Thursday, July 21, 2011

Scrapbooking Ideas and Solutions - Know Your Paper


It is so easy to take an everyday material like paper for granted, but it is so versatile that it pays to know your basics, especially if you are an avid scrap booker. Paper is so versatile, as you can tear, cut, crease, crumple, fold or glue it. There are tempting choices of paper available in most craft shops, and if you know the basics on types of paper you can use for a project, you can dictate the end results that you can achieve on your project.

First of all we need to take note of the paper weight. This is measured in gsm (grams per square metre). Slightly stronger papers will be around 150 to 190gsm and this weight will be suitable for making small boxes. Any paper weight above 250gsm is officially classed as cardboard.

Here are a few of the different types of papers that we will be able to use for all our scrapbooking ideas and solutions.

Tissue Paper:

This type is mainly used for gift wrapping or packing of breakables. It can also be used for crafts such as paper mache. Tissue paper is light weight and fragile and can also be used to make embellishments for your pages, or you could crumple it and use it to mat a photograph.

Sugar Paper:

This type is widely available and cheap. It has a slightly grainy texture and comes in a wide variety of colours for all your scrapbooking projects.

Crepe or Crinkled Paper:

This type is wrinkled and delicate and is also great for gift wrapping. It usually comes in a variety of strong and bright colours and can also be stretched slightly. You can also apply droplets of water to this paper to achieve a lovely watermark design.

Japanese Paper:

This type is medium weight that is similar to fabric in the way that it hangs and drapes. It is to springy to fold, but can be torn to create rough feathery edges.

Coated Paper:

This type is usually coated on one or both sides with a gloss or matt finish. This type of paper is great for tearing as it reveals and interesting white layer underneath. Coated paper does not fold well, as the coating cracks and looks untidy.

Tracing Paper:

Tracing paper can be made in different weights and is transparent with a waxy texture. Besides using it to transfer motifs and trace drawings, it could also be used to form windows or frames on your layouts.

Parchment Paper:

This type is high quality and normally only available in white and other neutral colours. It is medium weight and has an old fashioned look and feel to it. Great for fancy notebooks and diaries or creating layouts with old photographs.

Bond Paper:

This is the most used, everyday medium weight paper and usually available in a limited choice of pale colours. Bond can be used for most paper making projects from origami to papier mache.

Watercolour Paper:

This type is medium weight and usually only sold in craft stores. Artists use it to do their water colour paintings, and it has a hand made quality and slightly rough texture.

Brown Paper:

This is a traditional wrapping material and is both cheap and strong. You could also use it for stamping and stencilling.

Handmade Paper:

These are normally highly textured medium to heavy weighted papers with anything from petals and leaves to glitter and grass embedded into them. Handmade paper isn't cheap but is worth the investment to add an exotic touch to your projects.

Acid-Free Paper:

This type is strong and longer lasting as all the acids are removed during processing. It is the ideal paper for scrapbooking, and the storage of old antique books and documents.

For more on Scrapbooking Ideas and Solutions, visit: http://scrapbookideasandsolutions.blogspot.com




Michel Maling
I live in Sunny South Africa in the beautiful coastal city of Port Elizabeth. I love dancing, scrapbooking, Hiking and learning all there is to learn about internet marketing. If you are passionate about scrapbooking, subscribe to my blog, as I regularly update with new ideas and tips that I discover along the way. http://scrapbookideasandsolutions.blogspot.com





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