Background Papers Make a Big Difference To Your Cardmaking.......

Mention Background Papers to most cardmakers and you'll send a shiver of excitement down their spine!

Most cardmakers we know share a love affair with their papers. They will often buy multiple sheets of a design they really like: One for immediate cardmaking, one to keep for when it's next needed and one to keep lovingly forever in an ever growing collection of papers.

If you are new to cardmaking and think this is madness we challenge you to think that in a few months time when you have immersed yourself into our world!

Traditionally these papers do what their name says - they are the background to your card. However there are so many exquisite papers now available that with very little else they can make the card!

By carefully covering the front of a card with a carefully positioned design a peel off sentiment can be enough to finish it off.

TIP: When you are cutting your paper to cover the front of a card cut about 1 inch (2.5cm) extra on the width so that you can wrap the paper around the spine of the card onto the back. This gives the card a nice finish. You can use a straight line peel off along the cut edge just to finish it off.

Background Papers are also good when Matting and Layering. Just co-ordinate your paper with your Embellishments or your Rubber Stamping .

On this card the whole of the base card was covered with a striped paper.

A mat of floral paper with the same colourways was then added.

The bottom right hand corner was folded back to reveal yet another contrasting paper. This corner was "pinned" back with a die cut flower which had been matt and layered.

The plain flower had been inked up to highlight the pink and blue flowers of the floral mat.

Some gem stones in the centre of the flower and the corner added the finishing embellishment.

Background papers come in all different colours, patterns, weights and sizes. You can purchase them from traditional retailers or look on the internet for free printables which you download and print yourself.

Alternatively if you sign up for Cardmaking-Companion's FREE monthly Newsletter you will receive FREE background papers each month, direct to your in-box.

If you decide you want to use a downloadable paper make sure that the weight of paper in your printer is good enough to hold the inks. Nothing looks worse than paper which has ruckled because too much ink has been soaked up by it. The paper doesn't flatten out and you will have wasted a lot of ink.

Tip: If the design you are downloading is for a project which will be kept for a number of years then invest in some acid free paper for your printer.

Companies tend to bring out collections of background papers which are all colour co-ordinated and themed. The standard size of 12" x 12" can be used both in cardmaking and scrapbooking.

Some papers are double sided, some have an embossed effect on them, some are textured e.g velvet paper and some are glittered.The cost of the paper will depend on the designer, the weight and the type of paper. Always look out for sale items and end of season bargains.

A good buy are pads of 6" x 6" papers. Again they will all be colour co-ordianted or themed. There tends to be 3 or more copies of each design, and there can be anything up to about 12 designs in a pad. If you are looking to build up a varied collection of papers, quickly and cheaply this is a good way to start.

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