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Craft Glossary

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Acetate: also known as clear cardstock, this is a thick, clear film frequently used in paper crafting and DIY project like THIS one. Can be purchased HERE.

Acrylic Block: a clear block used for stamping with self-cling stamps or clear photopolymer/acrylic stamps. Learn how easy it is to use an acrylic block in this one-minute tutorial!

Angel Policy: a policy by a company stating how you may use their images (e.g. stamps, designs, graphics) to make product that you sell

Archival: describes ink or paper that is able to stand the test of time without becoming damaged or decaying. It is acid free and ideal for scrapbooking and preserving memories.

Adhesive: includes craft glue, hot glue, tape, foam adhesives. Basically anything used to stick on thing to another. My go to adhesive for paper crafting is the Xyron Megarunner.

Alcohol Markers: Permanent, fast-drying ink that is designed to blend well with each other to add dimensional color to images. HERE’S and example of a project colored with alcohol markers. Copics and Spectrum Noir are two popular brands of alcohol markers.

Acrylic Stamps: Clear stamps made with acrylic. These stamps are typically lower in quality compared to photopolymer stamps. At times, photopolymer stamps may be referred to as acrylic, but this is a misnomer. Stamps that are truly made from acrylic will not last over time and will not accept ink very well. Acrylic stamps are typically cheaper than photopolymer (think $1 bin at Michael’s!)B

Bone Folder: a flat piece of plastic used to crease and fold paper. This is my absolute favorite bone folder.

Brayer: a soft rubber roller that is used to apply thin layers of paint or paint. It looks like a small paint roller. Check out this project where I used a brayer to create a set of letterpressed recipe cards.

Book Board: very thick chipboard used to create covers to hardcover books. Learn how to use bookboard in this tutorial on bookbinding.

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Cardstock: thick paper used in papercrafting. It is thicker than regular text weight paper and great for projects that need to be sturdy. Cardstock thicknesses are measured in weight ranging from 65lb., which is typically the thickness carried at most copy stores up to 130lb. cardstock which is very thick and great for creating professional cards and tags. I would recommend using at least 85lb – 100lb cardstock for your paper crafting projects.

Craft Knife: see “X-acto Knife”: a sharp, pointed knife with replaceable blades. Typically uses for precision cutting.

Crop-a-Dile: a specialized tool used for punching holes and setting eyelets. Take an up close look at this tool HERE.

The Cinch: a specialized binding tool that creates holes along the edge of books so that spiral or wire binding can be attached

Cricut: an electronic cutting machine. The newest model is the Cricut Explore which works with a digital design program. Older models of the Cricut, called the Cricut Expression, uses cartridges to cut images. You can see how I use my Cricut Explore here, here and here.

Cuttlebug: a manual machine designed to cut or emboss. Visit the Craft 101 page to see how easy it is to use a Cuttlebug.

Copics: see Alcohol Marker

Chipboard: a thick paper particle board, a bit thinner than bookboard

Cutting Mat: a self healing mat used to protect your work surface, you can cut on top of it with a craft knife without damaging the surface beneath.

Clear Stamps: see acrylic stamps

Crop: a gathering of crafters where everyone works on projects and socializes

CAS: acronym for “clean and simple” used to describe a minimalist style of crafting

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Decoupage: a crafting technique where paper or fabric shapes are adhered to a surface with layers of thin glue called decoupage glue or Mod Podge

Dry Embossing: creating a raised design in paper by using an embossing folder or an embossing stylus. See how easy it is to dry emboss by visiting the Craft 101 page.

Die Cutting: crafting technique where thin metal shapes or “dies” are used to cut through paper, fabric or other thin materials. Dies are available in a huge variety of shapes and sizes. Visit the Craft 101 page to see a quick tutorial on how to die cut.

Distress Inks: a line of blendable inks manufactured by Ranger Ink. They are often used to created aged, vintage looks on paper crafting projects. They also stay wet longer, making them ideal of spritzing or blending.

Deboss: the opposite of “emboss”. Deboss refers to a pattern or design that is pressed down into paper, while emboss refers to a pattern or design that raises up from the paper. Anytime you emboss something, the debossed design is what you see when the paper is flipped over.

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Embossing: the opposite of “deboss”. Emboss refers to a pattern or design that raises up from the paper. Check out the Craft 101 page where you’ll find a quick tutorial on dry and wet embossing.

Embossing Ink (also known as watermark ink): a special, slow drying ink used in wet embossing. Also used to create a faint stamped pattern on paper. Visit the Craft 101 page to see how embossing ink is used in wet embossing.

Eyelets: small metal circles that can be clamped down around a punched hole. HERE is an example of how eyelets can be used in paper crafting.

Embossing Powder: powder that harden when a heat gun is applied. Watch embossing powder in action by watching the Heat Embossing tutorial here.

Embossing Folder: a plastic folder, with a pattern on each side. When sandwiched around paper and placed through a Cuttlebug or other manual cutting machine, the embossing folder will leave an embossed pattern. Watch the Dry Embossing tutorial on the Craft 101 page to see this technique in action.

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Freezer Paper: paper that is matte on one side and waxed on the other. Found in most grocery stores in the foil aisle. Great for creating custom templates, like in THIS post.

Foiling: technique that applies foiled metallic material to a pattern. Foiling can be done in several ways including using a heat laminating machine like this and this, or by using adhesive with specialized foil material like this project.

Fussy Cutting: refers to using scissors to cut out an intricate or detailed design.

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Gelatos: water-based crayons manufactured by Faber-Castell. Watch Gelatos in action here, here and here.
HHeat Embossing: technique which uses the application of heat to melt embossing powder, resulting a raised design on paper or fabric. Visit the Heat Embossing tutorial on the Craft 101 page to see a quick tutorial on this technique.

Heat Gun (also known as a heat tool): a tool that applies heat without blowing air. Used in heat embossing to melt embossing powder. Visit the Heat Embossing tutorial on the Craft 101 page to see a quick tutorial on this technique.

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Inkpad: used primarily for stamping. Available in many different types (e.g. pigment ink, archival ink, multisurface ink, dye ink).

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Laminator: machine that applies heat to plastic folders, allowing you to seal the plastic folder around paper.

Letterpress: printing technique where ink is applied to designs, which are then pressed into thick paper leaving a debossed design in the paper.

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Masking: a technique where an image, or portions of an image are covered up so that another image or design can be stamped on top.

Mod Podge: a type of decoupage glue

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Paillette: a flat sequin

Pigment Ink: a slow drying, paint-like ink. Often available in brighter colors that dye ink and applies evenly to clear stamps. Memento Inks are my go to pigments inks for stamping.

Photopolymer Stamps: a high-quality type of clear stamp that is durable and will last well over time.

Polymer Clay: a type of clay that can be cut, shaped and hardened by baking. Make these awesome pots with polymer clay!

PVA Glue: slow drying glue, similar to Elmer’s glue. It is archival and often used in bookbinding, like I did in this post!

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Quilling: a paper crafting technique where strips of paper are twirled into small spirals and assembled into intricate designs.

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Scoring: technique using a stylus or bone folder to create a clean crease in paper. Visit the Scoring 101 video on the Craft 101 page to see how this is done.

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Tape Runner: an adhesive tool like this or this used to apply continuous strips of double sided adhesive

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Vellum: transluscent paper

Versamark: a brand of watermark ink
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Watermark Ink: see embossing inkX

X-acto Knife: generically known as a “craft knife”

Xyron: manufacturer of adhesives and sticker makers. Visit the Craft 101 page to see how easy the Xyron sticker maker is to use.