. I was really pleased with this and it's how Vivi's birthday cards are currently being displayed in our kitchen.
Digressing slightly but on the same topic, I did just want to add that I have for many years now framed cards that I particularly like or have some meaning to me. For example, my personalised new baby cards look great in a frame. These can then look fun as part of a gallery wall or to fill those awkward little wall spaces.
I hope that reading this has given you some inspiration and I would love to know if you have any ways that you like to display your cards. Drop me an email or pop a comment in the box below if you do. And if you have any photos of your own creations you want to share please tag me in your social posts so that I can see them!
Lots of love,
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