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Whether you are making your first scrapbook or have several under your belt already at some point you are likely to find other paper crafts mentioned. Due to their very nature other paper crafts transfer well over into scrapbooking, with the reverse also being true.

Stamping

Stamping (rubber stamping) is a craft that uses inked rubber stamps to make images on a variety of materials, including but not limited to cardstock and paper. It doesn’t require any artistic ability but certainly being able to be creative is helpful. As the rubber stamps have impressions already on them all the crafter needs to do is apply ink and then press the rubber stamp onto the paper or cardstock they are embellishing. Rubber stamping can be used for many craft items. Card making is one such craft that rubber stamping is used on a lot. Rubber stamping can be used to make unique paper for scrapbooking and gift wrapping paper. Single rubber stamp impressions can be used to decorate smaller items. Once rubber stamps are applied to paper the crafter can then color the image if they so choose to add their personal touch to it. The equipment/supplies needed for rubber stamping are simple in comparison to many other crafts. Though the prices of the rubber stamps vary by size and complexity a few simple designs can be all that is needed in the beginning. In addition to stamps a good pair of sharp scissors, some quality paper in a variety of colors, color pencils or pens, and some ink for the stamps are all you need to start creating. When unfamiliar with all that can be done with rubber stamps a good project to begin with is a greeting card. These require only a small piece of cardstock, a few stamps, ink, and color pens, to make. Once you become more familiar with all the things you can create with rubber stamps you can move onto trying larger projects such as scrapbooking. If you have some artistic talent you may go on to create art pieces suitable for framing and hanging. One of the great things about rubber stamping is that it is a craft that can be started at a very early age. As soon as a child is old enough to understand how to press a rubber stamp onto a stamp pad and transfer the image to a piece of paper they can be encouraged to decorate and embellish many things. Children love to make parents greeting cards and rubber stamping is a relatively inexpensive and fun way to encourage them to be creative.

Card Making

Similar to scrapbooking in that card making uses embellishments to make them unique, card making is another paper craft that is relatively expensive and provides hours of fun while encouraging a crafter to be creative with paper and other materials. Children like to make greeting cards to give to friends at school, teachers, parents and siblings. This is a great craft for children to take up because the materials are easily sourced and it requires very little artistic talent, although of course the ability to draw and/or paint is an advantage. Supplies for card making, at least in the early days of learning the craft, may include a pair of sharp scissors, card stock and paper in a variety of colors, thicker card or foam for mats, color pens, rubber stamps and a variety of items to use as embellishments such as ribbon, lace, brads, dried flowers, dried leaves, feathers, photographs, buttons and stick-on rhinestones. Glue and double sided tape are also helpful for affixing decorative items to your card. Of course the list of embellishments is almost endless but the items above will give a beginner a good start. Tools such as punches and eyelet makers can be purchased to add interesting effects to cards. Card making typically begins with a heavy cardstock that is then carefully folded in half to form a 2 leaf card. This is a basic fold but there are many other ways to fold a piece of cardstock into a greeting card. The first surface is the one that will be embellished the most. Some ideas for decorating a greeting card include a photograph of the family, particularly good for Christmas cards, that is then decorated with a paper frame. The photograph can be glued to a mat to raise it off the surface of the card. Rubber stamps with Christmas theme images can then be used to decorate the rest of the card. Stickers can also be used. There is an artistic, creative element to card making that takes time to develop. While you may have artistic talent if you have never tried card making before you may find it a fascinating and fun craft to do. Fortunately artistic talent is not a necessity, and many people are able to create beautiful greeting cards without being able to draw or paint.