The Basic Card Making Supplies Every Stamper Needs

The Basic Card Making Supplies Every Stamper Needs

While you could dive into the world of paper crafting with a pair of scissors, some construction paper and a bottle of white school glue, a few basic paper crafting tools can really take your craft to the next level. By investing in a few beginner card making supplies, you’ll be creating projects with professional results and a lot less frustration!

Here, I’ll walk you through the basic tools every papercrafter needs

Paper trimmers

A paper trimmer is a must for card making and scrapbooking. It keeps your edges straight and square, and makes cutting so much faster. Your paper trimmer should have a trimming tool (for cutting paper) and a scoring tool (for creasing paper).

I recommend using a paper trimmer like the Stampin’ Up! Paper Trimmer. First off, I have to say that every tool from Stampin’ Up!  is really great quality. I haven’t tried a tool of theirs yet that I wouldn’t recommend.

Why this particular trimmer? Full 30.5 cm cut or score cards for easy folding.  1 cutting and 1 scoring blade.  I love the ability to cut and score all with one tool. Ruler and grid protected by durable plastic cover.  Point on cutting / scoring handle for precise measuring.   Right side grid for cutting thin strips Plus, it has paper trimmer must-haves, like a ruler along the top.

The size of this trimmer is nice, too: It’s a great size for easy storage and has an extended arm ( 36.5cm) when you want to cut or score a full 12″ x 12″ piece of paper.

Circle punches

I have a small collection of circle punches that I use often.  I would recommend getting a variety of sizes of circle punches. They’re great for layering papers for tags and other embellishments on cards. Circle punches come in a wide range of sizes — Stampin’ Up! have handheld punches that measure 1/16” to ¼” which I love, too.

Tip: Flip the punch upside down so you can see the area you are punching out. This will help you get more out of page and punch your circles more accurately.

You can also buy punches for other shapes, but you’ll find circles to be very versatile, and you’ll love how crisp and perfect the results are.

Staplers

Every paper crafter needs a stapler, and I love this little stapler.  I usually use it to attach small tags or other ephemera to gifts bags and cards. The size adds a special touch to every project. The thin design helps you to get into tight places that would be hard to reach with a regular stapler.

Adhesive 

When attaching photos and paper to cards, scrapbook pages and gift bags, you can’t just use school glue or tape. What you want is something lightweight but strong enough to hold paper together. An adhesive runner, like SNAIL, or Tear Tape does the trick.

Before trying this tool, know that SNAIL it’s not strong enough to hold everything. I don’t use it for gluing on thick embellishments like chipboard or holding together any 3-D projects like boxes, but Tear Tape works a treat.

Liquid glue

For 3-D projects like gift boxes or thicker card embellishments, you’ll need a strong liquid glue. I discovered the Multi purpose Liquid Glue and love it! Once this glue dries (and it dries quickly — only a minute or two to set), it holds everything perfectly in place. None of my boxes or other 3-D projects fall apart when glued with this adhesive. 

This particular bottle has two dispensing ends, which makes it a versatile choice for whatever project you’re working on. I always use the thin pen tip because I am usually gluing small areas. It also has a broad tip, similar to the size of a glue stick, for larger projects.

Foam adhesive dots (Stampin’ Dimensionals)

Stampin’ Dimensionals great for emphasising embellishments. Because of the foam, they elevate elements off the page, really making them pop. Put them behind a sentiment, flower or another embellishment on a card to really bring it to life. They are a great alternative to a hot glue gun with some materials.

Cardstock

To craft with paper, you definitely need, well, paper! I like to keep a supply of A4 smooth, Thick white cardstock on hand for making cards. Cutting one of these pages in half and folding it makes the perfect sized card. Hint: You can also buy “Note Cards & Envelopes” which are pre-cut and pre-folded cards to save yourself  a step.

I prefer smooth cardstock for the base of my cards because you can easily write your sentiment on the inside. However, textured cardstock is great for decorating and embellishing.

Patterned paper

I love stampin’ Up! Patterned paper, The paper packs often include coordinating embellishments, ribbon and more. It makes creating a cohesive card or project so easy.

With these supplies, you’ll have enough to get started. Once you’re comfortable using these, you might even graduate to more advanced supplies like Die Cutting or Heat embossing.

For more Back to Basics ideas check out my Resource Library HERE