Frustrated with cardstock

So far, most of my paper is from a friend de-stashing. I know why she was like "Here, have this!" now LOL! (Edit to add, I am very thankful she shared her stash with me. I don't want to seem ungrateful in the least...the paper just isn't working for what I'm doing)

My cricut came today (squee!) and I've been playing with the wild cards cart. Every time I score the cardstock and fold it, it simply falls apart. Add to that a white core and I think I'll donate this paper to the recycle bin. Sigh. Such pretty colors but useless to me if I can't cut it or fold it.

So, all of that to ask y'all what cardstock makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside. My LSS only sells individual sheets of 12x12 which is nice for single projects and LOs, but not cards. My requirements are that it is smooth-ish, folds nicely and is colored all the way through. If it can be found at JoAnn's, Michaels or Hobby Lobby, that is a bonus. Paying shipping is annoying, but for awesome cardstock I'll deal.

As a bonus for reading all of that, here's a card I made last night. (also a cookie for anyone that tells me how to resize photos on this site!)
Linky, because it is huge. http://a8.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash1/hs794.ash1/168468_10150133835898755_573558754_8129488_7259703_n.jpg

I hate hate HATE white core cs,,,,,It's useless to cut on the cricut, it's useless for card bases,,,,,

don't toss it though, it's wonderful for matting photos or cards!!!!!

As far as the BEST cs, my PERSONAL preference is for Bazzill,,,,,,It's thick, though, so the darker colors (which for some reason are the thickest) often need to be multicut on the cricut,,,,,but it's GOOD STUFF,,,,,,wonderful for card bases,,,,wonderful for cricut cuts, and it's COLORED ALL THE WAY THROUGH,,,,,no white core,,,,

If you have a Big Lots near you, mine (and plenty of others) have 20 packs of 12x2 Bazzill, varying colors and textures in the pack for 5 bucks,,,,,,


that's a good price. about 25 cents a sheet,,,,,Not every color is available, but it's a cheap way for you to decide if you like Bazzill as much as I do, and which texture is the best for you,,,,,,I stock up whenever I can, and whichever colors I can't buy that way, I buy by the sheet from M's.

Oh, also, M's sells Bazzill, often in packs,,,,so try there,,,,,

J's sells Co'ordinations which is my second choice,,,,,,single sheets, but they OFTEN have sales as low as 9 cents a sheet,,,,,i stock up then, but I STILL love Bazzill for the bases at least!!!

If you like white bases, Staples has awesome white cs, very heavy 8x5x11 size that's reasonable in price,,,,,,but my fav is still Bazzill,,,,,,,

(and I used to hate the stuff )

Thanks Holly! I appreciate you taking the time to hold this newbie's hand. I see so many beautiful cards being made and hopefully I can count mine among those one day. We do have a Big Lots about an hour away (closest craft store is almost 2!) so I'll have to pop in next time I'm that way. Maybe I can convince the other half that cardstock is better than roses for Valentines day

I, too, love Bazzill, but Bazzill has a small texture to it. If you want something really smooth, I'd go with Prismatics.

Actually, the smoothest best cardstock I have fou nd is Papertrey Ink. I make cards, and it's really good for card-making. You can purchase a sampler pack of their cardstock...2 sheets of every single color for only $10. This is how I fell in love with it. With the sample pack, I always have the color I need, and then I see which colors I use the most and can order single packs of those colors.

I make a lot of cards (A LOT) and I use Wausau Exact Index 110# cardstock for all my bases. Its heavy enough to hold up about 3 or 4 layers and it cuts beautifully on my Craft Robo, so I'm sure it would cut well on a cricut. I also like the new Recollections cardstock at Michaels. They've revamped the paper and it is very nice now. Its 65lb and has a very nice smooth surface. And the colours match/co-ordinate with Bazzil cardstock & papers. It also cuts really nice on my Craft Robo. I don't use Bazzil very much for cards since I stamp a lot and I don't like the texture, but will use it for accents. It cuts nice as well, but as was pointed out in an earlier post, you will more than likely have to make two passes with your cutting machine on the darker colours.

Thank you Candace and Cat! Hearing real life experiences with various papers helps me a lot. Being a newb is costly! I picked up some Georgia Pacific white and it is working very well for my card bases. Bonus that I can get it at work with a discount

I'm headed out in a bit to the "city" and to make my rounds of crafty stores. If you smell smoke later, it is probably my debit card melting LOL!

Thanks for all the advice about cardstock. I tend to pick up whatever is on sale at HL or Mike's. I also use recycled braille paper(actually stock). We have a braillist at my school and I ask her to save things that would otherwise go in the recycle tubs. The botton line is that it is already embossed (it would appear to be random dots to those who don't ready braille) but I love punching circles, flowers, etc. from it. I have never posted a swap but if someone could help me start one.. I could give away a prize of 10 sheets. Using the paper is a great reminder to me of how blessed I am to have vision and also to appreciate all those who help students who are visually impaired.

• pinkpaperairedale Said:

That would be really cool to make a card out of it for someone who is visually impaired, providing the text isn't something that you don't want them to know, or a topic that's weird. I have an old romance novel that I'm taking pages out of and making flowers with it. That would be along the same lines.

My favorite is Stampin' Up. The white cardstock is fabulous for stamping and there are tons of colors...they all coordinate with the ribbons, inks, Designer papers, etc.

I've heard PTI's is great, too!

As for sizing pics,BabyTrippin , if I understand your issue..I resize them before uploading. I use photoshop elements but probably other programs work too. (Picassa is free on the web but I'm not sure what it does as I'm not PC but I would guess any photo editting software can let you change the resolution "dpi".) Just make sure your image is 72 dpi and a reasonable size (like 4 to 8 inches). Your full resolution photos (300 dpi) from your camera are just too big. If you're MAC, email the pics to yourself and it converts the size for you (you have a couple of choices). Then drag to your desktop.

If that isn't your resizing issue, I'm not sure what you are asking...but ask again and I'll try.

I love Stampin' Up and Bazzill for card making. It is thick and sturdy! I use these two brands for people who will cherish the card or has paid. Otherwise, I use some cardstock from WM and it works well and it cuts really well on the cricut. I want to try Paper Trey Inc too. I really would like to stick with one brand if possible.

I use Bazzil or American Crafts for most of my bases as they are sturdy, cut well and are available in heaps of colours (and from my local craft shops). It's not as cheap in Aus though - about a dollar a page! I haven't found anywhere near me to buy it in bulk though. I tried to use some bulk flat cs from Spotlight which was less expensive, but it's not sturdy enough to use as a base. It's great to use for stamping or making accents though becuase it has no texture.

I love Bazzill, too. It is textured on one side, and smooth on the other - so you have the choice of stamping on the smooth side or using the textured side for your outside, matting, etc. I agree with Candace, too - Papertrey CS is wonderful - very sturdy and lots of great colors that coordinate beautifully with others, as well as their ribbons.

The fun is in enjoying the process and the finished product.