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Card making is my new obsession and I've only been at it a couple months. This website is so helpful.
I know this is a very basic question and from the looks of all your cards, you're galaxies away from me... but I'm interested in your thoughts about cardstock.
I've heard it said that with cards, "it's all about the paper". I've been buying packs of various colors at the local craft stores, and it does seem a little flimsy. But for learning, it's been great.
Since I am a Stampin' Up! demonstrator, I have to say that I love their cardstock and especially the colors that Stampin' Up! offers. What really attracted me was the fact that I don't have to think about making color choices, the colors pretty much all coordinate with each other.
You will probably find that many folks have different opinions, go with what you feel is in your budget.
I really like StampinUp's colored cardstock, too. Very thick and sturdy. But PTI's white, cream, and kraft are better than SU's. PTI's colored cardstock is also very high quality.
Most cardstock they sell at the big box craft stores is garbage. I spent way too many years trying to make nice cards out of it, and after I bought my first pack of SU, I gave the cheap stuff to a preschool. It seriously makes all the difference in the world to the quality of your cards.
Welcome to stamping! And be careful. These boards will put a hurtin' on your pocketbook!
I have to agree with the previous posters on the quality of the big box stores cardstock. My thought is if you are going to make a beautiful handmade card why cheapen it with cheap cardstock. I also feel that way about envelopes also! SU's cardstock is quite thick. When you feel it you will know the difference immediately.
My Favorite is PaperTrey Ink. It is very thick & sturdy and the colors are AWESOME!
It is a very very good price as well and you can buy the packs in
12 sheets - $3
24 sheets - $5
50 sheets -$9
I recently bought my first pack of PaperTrey Ink card stock to see for myself what all the fuss was about. Though I loved the colors and their saturation (and all the coordinating ribbon), I felt it was a bit too think to use for many layers on a card. SU is a good weight (and also has coordinating ribbon, buttons, brads, designed paper and glitter) and so much better than the store bought stuff that I became a demo for the discount so I could stock up on it. They are redoing their colors this July to be a little fresher and more modern. I can't wait!
trimont.....Yes there are huge differences in cardstock. Cardstock, as in any paper, comes in various weights. Then again, what is rated as 80# in one paper to the feel can be very different than 80# in another paper.
Yes, you can purchase quality cardstock and other paper in the stores. I would suggest you stick with brand names and to some extent by the price. As with most anything.....you get what you pay for.
There are many places from local neighborhood stores to internet sites that sell quality cardstock and other paper. The choice is up to you, really. Make small purchases of various brands to see for yourself what you like.
I am not a fan of matchy-matchy paper and all the other components that go into the creation of my cards. I prefer to choose coordinating colors for myself from various sources. But to each his own as the saying goes.
Make your decisions based on what YOU like. Yes it's experimenting in the beginning, but it's also educating yourself.
I recently when through and changed out all my cardstock. I went from using Michael's cardstock (which i gave to a friend with 2 young daughters) to a couple of different companies depending on what i am doing.
For my cardbases I use Gina K. It is sturdy paper and you can layer it up without worrying about it will bend.
For Layering I use SU! it is perfect.
For my white layers I use Taylored Expression when using my copics or SU! when just stamping on it.
I have a few other specialty papers that I use, but those are the basics and I find it works for me. That being said some of the girls i stamp with think I am crazy.
I was hooked on SU for a long time and loved the matchy-matchy and do still have a stash of SU that I am using up, but when I discovered PTI it was love at first touch. So, for now I use both SU and PTI, but when my SU stash is gone, I will probably go exclusively PTI. Their cs is nice and sturdy, the price is right and they have wonderful products and coordinating ink, ribbon, and buttons
I avoid the big box stores cs because I use to use those and they always felt thin and cheap to me and matching was difficult at times.
I started out using SU cardstock and products, and I still love there products, but I love using PTI for my card bases. The nice thing is that you can us PTI for the base and SU for the layers. The SU is a lighter weight than PTI so your cards don't end up to heavy. I have all of the SU inks and they match pretty closely with the PTI so I was glad that I didn't have to go and buy all of the PTI inks as well. My suggestion would be to order the variety CS pack from PTI and the variety color packs from SU and try them out for your self to see which you like better. I do prefer the Gina K 120# white for stamping my images on. I find that I get a clean and crisp image everytime, I use Memento Tuxedo black ink which can be use with Copic's and Prisma pencils. This can be a very addictive hobby, but once you find the right CS for your bases and layers the rest is easy. Have fun with it all.
I use mostly Stampin Up(even before I was a demo), but I also love Gina K. She has base weight and layering weight white which is awesome.(And as much as I love SU, the white is a bit too thin for a base.) Plus she has some great colors and the service is awesome! I haven't bought any in awhile, but also like PTI.
I use many different brands of CS but in December I tried Gina K Design paper and totally fell in love especially her Luxury Card Stock in Ivory and White. I also own about 8 other colors in really love them also. They do costs more but it is completely worth every penny (actually I would pay more if asked). PTI (paper trey ink) is also a great quality CS- it is better then SU and cheaper with more options on how many sheets you want. Buy the variety pack so you can try all the colors and then your know which ones you are more drawn too then others. If you love Matchy-matchy PTI is wonderful for that since they offer both ribbon and ink in every color but personally I feel so much creativity is taken away by matchy-matchy stuff. Alot of people on this site are all about SU and personally I feel SU is a great company for beginners since everything is done for you in color matching (CS, DP, Ink, Ribbon, Markers, chalk, breads... Literally everything is matchy-matchy), ect. but if you are wanting to use your own creativity then SU takes (in my opinion only) that away from you since everything you buy will match up- but to some it is more about just making the cards and how many cards they can make and how quick they can be made- and less about using their creativity to find the CS then the DP to match then looking for the ribbon or whatever else you want element wise on your card.
Check out Gina K, PTI, DCWV (mostly just a layering weight CS), bazzil... there are lots of brands out there worth the money... But it is "you get what you pay for" when it comes to paper. Since your a beginner - you may also want to check out SU- since in a way it will be cheaper for you- since again everything matches perfectly. I do not dis-like SU, it is just my cup of tea to have all the creativity taken away from me by everything matching up. I don't mass produce cards- I enjoy taking my time and making each and every card unique.
Most of all... Have Fun.. This is an expensive but very fun hobby....
I am not an expert, but I have been crafting for many years. I started with Scrapbooking, and recently moved to cardmaking and stamping (in the past year and a half).
That being said, for card bases and layering I tend to go for the textured cardstock such as Bazzill. For stamping some images on, it is difficult as the texturing messes with the images. However, sometimes that is a look you are going for, and a big difference depends on the ink you use. Versafine and Versamark tend to do better IMO on the textured cardstock than the Memento for instance.
For stamping to color on, I tend to use either Hammermill Color Copy Cover in 60 or 80 lb weight, or Neenah Classic Crest in 80 lb weight. I tend to color with Copics. For that I use the Hammermill. It is super duper smooth and soaks up a lot less ink to get the blending than some of the other paper. If I am stamping and coloring with pencils I prefer the Neenah as it is a bit sturdier. The Neenah works well with Copis as well, but the Hammermill was cheaper.
It is about the paper -- that is why it is called papercrafting!
I handle lots of paper in my job, and after a while, quality and use become obvious. The most obvious example that most people can relate to is wedding invitations. Think about what you can produce from your home computer with a pack of discount paper purchased from Walmart. Now think about what a professionally printed invite is like. Right down to made in China 100/pack for $2.99 envelopes compared to fine linen envelopes. You should use quality products to get quality results.
That being said, a lot of CS comes down to preference. Many people tout thicker as better. That is not always so if you do lots of layers or some folding techniques. If you have a chance to get some samplers from various companies, I would do it. I think you might be surprised in the quality differences as well as similarities.
I love the SU cardstock, but I do use Papertrey white and off-white when I'm using those as the base of the card because they are thicker than SU's whisper white and very vanilla. But SU's other neutral colors - confetti white and cream, natural white and ivory, are thick like their color cardstock and I love them.
Another vote for SU! I was introduced to stamping and card making through a friend who was a SU demo, and tried a few others. None compared. SU is the perfect weight for what I do. I also LOVE LOVE LOVE that their designer papers, ribbons, inks, etc. are all coordinated.
I agree with the others who said that it is all about the paper. If you do this because you love it, make sure you use what you love.
I started out by buying a package of each color family SU had so I had 3 sheets of each color. I then bought packages of single colors as I used them up. That said, SU has new colors coming out and others retiring 7/1, so keep that in mind if you get a bunch of paper now.
__________________ Diana
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Save your drama for your llama.
Card Stock Basics
