Paper
A basic stash of Whisper White in thick and regular weight can go a long way to extend your monthly Paper Pumpkin box of craft supplies. The thick cardstock is ideal for card bases. The heavier weight paper provides a sturdy base for the layers and embellishments you might use. The standard stock paper from Stampin’ Up! is very high quality. I recommend it over the craft store paper for a couple of reasons. First, the color is consistent between packages. You don’t have to worry if the whites will match. Second, the paper is thicker, than the standard paper. Ink won’t bleed, cut out shapes won’t curl, you’ll be happier with your results. I speak from experience.
When you’re ready to move beyond Whisper White, consider Very Vanilla and Black. Black is great for dramatic cards, masculine cards, framing layers. An interior designer I used to watch on TV decades ago said every room needs a touch of black. I don’t know that every card does, but it often adds the perfect something to your design. Very Vanilla works really well with all the warm colors in the Stampin’ Up! color collections. I love using Very Vanilla for fall themed cards, baby shower cards, shabby chic cards. The color is warm and soft and works really well for those designs. It also comes in thick and standard weights.
Add Color
Stampin’ Up! also makes color cardstock that matches perfectly with every ink color in all the collections. For my Stash Queens – you know you have a room devoted to crafting -I recommend adding colored cardstock to your stash as soon as you can. Your paper crafting will be elevated that much more. Stampin’ Up! often puts together a bundle of colors in a Cardstock Pack. It’s a great way to add more colors to your stash.
Finally, there are Designer Series Papers (DSP). These are the preprinted patterned papers that use colors from the Stampin’ Up! color collections. The packs and the catalog include the list of the colors used in the pack. DSP can be a variety of weights but is usually lighter. Some packs are Specialty DSP. These packs tend to have metallic or pearlized accents and possibly a heavier weight. DSP makes card making easy.
Cutting Tools
Logically, paper crafting requires the ability to cut the paper. And your next argument is that you own scissors. Good, that’s a good place to start. But, the better the tool, the better your results.
Paper Snips
These are the Stampin’ Up! Paper Snips. They aren’t expensive, especially when you discover how nice they are. First, they are lightweight. This means they are easy to control and won’t fatigue your hand. Second, the blades are fine and very sharp. This is helpful when you’re fussy cutting. Fussy cutting is cutting out a stamped image by hand. Very useful. I resisted buying these because “I had scissors. Nice ones, for crafting. Well, they weren’t as nice as these. In fact, I have a hard time sharing them and I only use them for cutting paper. I’m thinking about getting a second pair for cutting ribbons and other things. I’ll let you know. (Narrator voice: And she did.)
Trimmer
I had one of these too, a different brand. Why did I switch? The one I had didn’t have a large enough base. You need one that is 6 inches minimum. If you’re cutting standard 8-1/2×11 inch paper in half to make a standard card, you need to cut it at 5-1/2 inches. The trimmer I had, the 5.5″ mark was in the crease where the arm swings out. And the ink that marked all the measurements started to fade. It was awful. This makes it hard to line up a piece of paper to get a perfectly perpendicular cut. You’ll end up on an angle without those visual cues. And don’t forget the SU Trimmer has gridlines on the 1/4″ not the 1/2″ so you can be even more precise. Stampin’ Up! recently upgraded their trimmer and I’m even more in love. Besides adhesive and scissors, this would be the next purchase I recommend for basic crafting.