Remember how awesome pop-up books used to be? Let's be serious, they still are, and it got us to thinking… How can we incorporate pop-up paper items into our adult lives? Aside from the occasional novelty card (bonus points if it has an audio track), you don't often see pop-ups popping up. ;)
Until now! For our first foray into pop-ups, we decided to create a trio of geeky name cards perfect for weddings, dinner parties, and even just for your desk.
Materials:
– card stock
– Xacto knife + cutting board
– computer
– color printer
Optional:
– Template with images of a typewriter, computer and Polaroid camera
First, get all your materials in place. You'll need two identical pieces of card stock cut to 5 1/2 inches long by 4 1/2 inches wide. Now you need to print your typewriter and typewriter paper. We printed on white card stock but regular paper is also fine.
Cut out your typewriter using an Xacto knife. Fold one of your pieces of card stock in half. Flatted it back out. Paste your typewriter so that the bottom is 1/2 an inch from the middle crease.
Now, use an Xacto to cut lines around the two sides of your typewriter. Extend the cut 1/2 an inch past the top of the typewriter. Give that pop-up a test. Woohoo!
Next, you need to add your paper. Simply cut a thin line through the paper part of the typewriter and slip your printed name card right in. So cute!
Lastly, take your second piece of card stock and paste it to the back of the pop-up. Done!
This one is a slightly simpler method. Get your two identical pieces of card stock again. This time, our pieces were cut to 6 1/2 inches long by 4 1/2 inches wide. Print the computer image and the name you want to print. You can either glue the printed name onto the printer or type it directly on your computer.
Cut out your computer using an Xacto knife. Fold one of the pieces in card stock in half. Lay it flat on your cutting board and cut two slits in the middle about 1 1/2 inches long. Fold it so that it creates a zig zag shape. Flatten again and glue the computer cut out onto the bottom 1/2 inch of the cut out part.
Here's a closer look at the side of the card so you can see the angle you need to bend the card into.
Like with the previous card, the finishing touch is to paste a second piece of card stock on the back. Voila!
And finally our favorite one! As you already know, we're pretty obsessed with Polaroids, and all the creative photography we can get our hands on.
For this one, you're going to use the same method as the typewriter with some slight alterations. The pieces of card stock for this one are about 7 1/2 inches long by 4 1/2 inches wide. To create a mini Polaroid you can print, we recommend using the Shake It Photo iPhone app. Send the image from your phone to your email, drop it into Preview, Photoshop or Word to resize, and you're good to go.
Paste your camera onto the first piece of card stock and cut around it, like with the typewriter.
Now it's time to put the picture in! Use an Xacto to cut a line where the photo should pop out. Be careful to cut to far on either side. Pop in the photo just a bit. Turn the card over and glue down the extra bit of photo that's sticking out the back.
And there you have it!
Got any DIY projects of your own for creating fun name cards, greeting cards and the like? Submit ideas our way via our Contributor Form or leave us a note in the comments below.
Welcome to Selfmade Finance School, our new money series with Block Advisors to help small business owners with their tax, bookkeeping, and payroll needs year-round. This week, we explore the tax implications of bringing family members into your business.
The question for today is this: Does hiring your family members make sense for your business? Let me be clear. This is not a piece about whether hiring your family members makes sense for your relationships with those family members. As someone who is part of a family business, I could fill up a lot more than 600 words on my opinions about that. For today's purposes, we focus on whether it makes sense from an overall "good business and tax implication" perspective. As it turns out, there is a decent amount of tax nuance when it comes to employing your family. Let's break it down based on relationship to the employee:
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Spouses Who Are In Business Together
Personally, if I had to be in business with my husband, it would not go well. However, many couples build viable, strong businesses together and I say, good for them! Depending on how you have your business entity structured, it will make a big difference on the tax treatment of you and your spouse working as partners. Because a business jointly owned and operated by a married couple is generally treated as a partnership for Federal tax purposes, the spouses must comply with filing and record keeping requirements imposed on partnerships and their partners. The election to file two Schedule C (Form 1040) forms, (one for each spouse) permits certain married co-owners to avoid filing partnership returns, provided that each spouse separately reports a share of all the businesses' items of income, gain, loss, deduction, and credit. Under the election, both spouses will be subject to self-employment tax and on net earnings from self-employment and receive credit for Social Security earnings.
One Spouse Employs Another
If you have a dynamic where your spouse is an employee of your business, then your spouse's wages are subject to income tax withholding, Social Security and Medicare taxes. If you are self-employed (not a corporation or a partnership), your spouse's pay does not have to be included in your federal unemployment tax account (FUTA) contributions and payments. However, if your business is a corporation or a partnership you must include that spouse's pay in your unemployment tax contribution calculation.
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You Employ Your Child
First, let's be clear. I work in my family business, but I am an adult, so I am treated just like a normal employee. However, if you, for example, run a family restaurant and want to hire your children under 18 to work for you, there are some tax benefits. But first, you should check with your state for rules on how many hours minors can work (in non-agricultural jobs) and reference the Fair Labor Standards Act for information on limitations on the kinds of work children can perform.
"This is an often overlooked or under-utilized strategy. Paying your children for true services they provide in your business can be a powerful tax-saving tool," says Cathi Reed, Block Advisors Regional Director. "If you are a sole-proprietorship or single member LLC, and the child is less than 18 years of age, the business is not required to withhold FICA or payroll taxes. The child can use his or her standard deduction against income you pay."
You Hire Your Parent
Oh dear. If you are brave enough to do this, know that you will need to pay Social Security and Medicare taxes on your parent's wages and make the appropriate withholdings, but you don't have to pay unemployment taxes. Now all you have to do is convince your parent that you are the boss. Have fun with that!
Is Hiring Family Members Worth It For The Tax Benefits?
"There are some positive tax advantages to hiring family members. It's important to treat a family member like any other employee. Hiring your children can result in substantial savings for businesses. Make sure your child has real, age-appropriate work to do and a reasonable pay rate, comparable to other employees. Consult with a Block Advisors small business certified tax pro to ensure that you are complying with all requirements," advises Reed. "Block Advisors, a team within H&R Block, is dedicated to meeting the tax, bookkeeping and payroll needs of small business owners year-round. To start working with the tax experts at Block Advisors, visit blockadvisors.com."
In my opinion, you should not hire a family member solely because of the tax benefits. You should always hire based on whether that person is right for the job and keep in mind how this hire could materially impact your relationship with that person and others in your family. Finally, as I mentioned, make sure you have a tax professional on your team when making these determinations. As you can see, things can get a little tricky!
*All details were sourced from IRS.gov and blockadvisors.com
The opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and may not necessarily reflect those held by Kestra Investment Services, LLC or Kestra Advisory Services, LLC. This is for general information only and is not intended to provide specific investment advice or recommendations for any individual. It is suggested that you consult your financial professional, attorney, or tax advisor with regards to your individual situation. Comments concerning the past performance are not intended to be forward looking and should not be viewed as an indication of future results. Securities offered through Kestra Investment Services, LLC (Kestra IS), member FINRA/SIPC. Investment advisory services offered through Kestra Advisory Services, LLC (Kestra AS), an affiliate of Kestra IS. O'Keeffe Financial Partners and any other entity listed herein is not affiliated with Kestra IS or Kestra AS Investor Disclosures: https://bit.ly/KF-Disclosures