Cardstock – Types, Colors, and Projects

Cardstock is a paper crafter's staple. It is heavier than standard paper and therefore is sturdier for certain types of crafts.  Comparatively, regular paper does not tolerate excess liquid or heavy embellishment applications as well.  In the past, paper crafters only had limited colors and sizes to choose from when crafting.  Today, cardstock is available in an ample variety of weights, textures, and colors, which can be worked into an extensive array of designs.

Types of Cardstock

• Iridescent--Has a coating that displays a spectrum of colors that shimmer and change as the observer's position changes.
• Glossy--Has a coating that is shiny or lustrous.
• Vellum--A fine parchment paper made from the skin of a calf, kid, or lamb.  It can range from almost transparent to almost opaque.
• Textured--Is made up of various fiber or other content that gives it a unique texture.  Common textures include linen, canvas, wood, etc.
• Matte--Has a coating that is dull or lusterless.
• Glitter--Has a coating that is made up of colored glitter.

Cardstock Sizes and Weight

• Cardstock comes in a variety of sizes for paper crafting, card making, and scrapbooking and dimensions are measured in inches.
  • 6 x 6 inches
  • 8 x 8 inches
  • 8.5 x 11 inches for running through your printer or making standard size cards
  • 12 x 12 inches standard size for scrapbooking pages
• The weight of a piece of cardstock is determined by the weight of 500 sheets of paper that are 20 x 26 inches.
• Weight of Cardstock ranges from 65 lbs to 110 lbs, but the standard is 80 lbs. For comparison, a typical business card is also 80 lb paper.

Popular Cardstock Manufacturers

• Bazzill - To find out more about Bazzill scrapbooking products, visit the Bazzill buying guide.
• Paper Accents
• Hot Off The Press
• Colormates
• American Crafts

Projects and Techniques to try with Cardstock

• Cards--This may include greeting cards, announcements, invitations, place setting cards, gift tags, menus, post cards, etc.
• Rubber Stamping--May include cards, scrapbooking, altered art, mixed media, home decorating, etc.
• Scrapbooking--Use cardstock for background pages, embellishments, tags, borders, photo mats, etc.
• Altered Art--Artist Trading Cards (ATC), embellishments, tags, borders, photo mats, post cards, etc.
• Mixed Media--This may include embellishments, tags, borders, etc.

More Cardstock Inspiration and Project Ideas

Check out various cardstock and craft projects made with cardstock at our Think Crafts Blog.

Paper craft project books are also a great resource for finding ideas.

Author

Billie G. Henson is the owner of Crafty Angel Designs