A Dozen Ways to Dress Up Cardstock

Cardstock is adaptable, affordable, and always available. Elevate cardstock from its stint as supporting player to lead role on your layouts.

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Creative Cardstock Ideas

Learn what techniques were applied to these cardstock squares.

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Ripped Cardstock

Tear the edges for a scrappy look.

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Sanded Cardstock

Sand white-core cardstock for a distressed and grungy look.

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Heat-Embossed Cardstock

Heat-emboss stamped designs in your cardstock for a DIY background.

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Folded Cardstock

Fold and crease with a bone folder for crisp lines and designs on your cardstock.

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Wet Cardstock

Manipulate dampened strips into shapes and machine-stitch them into place.

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Crimped Cardstock

Corrugate cardstock with a paper crimper for a manufactured-cardboard look.

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Tone-on-Tone Cardstock

Layer shapes punched from the same color cardstock for a subtle design.

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Hole-Punched Cardstock

Punch tiny holes for a Swiss-cheese effect. Lay the cardstock on a piece of another color to let pops of that color show through.

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Bleached Cardstock

Brush on bleach to remove color for an artistic look.

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Dry-Embossed Cardstock

Dry-emboss with an embossing plate for simple accents.

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Textured Cardstock

Use a texture plate and embossing tool for standout designs.

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Ruffled Cardstock

Dampen and crumple strips of cardstock. Then machine-stitch them together to make ruffles.

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