Jewelry Hang Tags
and Earring Cards

© by Rena Klingenberg; all rights reserved

Jewelry hang tags and earring display cards give your work a professional, designer appearance. They're one of the most important parts of your overall jewelry packaging.

See how Jessie McCann designed
her own jewelry tags and earring cards

Jewelry hang tags and earring cards can be found in supply catalogs and websites, and you can buy them pretty inexpensively.

But for a more professional look and better jewelry sales, your own unique jewelry hang tags and earring cards add a top-notch touch to your jewelry packaging.

They're easy to make yourself, or to have made for you, and they don't need to cost more than a few cents per card - a good investment when you consider the boost they will give your jewelry business!

An Early Version of My
Jewelry Hang Tags / Earring Cards

Here you can see the front and back of a previous version of my jewelry cards, if it helps give you a starting point for making yours.

I also recommend thoroughly researching the jewelry and earring cards available from jewelry suppliers (check catalogs and the Web - as well as Etsy.com and Moo.com), to see the options and get design ideas for your own unique jewelry hang tags.

It's a nice touch to design them to coordinate with your other jewelry packaging.

What to Put on Your
Jewelry Hang Tags

Your Jewelry Business Info

Your jewelry hang tags and earring cards should have your logo or the name of your jewelry business, plus all of your contact info (website URL, e-mail address, phone number).

You can put your contact info on the back of the card to keep the front uncluttered.

Including this info helps customers feel that you're a legitimate business that will be around for a while. It implies that you stand behind your products - that you can be contacted if the customer has any problem with your jewelry.

Equally important, customers usually hang on to custom jewelry hang tags and earring cards, and keep them somewhere in their jewelry box.

And very often since they have your contact info handy, customers will contact you or shop on your website when they want to buy more jewelry or have custom pieces made.

Customers may misplace your business card, but they tend to keep the unique, custom display cards that came with their handmade jewelry!

Jewelry Materials and Emotional Appeal

Jewelry hang tags and earring cards should also list the materials (stones, metals, etc.) used in the piece of jewelry.

And because jewelry is an emotional purchase, consider adding any "romantic" information that would be interesting and increase the perceived value of the piece.

For example, "Made from vintage glass beads discovered in a 50-year-old trunk", or "One-of-a-kind bone pendant hand carved in Alaska", or "Hand made in a traditional Celtic pattern".

Include a sentence about your craft, if that would be interesting to customers.

Optional: Gemstone Lore

Traditional gemstone lore related to the jewelry item is another thing you can write on display cards to increase the sentimental value of the piece.

What Size Should Your
Hang Tags and Earring Cards Be?

If you make your own earring cards and jewelry hang tags, choose your size carefully.

You'll want to be sure they fit on your earring displays (if you use any), and that they fit inside your other jewelry packaging without having to be folded - unless the fold is part of the card's design.

A little measuring now can save you a lot of frustration after you make the cards! :o)

Tips for Creating Your Own Jewelry Tags

If you make your own jewelry hang tags, be sure to use the heaviest cardstock that will work in your printer or copy machine.

Heavier paperstock will help them survive the handling they'll get at jewelry shows and home parties!

You can design your cards in your own custom sizes using a spreadsheet or your wordprocessor's tables feature.

Here's an early version of my 2" x 2" jewelry tags I made using the tables feature of my wordprocessor:

I discovered that a paper-cutter will cut your cards apart much more quickly and evenly than scissors.

And to use the same tag layout to create your own earring cards, you can simply print two dots (periods) where you want to poke holes for your earwires to hang from:

You'll get perfectly even holes every time by having them pre-marked!

I then used an awl to punch the earwire holes in the cards.

Other Ideas that May Work for You

When most of my jewelry was either sterling silver or 14k goldfill, I made two versions of my tags and earring cards - one with "sterling silver" printed near the top, and the other with "14k goldfill".

Then I simply wrote the stones or crystals in by hand at the bottom of the tag.

For another style idea, see how jewelry artist Anna Badger creates her own memorable jewelry hangtags:

Have Your Jewelry Hang Tags
Professionally Made - Cheaply

You can also have your jewelry hang tags and earring cards made and cut professionally for as little as a penny per card.

When I printed all of my tags and cards on my inkjet printer, the paper-cutter part became too time consuming for me and I really disliked doing it!

So I switched to having them printed up for me by a local copy shop.

I took my earring card / jewelry tag file on disk to the copy shop and had them print out and cut apart a few thousand 2-sided cards.

Then I could just quickly write in the gemstones by hand, which I felt gave the packaging a nice handmade touch.

These 2-sided cards cost me about a penny apiece.

If you have your cards done by a copy shop, I recommend explaining to the person who will take care of your order exactly how you will be using the finished cards.

Bring a sample of the card and a pair of earrings with you, and show them how you hang your earrings on the cards.

Describe how you use and display your jewelry tags with your other jewelry pieces, and how the cards are handled at shows.

Bring a jewelry pouch or jewelry box - whatever you use for packaging your jewelry after the sale - and show how the card works with your packaging.

The copy-shop person may have some great ideas for you, once they understand how the jewelry hang tags or earring cards will be used.

I was very lucky to have a creative copy person who thought my project was interesting, and suggested some things (such as the rounded corners) that made my cards turn out even better than I expected!

An Even Better Idea for Professionally Printed
Jewelry Tags and Earring Cards

For an even better way to have your tags and cards professionally printed, I highly recommend Pamela Vale's idea to make jewelry hang tags - using of the business card feature at an online printer like VistaPrint:

You can see how Pamela put multiple custom jewelry tags on their business card feature - and then cut them apart!

Her great article shows exactly how to Make Jewelry Hang Tags and Earring Cards from Business Cards - with lots more photos and complete instructions.

Turn Jewelry Cards
into Hanging Earring Cards

For hanging your earring cards on display racks, you can purchase self-adhesive earring hangers to stick on the back of the cards.

(Last I checked, these self-adhesive earring card hangers are available from these jewelry suppliers: Rings and Things, Rio Grande, and JewelrySupply.com.)

These "hangers" are a clear plastic hook with a peel-off adhesive edge that you stick to the top of the back of your card.

Then you just hang the earring card on the bars of your earring display.

These self-adhesive little hangers come in about 3 different widths to fit different size earring cards.

I have also seen jewelry artists punch a neat round hole in the top center of their cards and hang them on a display that has hooks.

An earring rack loaded up with custom jewelry cards is very eye-catching and professional looking!

Anyway, that's why the backs of my jewelry tags / earring cards have that empty space at the top - when I use them as earring cards, that's where I stick the plastic hanger.

Be inventive, artistic, and consider your jewelry style when buying or designing your jewelry hang tags and earring cards! :o)

More Ideas and Inspiration

Custom Earring Cards - Ideas and Photos
Links to dozens of photos and ideas for making earring cards, or ordering them professionally designed and printed.

Jewelry Tags - Ideas and Photos
Links to a wealth of photos and ideas for jewelry tags.