Archive for December, 2011

Well… maybe!  But what crafter doesn’t?  Go ahead…name one!

After the last entry I’ve still had card stock of the brain, big time!  You see, up until recently, I’ve led a rather sheltered card stock existence.  I never thought much about the card stock I was using so long as it was acid/lignin free, had some decent oomph* to it and came in the color(s) I was looking for.  Now some of you are going to see the pictures posted below and think ‘tsk tsk, what a noob’ but keep in mind that up until recently I only had one craft store available to me; now I have THREE!  All this time I hadn’t really paid much attention to that stark, white core that us crafters supposedly ‘love’; I just figured it was all there was and so I was stuck.  I never realized the vast collection of color cores out there!  So without further adieu, behold the wonders shown to me thanks to the W3.

First up Core’dnations And let me just say WOW!!!

Even the names are exciting!  What’s even more awesome, I found some at my local Hobby Lobby  Oh yes, I’ll be sneaking up there with a handy-dandy coupon just as soon as my husband heads to work…

Next up… Worldwin Papers.  Now if I could find some of THIS, my excitement levels would be downright alarming!

Cardstock…specifically for die cut machines.  Does it get any better then this?!?!?!  I need to hunt me down some of that there, new fangled paper and give ‘er a run fer ‘er money.  You betcha!  Do you have have some?  If so, what do you think of it?

And while I’m throwing questions out there…have you been able to come up with a name yet?  No?  That’s ok, I’ll give you more time

Here’s an interesting type of cardstock that I stumbled across; its called DoubleMates.  Its TWO pieces of cardstock that have been laminated together to from a single piece of cardstock, it even has a little bit of texture on each side and comes in some very nice colors.

It would be interesting to see how those hold up going through a die-cutter.  Worldwin Papers has some really interesting products on the market, I’m surprised there isn’t more out there.  Have you heard of them?

So if you’re ready to go from THiS

To THIS!

Now you know a couple places that may offer what you’re looking for.

Still no name, huh?  That’s ok, I wasn’t really expecting one

*a highly technical/precise measurement

Have you ever wondered just what ’65lb’ card stock really means?  I do!  So I scoured the net for information that would help give me a better understanding of what that ‘lb’ really meant to me in terms of my craft and of course, justifying the purchase of MORE!

Currently, there are 2 ways that card stock weight is measured; the European way and the American way and both involve mathematical formulations, that a non-math person such as myself, could get seriously confused with.   Why?  Well the European measurement is based on the two dimensional height and width of one square meter.  Here’s where that fun math-stuff comes – g/m2 (gm/m², gsm, g/m²).  I know, I know…Math geeks everywhere  just shouted out ‘Can I get a woot woot?!?!?’.  lol  Back in my world though, that math stuff makes me want to turn heel and RUN!

Which brings us to the American measurement…  Much less math involved, which at this hour, is much appreciated!  American measurement is based on the weight of the paper as weighing 500 sheets (a ream) but doesn’t take into account the dimensions of the paper.  Sounds all well and good until your mom asks you ‘Ok, then what weighs more; a ton of bricks or a ton of feathers?’.  Duh, Mom!  A ton of bricks, geesh *eyes rolling*  Like, totally.

For those who like visuals… here’s a lovely lil conversion chart for ya.

What was that, you’re still confused about paper weight?  That’s ok, you’ve got plenty of company!  See those seats over there by the exit door?  Ya, that farthest one is mine…makes it easier to sneak out when that math-stuff gets thrown around the room!

While the card stock weight thing is still confusing, I can tell you a few things.  The heavier and more dense the card stock, the better quality its going to be (and the more you’re going to pay for it).  Typically, us crafters are using card stock in the 60-90lb range.  I compiled a list of the ‘top selling’ brands of card stock  and then tried to find out what the weights were for each of those companies.  *TRIED* being the key word here.

*When I could find a weight noted, very few of their products state this information

**Most of their product states the weight of the paper

***When listed in this manner – Light-weight = 60lbs., Medium-weight = 70-80lbs., and Heavy-weight = 90lbs.

I’m a firm believer in ‘knowledge is power’ and although (for many of us) this is our hobby, that doesn’t mean we don’t want to make informed decisions.  I’d like to see more companies listing the weights of their paper right along with the dimensions.  Wouldn’t you?  Just do me a favor…hold the mathematics!  Because, yes, my 8th grader is smarter than I am in math.  That one’s for you Sammie, enjoy the moment