I love to make journals and other paper crafts (including collage art) with uniquely designed papers in different types, styles, and textures. Along the way, I have learned what works (and what doesn’t) for various crafts and uses. Here are some tips to picking out excellent papers for whatever your craft desires are!
Always look for acid-free papers, whether you just want plain cardstock or mulberry paper. Acid-free papers won’t warp your photos or painting (or anything you do with them) over time. If you are looking for textured paper, mulberry paper and rice paper (I prefer Japanese rice paper that is used for calligraphy- it’s sturdier and more absorbent without bleeding) are optimum choices, although they can be pricey. This is where eBay comes in super handy.
Look for handmade items when it comes to paper, whether you are choosing oragami papers (perfect for using inside cards for the texture and beautiful designs) or scrapbooking papers. Pay attention to weight if you plan on watercoloring, because a paper that is too thin (I simply hold the papers to the light to see if light shines through) will curl and get bumpy when they get wet. You want heavier weight papers for crafts like paper lamps and such, or for decorative paper crafts.
Wallpaper and napkins make excellent paper choices for crafts as well, as you can use wallpaper sheets (those samples that you can get at furniture stores) for cards or for covers for books and journals. Napkins are premium choices for decoupage without the excessive costs. Again, eBay is a great choice for getting varieties of napkins and wallpaper type mediums for your paper crafts.
Hit up your local thrift store and pick up both music books and reading books, in various fonts. Bonus points if you can pick up a book with black and white photos or in cursive print. Look for the acid-free description in the beginning of the book (by the copyright) and you have scrapbooking and crafting papers on the super cheap! These hardy papers tear well for texture as well.
When choosing papers with a gold leaf, again, watch to make sure they are acid-free (most papers actually are nowadays, and books are usually acid-free as they don’t want to fade the words over the years) and with paper that has lots of fibers in it. This is so you can have great texture should you choose to tear the paper. I suggest never cutting mulberry or rice paper; tear these papers by hand as they tear better than they cut and create pretty edges this way.
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how I purchase papers for crafts