Beginniner"s Guide to Scrapbooking- Lesson #2 Paper

There are so many choices when you start to look at paper for your scrapbook and cardmaking projects. It is important to investigate the product a bit to be certain that the paper you purchase is appropriate for the task at hand.  You want to look for papers that are archival safe (do not contain acid or lignin that will fade your photos). There are many lovely papers with any design you could possibly be interested in.  Avoid the pitfall of rushing out and buying all the pretty designs.  First it is important to build your basic supply of paper.  This is much the same way that we started acquiring our tools.(Basic Toolkit)  Choose products that will give you the biggest bang for your buck.  White cardstock is where you should begin.  By having a blank canvas of white cardstock to build upon you can create your own designer paper, cards and layouts with minimal supplies.  You may be doubting me at this point so I am including a  videos to illustrate what can be achieved with white cardstock.

In this simple video from Scrapbooks.com you see how easy it is to achieve a lovely layout with minimal supplies. The design paper that they use could easily be replaced with hand stamped background paper that you create using your stamps, ink and colour pencils or markers. 

As you are ready to add to your "stash" try to purchase other complimentary colours of cardstock. Having a coordinating palette of cardstock will enable you to create endless designs that will look lovely together.

When you feel that you have a good selection of cardstock it is time to expand into premade design paper. Many people think that buying paper in a stack is a cost saving way to gain a large variety of papers...cheap. In fact you may end up buying allot of designs that you are never going to use.  Stacks are full of coordinating papers but often there are designs that are left over once you have used up your favourites that just don't suit any project you are working on. In this case it would have been more prudent to purchase the design paper that you really liked and only what you need. The quality of paper you get in a stack is also very often lacking. If you do decide on purchasing a stack, look for an open sample of that pad and check out the weight of the paper.  It is very disheartening to arrive home with a lovely paper that is too thin to work with.

A good way to build your paper supply is to find a buddy.  By purchasing cardstock or design paper with a friend you can "split" the colours and therefore the cost.  This will allow you to acquire smaller amounts of each colour.

Make sure that you protect your investment by storing your paper in appropriate sized storage boxes or shelves. Your paper needs room to lie flat but not so much room as to allow it to jostle around and get dog eared. Also be aware of the humidity in your storage area. Like any other paper product, scrapbook paper needs to be kept in a cool dry place.

Enjoy building your stash and take time to explore the different weight and textures and huge variety of colour. Now get out there and get your paper! Make sure you post your creations to our fb fan page http://www.facebook.com/mygrandmasteacups