Cardstock/Paper question

Hi, I'm new to scrapbooking (this year!) - this is my first post - and I'm looking to develop my first layout!

I am confused over cardstock and paper. Should the layout background be card? When I have searched on for "cardstock" it comes up with paper too (see link to product).

Should I be using actual card, or is paper ok?

Also many are labelled double sided, does this mean you can do a layout on both sides? Surely this damages the paper/card??

Thanks for the help!

If you're looking for a plain background, you probably want to stick with Cardstock, rather than patterned paper. I wouldn't recommend scrapping on both sides though. The cardstock isn't that strong. However, you don't HAVE to use cardstock. It depends on the look you are trying to achieve Some scrappers use all patterned paper and that's ok too! I use both. Usually when I want to include a lot of journaling, i'll use cardstock for my base so you can read it... some patterned papers make it hard to read the journaling.

I scrap using Stampin' Up cardstock, it is nice and thick which is important to me because I like to put a lot of embellishments on my pages, the Stampin' Up cardstock holds up nicely.
I also use patterned paper as well in scrapping, that's what makes it pop!!! Some of my favorite paper lines are October Afternoon, Echo Park, Stampin' Up, Simple Stories, Cosmo Cricket. There are many many more! I mix soild cardstock with pattern paper all the time.
It is a personal choice whether to scrap just on pattern paper or mixed. It is the joy of scrapbooking. It used to be hard for me to use a lot of patterns on a layout, I work on that all the time. My last couple of posts on my blog are using A LOT of pattern!!! You will find your style changes as well.

Welcome! It can be confusing.


Cardstock is *typically* heavier than patterned paper, although there is some patterned paper that is quite thick and heavy.

I use cardstock as the base for creating my layouts. Patterned paper tends to be thinner and not hold up to lots of photos and embellishments (imagine pasting a bunch of photos and stuff on a piece of printer paper).


You could create a layout on both sides of a double-sided paper. I wouldn't. If you use brads or eyelets, you'll have something poking out the other side.

Some people use the double sided paper to fold over in spots or cut through and fold to show the reverse pattern.


Have fun. There really are no rules. Just what seems to work best for you.

oh i was wondering on this question myself.

Thanks for all the replies!

I'll have a play around and see what happens....

@Makeup, am glad I am not the only one! :-)

I use cardstock ( plain color) as my base and the patterned as needed. I scrap simple. Not too fancy.

I'm going to second what others have said. Cardstock is heavier and tends to hold up to more photos, emblies, etc. Imagine attaching chipboard to computer paper, adding pictures and frames, and then journaling blocks. Your LO would not be able to be moved much without tearing.

Also, I don't scrapbook on the backs of other LO's. Mainly because the weight of Lo's do concern me sometimes, and because by not using the backs I can reorganize LO's. I tend to use my patterned paper for borders, frames, etc. I'm more likely to cut up my papers than my cardstock. Also, this lets me stretch my patterned paper into more LO's, and plain colored cardstock tends to cost less than the pretty papers so it fits better into my budget.

I love to repurpose other things for scapbooking. Plastic bread ties that are decorated with acrylic paint, glitter, etc make nice tabs And of course there are buttons, ribbons, pockets, beads, etc. that I salvage from old clothes and broken costume jewelry.

I'm going to throw a wrench in the works here and suggest you TRY a LO with a patterned paper you really like....
I have some examples in my gallery of layouts that use pp as the base. Lots of patterned papers are thick enough to serve as the base for photos and embellishments....(Fancy Pants, Teresa Collins, Carta Bella...all make nice thick pp)and there are some that are pretty basic (notepaper patterns, black and white type, ledger paper pattern etc...)
It is sometimes very nice to have a pattern in the background and mat your photos on cardstock, which is usually a plain colour....

Alison

Sometimes I have been known to use a patterned BG, but its more common for me to use something plainer for the BG. This became common when I only had x amount of a particular paper I liked and wanted to use in seperate books for my boys. Also, when I first began scrapbooking in 1995, my parents didn't believe in wasting money on scrapbooking items. My grandparents raised me, and my grandmother had scrapbooks of her own dating back to the 1940's. Sadly, almost all of her books have photos, memorabilia, etc that is attached to a page with scotch tape. There was no thought to acid free and archive safe with her books.

So when I began my own scrapbooking I was allowed to only use things I already had. What I had available to me was typing paper, notebook paper, scissors, glue sticks, scotch tape, color pencils, markers, old magazines, newspapers, photos and black or blue ink pens.

I didn't begin specifically buying things for scrapbooking until I got pregnant with my oldest son. My DH and myself made his baby book.

Another thing to confuse you-- a lot of patterned papers are cardstock weight.

You really just need a nice piece of paper, patterned or not, that's heavy enough (thick enough) to support the photos an embellishments you use.

I'm making a page right now, all patterned papers, and the base is a nice thick patterned paper from authentique.

This is one of those times when, if you can, you need to touch some paper in person so you can tell the difference.

Follow your heart and looks good to you. This site has so many ideas and samples.

Sometimes if I want to use a patterned paper as a background I will either tear around the edge or use a MS "Punch Around the Page" to make it smaller than 12x12...and then center it on a coordinating color of cardstock, so there is a nice edge of cardstock all around the page. When I buy double-sided printed paper I almost always buy at least two so that I can use both sides. And the folding over tip works great too.

Great ideas! Thanks for sharing.

I use a lot of patterned paper for my backgrounds, even though it is thinner than cardstock. Generally, you end up putting two layouts in a page protector back-to-back, and by the time you do that, as well as adding your embellishments to each, it's thick enough and sturdy enough to hold up well. I think patterned paper helps "tell the story" of your layout moreso than solid cardstock backgrounds. HOWEVER, as someone else said, there aren't any hard and fast rules to scrapbooking. If it looks good and pleases you, go for it!