JARGON BUSTER
Personally, when I first started out in paper crafting in the middle of the 'noughties' all of the jargon utterly baffled me - ATC's? Scoring? Matting & layering? So I have added this page to help you find your way through the fog of all that jargon.
Air Dry Clay?
This generally only comes in two colours - white or terracotta. Used in paper craft for moulding small embellishments such as beads etc, then it is left to dry. It can then be sanded smooth and painted etc.
Acetate?
You know the stuff they use to make windows in boxes, both to protect the contents & allow you to see them, similar to overhead projection film, yes? Well that's acetate.
A.T.C's?
Artists Trading Card. These are small works of art - literally! These little cards are an ideal way to begin your paper crafting. The only two rules that apply are:
- Their size: 2.5 x 3.5 inches,
- They are never bought or sold, simply traded with someone else for one of theirs.
There are many sites with galleries where you can display and trade your work, most have chat rooms where you can go to ask advise etc. The one I used frequently was Do Crafts, Here is a page from my album.
Bone folder?
This is a tool used for defining creased, in much the same way as using pressure from your forefinger on the end of the ruler. They were once made from bone, hence their name, but are generally made from plastic now. They are pretty cheap to buy at anything from £1.50 upward.
Brads/Bradlets?
Remember those paper fasteners that had the little wings on the back, you made a hole in the papers, pushed the wings through and then opened them up to secure the papers together? Well these are exactly the same, but they now come in a vast range of sizes, colours and shapes.
Brandish/burnish?
This term is often used to describe the act of pressure bonding (your image to your work). I use pressure from my forefinger on the tip of my ruler - across the image/tape to bond it firmly to your work. (You will find removing the backing paper from DST easier if you burnish it onto your work first).
Brayer:
A small firm rubber roller with a handle - much like a miniature paint roller. Used generally to spread ink/paint onto large surfaces. Really useful if you have any hand or wrist problems as you can use it to roll out any air bubbles when sticking paper to card etc. You can pick these up marginally cheaper in a home decorating department or DIY store but most of the big craft stores sell them.
Speed Ball Brayer: Barbara Gray uses these in a lot of her work. Larger than the one in the picture & with an enclosed plastic, chunky handle.
Compass Cutter?
A neat little tool, rather than having two legs hinged in the middle with a pencil at one end and a point at the other like a regular compass, this little number is mounted on a short ruler, at one end you have a cutting blade, at the other a point, and using the ruler mount you can adjust the size of the circle you want to cut. It takes some practice - and you get through quite a few blades until you become proficient, but worth the effort.
Corner Rounder Punches?
These punches 'nip' the point from corners, making a 'soft corner' & more professional finish.
The down side: Corner punches only work on 90 degree angles, so won't help with the triangle shapes.
Crop?
A session where group of people who get together to craft. You often find crops operating in community centres and church halls.
Crop also means cutting around a photograph or picture, to draw the eye to main image: to make it more of a focal point.
Cutting Mat?
An absolute must for serious crafters! They come in various sizes, but if you can afford to, go for the A3 size. They are constructed of a very dense material which allows you to use a craft knife on the surface without damaging either the cutting mat or your blade. They are generally printed with a grid which is invaluable in crafting for drawing and cutting straight lines and tons of other things. DO NOT USE THEM BELOW ANY WORK THAT YOU ARE HEAT EMBOSSING AS IT WILL WARP - thats the way my first one went!
Decoupage?(Day-coop-arge or dec-oo-parge)
Modern day decoupage is used to raise your image from your work creating a 3D effect. Basically it begins with several identical images which you layer up by cutting away background detail from each level, thus creating the 3D illusion. They generally come it kit form where all of the backgrounds are already cut away.
Die Cutting/Embossing machines?
If you have ever seen an old wringer either for real or on TV, before the days of automatic washing machines & even twin tubs - well manual die cutting machines work on the same principle. You sandwich your card, along with the 'die' shape between the two rollers, turn the handle & out pops your cut image - same as a punched shape. There are many on the market such as the Cuttlebug or the Big Shot.
TIP! See if you can try each one out, maybe friends owns them, & see which one would suit you best before investing in one.
Electronic die cutting machines
The easiest way I can explain these are: If your printer could cut out shapes, letters & words in different fonts, sizes and all of the clip art shapes you could find, then that is a pretty close definition of these. You need to have some money to invest to buy one, and you need to build up a collection of the software to make the initial purchase worthwhile.
The down side: You need to keep replacing the adhesive cutting mats & the blades regularly. They are always bringing out a newer version so you need TONS of cash to keep up! They can take up a big chunk of space depending on the model.
Dry & Heat Embossing?
As opposed to heat embossing where you stamp an image with pigment ink, sprinkle with embossing powder and heat to create a raised effect, dry embossing creates the raised effect without the need for any of those elements.
Dry embossing is done using a tool with a ball shape built in the tip. With the guidance of a stencil, you trace around the image with the ball tool (on the reverse of your work) - you generally need a light box to work with as your project goes face down on top of the stencil - so you need light shining through so you can see where to trace. This produces a raised image on the right side of your project. (See Money saving tips for light box). Y ou can also buy a piece of kit that has two identical stencils, the idea is to sandwich your work between the two and then trace your design.
D.S.T./Double sided adhesive tape.
This comes on a roll in various widths. It is exactly what it says, a strip of adhesive that is sticky on both sides. I use truck loads of this stuff in my craft work!
Embellishments?
Basically if it isn't a sheet of paper, or the card base itself, then it is an embellishment. These include anything from hand made paper roses to acrylic gems, from bought packs of charms to recycled buttons, bows & ribbons.
Embossing tool?
The best way I can describe these are a a little tube (generally of made of wood) about the same size as a biro, with a metal rod at the end (sometimes both ends) shaped into a ball. (the dual ones have a different sized ball at each end). Used to 'indent' shapes into card.
Eyelets?
Similar to the metal lace hole protectors used in trainers etc. In the craft world these come not only in that size but in a wealth of different sizes, shapes and colours. You need some tools to set the eyelets, these range from a basic kit with baby hammer that you can pick up for about £5, to big tools that cost anywhere between £20 & £45 pounds. (As you can guess I have the £5 set!).
Faux
The word 'faux' (pronounced foh) simply means fake.
Faux Stitching?
Faux stitching is done using a pen rather than a needle & thread. For the best effect pierce holes at regular intervals in your work and use a fine line marker pen to join them up.
Glitter Mesh?
This looks similar to chicken wire used in the garden, but on a smaller scale. It is made from some kind of hemp fibre (I assume) that has been dyed and interwoven with glitter threads. It comes in quite a few colours and I use it regularly. It is available in most big craft shops or try a friendly local florist!
Ink Pads - which one does which job?
Okay, this one had me totally confused at first. There are three main types:
PIGMENT INK: this is the one you need for heat embossing and the most generally available. Comes is millions of colours and brands. The idea is that it stays moist longer to give you time to apply the embossing powder and heat. Unless you buy a really expensive brand, this is all I would recommend pigment ink for. Though once you apply the embossing powder you can use water based paint etc to colour it, as the powder seals the ink.
DYE BASED INK: this one is great if you just want a nice crisp stamped image, it can be used with embossing powder, but not so well as pigment ink. Though you can deliberately bleed the ink on your image with a wet paintbrush to create different effects, but otherwise you can't go near it with water based paint/pens as it will bleed into the paint. I use mine mainly as a painting medium, I dab some onto an acrylic block or old plate & apply it with a damp paint brush.
ARCHIVAL or PERMANENT INK: this is a great one to use, you can stamp on virtually anything from metal to glass. Definitely more expensive than both of the others, but you only ever need one or two colours.
Inches v Cm's
For my many American friends - A4 card measures 29.7 x 21 cm;
A5 measures 21 x 14.8 cm (1" is approx. 2.5 cm)
Jute?
Is basically a wide woven sack cloth, I have bought it in the form of a wide ribbon - though I assume it comes in a variety of sizes. It comes in a myriad of colours & is often used by florists to garnish their bouquets.
Koi Brush?
See 'Water brush'
Landlock/Landlocked
This term refers to areas within the image that have no colour or design, but are completely surrounded by image, colour or design. The term is more generally used in decoupage where there are white areas that need to be cut away using a craft knife as they are not accessible with scissors.
Matting & Layering?
This is simply when you lay one element on top of the other, where the top one slightly smaller than the one below and in a different colour/finish so that the lower one displays a border around the upper one. You can have as many layers as you wish, but make sure you don't overdo it or the work will be top heavy, and in the case of a card, topple over under the weight.
You can create dimension by using double sided adhesive pads rather than glue to create a 3D effect.
Paper Clay?
This is much like air dry clay and works in the same way, but once dry the clay is very light so this makes it ideal for paper craft embellishments.
The down side: Very difficult to obtain in individual blocks.
Parchment?
Basically, similar to vellum but denser. Used in parchment craft to make those gorgeous lace patterns that I absolutely envy. Requires loads of patience, and if you have any problems with your hands or wrists this isn't the craft for you - so that rules me out too!
Peel Off Stickers?
These are just sheets of coloured adhesive film on backing paper - much like sticky back plastic! An industrial machine then cuts them into shapes in more designs you could possily imagine (though only cutting through the film and not the backing paper), so you 'peel off' the stickers from the paper as you need them.
Peel Off Markers/Acetate Markers?
These pens are specifically designed to colour onto almost any surface, particularly glass, acetate & peel off stickers. So if you only have silver or gold peel off stickers, you can colour them to suit your project using these pens. See 'money saving tips'.
Polymer Clay/Fimo?
This clay comes in masses of colours, you can make anything from it as it is oil based so once baked, can be used as paint pots etc. Absolutely idea for card making and scrap book embellishments.
Pyramage
This is similar to decoupage but rather than cutting away background for each new layer, you cut away a border, so by the time you have five or six layers and you look at it along the surface, it forms a pyramid.
Radial cuts?
Use radial cuts when you need to cut out a shape from the centre of the card/paper. Firstly draw your shape, then bend the paper or card slightly and carefully nick a small hole in the middle with the scissors. Gently slide the tip of the scissors into this hole and cut a straight line to the pencil line of your shape, take the scissors out and place them back into the nick and repeat at a slightly different angle, continue in this way until the cuts form a kids pictorial version of 'sun rays'. This will enable you to reach the outline of your shape with the scissors to cut it out neatly.
Raffia/Paper String?
A natural fibre has a straw like appearance though comes in an array of colours as it is often dyed. Use to tie mini bundles, thread through buttons, beading etc.
Soft corners/soft triangle, square etc?
This simply means to round off the corner making it 'softer'. You can buy corner rounder punches for a more professional finish.
Scoring?
Scoring helps break down the fibres of the card, making it easier to fold. It is done by positioning the ruler & then running the side of the blade of a closed pair of scissors down the edge of the ruler, thus 'drawing' in the line. Usually the fold is made into - rather than against - the scored line, as this helps prevent the card from 'cracking'. Finish off by dragging the tip of the ruler, with pressure from your forefinger, down the fold ensuring a sharp professional crease.
Spirelli?
Is based on wrapping fibers - silk threads etc - around a shape to form anything from beautifully simple to highly elaborate patterns. (Reminds me of the spirograph toy I used as a kid)? Go to Money Saving Tips
Stackopage?
Similar to pyrimage, but rather than cutting away a part of the image in each layer, it is the image itself that shrinks, so same image just getting smaller.
3d pads?
Also called sticky buds, sticky pads, decoupage pads etc. These pads come in various sizes and in both white and new to the market, black. Individually or as a roll, (and I just saw a new version individual pads on a roll - gotta give them a try - will let you know how I get on!) Their purpose is to offer a way to 3d your work. Use the pads on the back of an embellishment or image to lift it up from the surface of your work. Used mainly in decoupage.
Vellum?
Okay, imagine grease proof paper but thicker and you would be close. You can buy it in most colours and lots of finishes, including patterned. Can be used for both inserts & card wraps.
Water Brush?
Also known as a 'Koi' brush. This piece of kit resembles a regular marker pen, but rather than an ink filled barrel it has a refillable barrel for water/ bleach etc. & rather than the usual fibre tip, it has an actual brush tip. An absolute must, really couldn't live without mine!
