Hints and Tips - Paper Crafts

Calligraphy Hints and Tips
Greeting Cards and Bookbinding Hints and Tips
Papermaking Hints and Tips
Rubber Stamping Hints and Tips
Scrapbooking Hints and Tips

 

If you are making your own ink the thicker the better, and do not use India ink, it will smudge your work and destroy you quill or nib eventually.

Plastic egg cartons make great throwaway gouache mixing containers.

Frozen dinner plates make good disposable palettes.

To shrink-wrap your artwork for display, use real Saran wrap. Stretch it over the artwork and use a hair dryer to seal and shrink it.

Envelopes three most common sizes: A2 (4-3/8”x5-3/4”), A6 (4-3/8”x6-1/2”), and #10 (9-1/2”x4-1/8”).

To rejuvenate a rusty pen nib, place them in a container, cover with lemon juice or vinegar.

After washing out brushes, draw both sides of the brush across a bar of Ivory soap, then pull between thumb and forefinger to form bristles into a point. The bristles will dry stiff.

To keep pen nibs from rusting, save the silica gel packets from packing boxes or bottles and put a packet in each pen nib storage container.

Never mix different brands of ink or mix old and new inks.

Stabilize your ink bottle by taking a household sponge, cutting a circle (or shape of bottle) out of center of the sponge, and place bottle through the cutout. Sponge can also act as an extra ink wipe off area.

Remember, when doing calligraphy, you are actually drawing the letters, not writing. It is important to keep your paper straight. Tilting your paper, as you would to write a letter, adds a tilt to your lettering.

Holding your pen at a 45 degree angle to the desktop and a 45 degree angle to the paper is necessary for clean, even, well spaced lettering.

An old clean make-up brush can be used to brush off eraser leftovers on your paper.

When addressing invitations, take the time to look up the 4 digit zip code extension (http://usps.com/). You will also be able to find out if the address is a street, drive, circle, etc. which always make an address look complete and professional.

A light box is an indispensable tool.

A calligraphy marker (a chisel point disposable marker for making calligraphic letters that does not require refilling) can be used for quick , roughing-out designs.

Use a fishing tackle box to hold all your notions, glue guns, etc...

Calligraphy Tips & Techniques

12 Rules for Good Cursive Handwriting

Gilding Hints and Tips

An old clean make-up brush can be used to brush off eraser leftovers on your paper.

When addressing invitations, take the time to look up the 4 digit zip code extension (http://usps.com/). You will also be able to find out if the address is a street, drive, circle, etc. which always make an address look complete and professional.

Decorate the outside of the envelope with drawings, doodles, sketches, or stickers.

When you are cutting an opening for your card, always place the metal ruler on the card to the side of the line that you want to keep. If the knife wanders, it will wander into the piece of card that you are removing and not onto the piece that you want.

Personalizing the card by writing the recipient's name inside the card which reminds them this card was sent just for them.

White gel pens look fantastic on dark paper and cards.

Underline, circle or highlight the phrases that apply or hold special meaning.

The most personal cards are honest and heartfelt. Write a heartfelt note inside the card

If possible, enclose a meaningful or special photo inside your card.

Use a fishing tackle box to hold all your notions, glue guns, etc...

Tearing paper creates an interesting decorative edge for your card or scrapbooking page.

Turn a photo into a postcard by gluing a piece of card stock to the back of the photo. Just be sure the card meets the postal standards for postcards - minimum 3-1/2"x5", maximum 4-14"x6".

Ask your local wallpaper store for the old wallpaper books. The wallpaper make great envelopes, gift tags, stationary, etc.

An old clean make-up brush can be used to brush off eraser leftovers on your paper.

When addressing invitations, take the time to look up the 4 digit zip code extension (http://usps.com/). You will also be able to find out if the address is a street, drive, circle, etc. which always make an address look complete and professional.

Sunlight degrades rubber and hardens it . Store your rubber stamps in a cool, dry place.

Glitter and hologram powders work best on dark backgrounds.

Use a fishing tackle box to hold all your notions, glue guns, etc...

Baby wipes make good inexpensive rubber stamp cleaners. Stamp a few times on a paper towel after cleaning to dry.

To make your embossed cards to sparkle, try adding some fine glitter to the embossing powder before you heat it.

Store your ink pads upside down with the ink side up.

Try blending your embossing powders to create multi toned colors on your project.

Use a brush marker to color parts of your stamp in different colors to create a ‘rainbow’ effect.

Stamp out your design 3 or 4 times and cut out smaller parts of the design to form 3D layers on your original whole image.

If the ink is drying too quickly breathe onto the stamp to refresh it.

Do not try using a hairdryer to emboss - it will blow the powder away without melting it!

Clean rubber stamps after each use with a mild soap.

Rubber Stamping Tips & Ideas 

 

An old, clean make-up brush can be used to brush off eraser leftovers on your paper.

Sharpen punches by punching through aluminum foil a few times.

Cut borders with decorative scissors for a different look.

Use a fishing tackle box to hold all your notions, glue guns, etc...

Lubricate punches by punching through wax paper a few times.

Tearing paper creates an interesting decorative edge for your greeting cards or scrapbooking page.

Store papers, photos and embellishments in acid free storage such as storage boxes and specialist satchels.

Store delicate die cuts in folded acid free paper with the die cut facing the fold.

Keep papers in color groups to easily find the colors you want. Use the color wheel as a guide. Start with yellow, to orange, to red, to purple, to blue, to green.

Scrapbooking is meant to be fun and not stressful! Every page doesn’t have to be perfect or elaborate. The important thing is to enjoy doing it and put a little of yourself in every page.

How to Preserve Newspaper Clippings 

Scrapbooking Page Layout Beginners Tips 

Print and Ink Tips

Layout Tips

Photo Tips

 

This material is copyrighted and printed with permission and may be used for your personal use only.
It may not be copied or reproduced in any form, sold, or copied or posted to another web site.

Do you have a great tip that you’d like to pass along to others in our “Hints and Tips” section.
Please complete our feedback form.