GETTING BACK TO BASICS: card stock

Sometimes, when you have been stamping for over 16 years, you lose perspective of when you first put ink to paper. After offering a class or two to people who have never paper crafted and it truly brings you back basics.

To get back to basics, or for some to start from the beginning, this is the first of a series of Tips and Tricks, The beauty of crafting is that I keep learning new tips everyday, from demonstrators all around the world, and from my fellow paper crafters who love their art.

PAPER SIZES: In North America, our common size of card stock is 8-½ x 11. That makes the standard card 5-½” x 4-¼”. You can fold vertically or horizontally, but the layers you may want to use will usually be the following:

CARD BASE: 5-½” X 4-¼”

LAYER 1 : 5-¼” X 4

LAYER 2: 5 X 3-¾”

Several different folding techniques will use the ¼ sheet of paper (2-¾” x 2-⅛”), and layer that… but let’s stick to the basics for now. .

Tip : to make the most of my paper, when I need to punch a coordinating image or die, I use the center of a layer that will be covered by another layer of paper. You don’t waste the space and nobody will ever know. Another way to use left overs is to keep strips to stamp greetings. ½:” strips, left from layering card stock are a perfect size for a small greeting.

FOLDING: If you have a paper cutter or a scoring board like the Simply Scored Scoring tool, by Stampin’ Up! or the brand new paper cutter, you will score your card stock before you fold it. That will create a line and I have been asked on which side does the fold go. This is a good reminder that the bump that is created by the scoreline goes on the inside of the fold : valley out, ridge in.

If you do not yet own a paper cutter or a Simply score board, gently line up your corners and warm up the center part of the card with your hands. Gently warm up the area that will become the fold, to soften the paper’s fibres. Then you can create the fold, while keeping your corners well lined up, pressing firmly. If you can find a bone folder (I can help you with that) to burnish your fold, it will make it crisp and tidy.

Better tools always give better results. The new Stampin’ Up! Paper Trimmer helps you cut and score your card stock and Designer Series Paper.