Paper Crafting Tools and Techniques

By David Urmann

Paper crafting covers a wide range of fun and easy projects for home and other gift functions. It is a hobby needing a lot of creativity and some skills to incorporate a certain technique.

There are basic tools you might want to procure if you are interested in trying paper crafts. You will often find yourself doing a lot of paper cutting so you might want to get cutting instruments like paper cutters or scissors.

Cutting may scratch or damage tables or other working surfaces. As such, get a self-healing cutting mat and do your cutting jobs here. It has a special scratch-resistant surface.
Ruled metals with straight edges are also basic paper craft tools. It has a dual purpose. First is it gives accurate and precise measurements, usually in centimeters and inches. And second, the edges are used to mark and cut straight lines.

A bone folder or stylus helps make creases deep to avoid residue. Residues can ruin your paper's texture. It can also be used to add paper dimensions.

Pencils are very useful making in temporary markings and notes in guiding your project.
Most often than not, you will find yourself attaching two things together in paper crafting. Thus you need glue sticks, double-sided tapes or any other adhesives appropriate for paper materials. You can also use a glue gun.

A black ink pad may also come in handy in embossing surfaces. Three by four inches larger black dye pads and a black pigmented pad is a good choice.

Rubber stamps are primarily used in rubberstamping projects. But it can also be used in other projects to add designs to your work.

Stamp cleaners have conditioning agents to prevent the rubber stamps from drying. It is best to clean the stamps by removing some of the ink residue to prolong its life. And to complete the kit, get a stamp cleaning pad to clean the detailed areas of a stamp after use.

Lastly, this is paper crafting so one needs a variety of papers to get started. There are many different kinds of papers. It is best to ask from a craft store what is most suited in your project.
One quality paper to start with is the quality archival paper products. It does not fade easily. These products are acid free and will not deteriorate, unlike non-archival papers. You can also try recycled and used papers like old cards, music sheets, as well as calendars, paper napkins and wrapping paper.

Paper crafting relies greatly on your creativity, but you can try mastering basic techniques here to get the ball rolling for you.

Direct-to-Paper or DTP is a gentle stroke technique on applying dye or pigmented ink is used directly to paper from the pad. However, you can use a heat emboss and use a heat set if you will do rubber stamping.

Dry embossing is used to embellish small areas or flaps of envelopes in your project. One can also use plastic stencils for stencil painting. A light box is the easiest way to dry emboss. It will lighten up the paper from below. You can also tape your template to a window to get the desired backlighting. A moist clean cloth over the paper like vellum is used to prevent tearing of brittle paper.

Heat embossing is the quickest way in dressing up paper projects It is a raised paper effect that uses embossing stamps, ink and embossing powder.

Paper piercing is also known as parchment piercing. A perforating tool is used to pierce a paper for a lace effect.

Paper crafts is more popular to kid and ladies, but there are men who also indulge in this hobby. It is interesting how a simple piece of paper can be transformed into an art.
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