Cardmaking is a fun, vast world of stamping, inking, coloring and more. It allows you to let your imagination run wild and make your paper crafting dreams come true. 

When you see the beautiful creations that other papercrafters have created, you may wonder and marvel at their creative genius. Certainly, there is a lot of talent behind these remarkable creations. 

But what about you? Have you ever been curious about taking a stab at it? If so, don’t worry! Cardmaking is not as hard as it looks. With a few of the basic tools for paper crafting on hand, you can test out your own creativity and take the crafting world on by storm. 

Here are a few of the things to start with when you are cardmaking:

 

1 – Cardstock Paper

Of course, the first thing you need when paper crafting is paper! The best paper to use when crafting, just like other crafting products, is subjective. It really depends on your preferences and what you are going to do with it. If you foresee yourself using a lot of inks and watercolors, look for plain and thick textured cardstock to prevent ink bleeds. If you want to depend more on the paper itself to do the decorating for you, choose from the wide variety of patterned cardstock paper available at any craft store. 

 

2 – Clear Stamps

Clear stamps offer a whole world of possibilities when it comes to cardmaking. With the right stamps, you can make fun colorful birthday cards, elegant event invitation cards, warm sympathetic cards, or even just-because cards. Clear stamps usually come in sets of multiple individual stamps that can be paired together or used separately. You can choose themed stamp sets for separate occasions or get multi-functional stamps that can be reused for many different purposes. The great thing about clear stamps is that you can position them on the page however you want and you can personalize the look according to your preferences. Color a fun floral stamp a different color each time or stamp in the sentiments on your balloon stamps. Clear stamps offer you structure, but they also allow you to get creative in so many ways. 

 

3 – Clear Acrylic Block

You can’t use clear stamps without a clear acrylic block. You can stick each stamp onto the block, ink it, and then press it down onto your card. Clear acrylic blocks give you an idea of how the image will look before it is actually inked on the page. They provide clarity during the crafting process and take out a lot of the guesswork. The blocks come in many different sizes, but you really only need one default size that should fit most of your stamps. 

 

4 – Inks 

The last thing you need for stamping on your cards is ink. The stamps have to appear in some color! Choose from your favorite colored inks and pair them with your stamps and watch as your beautiful crisp images appear on the page. Some crafting companies provide guides to help you decide which inks to pair with which stamping images. If you are trying out stamping for the first time, this is a great resource to look for!

 

Bonus: Cardmaking Classes

Once you’ve got your paper, stamps, clear block, and inks, you are all set to start making some beautiful cards. However, it doesn’t hurt to get some inspiration from some seasoned crafters. There are many affordable card making classes available to give you ideas and help you figure out how to use the crafting tools you have. You will never fail to get inspired after watching expert crafters demonstrate their craft.