Great Places To Find Paper Craft Supplies

Scrap-booking has truly proved to be the hobby that’s here to stay. The demand for quality paper craft supplies has only increased as scrap-booking has proved a steady entertainer and card making and stamping have increased in popularity too. The key to making these hobbies fun and lasting is finding a good source for paper craft supplies that has a good assortment of colors, styles and inventory as well as affordable prices.

So, how can you stock up on your goods at affordable prices? Shopping on Ebay and other online auctions sites like Etsy are a great way to start. Ebay has long been the champion of auctions, but up and coming Etsy is providing a crafty niche to the auction shopper. When you are searching on the auctions, be as specific as possible in your search. If you simply search for “paper craft supplies” you are likely to be overwhelmed with the number of returns that search brings. Keep in mind that all auctions are not created equal. Many will offer shipping discounts if you win multiple auctions. Still others will let you buy through their online shop and get free shipping at certain dollar points.

Another piece of advice when shopping for paper craft supplies is to shop the sales and take advantage of coupons. Many of the big name craft stores offer coupons in their weekly fliers. Take advantage of them! If you’re shopping through online stores, do a search before checking out for coupon codes. These codes are often posted in forums and coupon sites to give you a percentage off or discount on shopping. They can add up and allow you to get more for your money.

Tne last piece of advice is to look in unexpected places. Buying card stock or even beginner kits can often get you discount rates when you find it on clearance. Large retail stores and even bookstores often mark down their kits after Christmas and other holidays. Even if you don’t need a beginner kit, getting it for a discounted price can provide you with some extra inventory you’re sure to use.

Card making and scrapbooking are wonderful hobbies to enjoy and what fun they can be when you get the paper craft supplies at discounted prices.

 

Tissue Paper Crafts Are Extremely Popular

Tissue paper crafts are a lot of fun because tissue paper is amongst some of the easiest types of paper to mold and it often has the side effect of creating effects. You can, for example scrunch it by holding your hand with your fingers and thumb touching. Put the tissue paper over the top of the hand (side) and using your index finger push into the paper carefully and slow to push it into the well of your hand. You’ll notice that once pushed in enough the outside edges take on a flower like look and feel. Using other materials you can turn tissue paper into flowers but you can also use it to coat the inside of a gift bag  bringing a robust look to the present!

Tissue paper crafts are a large variety. You can use tissue paper to create many effects in your artwork to really highlight it or you can use it as a backdrop. You can spray water lightly on it to force it to crinkle a bit and create a soft but crinkled effect of paper that adds a nice texture to it. You can layer several of these one smaller than the other to create a picture frame for your child’s artwork which you’d center and glue or tape onto the paper. Using more tissue paper after affixing the artwork to the paper artwork- you can add a top layer to complete the beveled frame look and feel (cutting, of course, a hole to create the window).

The beauty of tissue paper is that it has some unique properties in the way that it can be formed but takes on it’s own specific look and feel when you do so. Using some powerful tips found online you can experiment with it and find ways to add it to your craft projects in innovative ways. The other great thing is that every tissue paper project- even if done the same way exactly (the process of molding it) will look uniquely different to a small or large degree.

There is a reason they use this material a lot in gift wrapping and enhancing gift bags, artwork, and many more things!

 

Paper Plate Crafts Are Easy and Exciting

Paper plate crafts are a lot of fun and have a lot of great potential for creative construction. You can make a top hat by folding construction paper end to end from the short ends to create the top of the hat, then putting a paper plate on the bottom facing up this creates the bill of the hat. Many kids love making Abraham Lincoln hats this way but this is just one easy project to create. You can easily customize the entire hat once you put the pieces together by adding, for example adding construction paper to create the pilgrim buckle found on the settlers trademark hats, a design found often around thanksgiving.

In the same Holiday a turkey can be created by making “finger” strips from construction paper and gluing them to the outside of one side of the plate. Using different colored construction paper is often a preference for vibrancy and a deeper 3D action of the end result.

Using glitter, glue, paint, markets, and many other things, you can dress up a paper plate into a face, a bowl or a supporting piece of another project. Using the back side to give the face a more 3D and natural look is preferred, but turning the plate over so the face is sunken in your child can create a really cool Sun by adding elements around the outside like construction paper or tissue paper (yellow). This shows the way the sun is often viewed at a distance while faces are often more “in your face” 3D coming towards you. Small things like this give children an education in how they perceive things and how to replicate those things in their artwork. You can reverse either one as well for a unique feel.

Some paper plate crafts don’t require anything but a drawing device and the plate itself. You could add in some safety scissors to cut some details out of the edges or even to make a paper plate mask for Halloween by adding a piece of string or cut open rubber band that you’d staple to the edges. The child can draw their favorite face or even a character they like from TV. They then cut out holes for the nose moth and eyes and they are ready to wear it and play dress up!

 

Paper Folding Crafts Can Be Innovative and Powerful

Paper folding crafts are fun and can be highly innovative with the right awareness, practice, and skill sets developed in origami. You don’t have to know how to turn a piece of paper into a swan or a rose to do really cool things with paper folding type craft work. There are some basic but powerful concepts that are used all the time by school children that show the power paper has in becoming, for example, a technology.

Take the question and choice device used by most kids in school as a static but semi-dynamic questionnaire in a cool format. You know the way you fold the paper into a shape that allows you to create a 4 way movement of the 4 corners that each have a color, number, or question printed on with a pen, pencil, or market and by asking you to choose one of the 4 choices they would, for example have you first choose a number. That number would correspond with how many times the fold (in 3D) the paper by pushing the malleable triangles out to reveal more choices shown in the (when put together with thumbs and index finger puppet like sections becoming one solid triangle) middle but limited to one side or the other depending on how many times they move it.

From there you get to choose question and again a number and they do the folding movement action again to land on the piece you will now get to flip out and reveal a question or answer. it’s a game of cognition and intrigue but it’s most impressive quality is that this easy to build device started out as a simple flat piece of paper and became a game any child can create once they learn the folding patterns.

This shows the power of folding paper in certain ways. It also shows you that there is massive potential in using this to create crafts that require nothing to glue the whole thing together other than using the force and pressure created in the folds to generate the solid unit that can even have moving parts!

 

Paper Crafts Are Fun While Providing an Educational Experience

Paper crafts are amongst the most creative for children. They can be a great deal of fun and seeing the potential paper has at making anything from an Easter basket to a Santa hat to a Box or even a hexagon and even cooler a flour basket complete with the basket, grassy looking substance (shredded construction paper or tissue paper) stems of the flowers and the bushy or clean cut flower heads themselves can all be constructed out of paper using different color paper and other materials to recreate what the child has seen before in a flower vase or on a flower bush.

Martha Stuart has on many occasions demonstrated the supreme potential of what can be made with some simple pieces of construction or other paper. Many of the things she made are complex but easy once you grasp how the folds work- but this shows the power of teaching kids early, how to make cool 3D objects. Having your kids watch a Martha Stuart show where she crafts things from paper won’t make them a genius overnight- but it will show them that this paper crafts thing is something that they will be able to enjoy their entire life!

A quick Google images search will yield you hundreds if not thousands of ideas to show your child or student to see what it is they would be interested in learning to build. Most kids like to start out slow and learn the easy stuff but fascinated by the complicated looking projects they may ask to build something “out of their skill set level”. You can accommodate them by down playing the details of the object and showing them how to make a similar concept. The idea here is to get them to show you what they want to make so you can keep it fun for them.

There is also a great deal of learning in convincing them to make things that would help them learn more easily to take it slowly and build their skill sets so they can feel proud of their accomplishments vs. being frustrated when they lack basic know how without having to ask every minute what to do next.

 

Paper Crafts For Kids Teach Them Their Capabilities

Kids are in a perpetual learning and fascination state of mind almost all the time. Because of this they are like sponges when it comes to learning new things. Kids have to do this to build the basic building blocks of their early core comprehension of physics and to learn how to dynamically become capable of navigating life easily. In this stage creativity is highly attuned and paper crafts for kids really become a fun thing to do.

When it comes to learning with paper crafts, there is such an amazing assortment of things that can be made, build, folded, created, and even changed about paper and it’s relative use with glue, glitter, and more- that kids easily find the value in the lessons but more than that they mainly just see that this is a great outlet for their  massive need to construct and see their creations which reflect their new skill sets and capabilities.

It’s no wonder that even when we grow up and the entire time in between, that we still want to build things crafted from paper and that utilizes the fun we learned as a kid. Projects like making flowers, folding paper into picture frames, using our hands to draw then cut out our hands to make a core piece of a turkey that we’ll later draw in to make it officially a turkey for thanksgiving. Christmas offers many col Santa possibilities with paper, construction paper, glue, glitter, cotton balls, and even more paper.

Beyond holidays they can make paper crafts for kids that go beyond what they thought was possible with a flat sheet of paper and no other supporting materials- as is the case with making a paper airplane, or a small bowl folded into a simple origamic shape that holds it together, and more. By showing kids the potential of a flat piece of paper you give them a boost in creativity and a gift of self realization of their own power! Although children do need supervision, making many things with paper is safe enough to let them, once taught how, just do it and it’s highly entertaining and a fun distraction!

 

Fun and Inexpensive Paper Craft Ideas

Money is very tight for many families. This does not mean that you have to give up all entertainment though. There are many things you can do that don’t cost a great deal of money, but will give you hours of enjoyment. Why not try some paper craft ideas this weekend and see how your family likes them?  Not only are they affordable, they are easy to complete and they look great throughout your home.

Make some family silhouettes. These paper craft ideas involve everyone and are fun to make and decorate. Take a bright light source such as a lamp or big flashlight. Tape butcher paper to the wall and place a chair in front of the paper. The chair needs to be centered directly in front of the chair and turned to one side. Place the light so it shines directly on the paper and sit a family member in the chair. Outline the shadow that appears on the paper. Take scissors and cut this silhouette out. Repeat for each family member. Now decorate the silhouette in any way you want to.

Holidays are a great time to try your hand at paper craft ideas. The ideas are endless. You can choose to make bookmarks with construction paper or card stock. Decorate with paper punches to create unique one of a kind treasures. You may also choose to use self-adhesive contact foil to really dress it up. Create decorations using the construction paper and then glue this to the card stock. Add contact foil for highlights and then trim the edges with the paper punches. Finish off the bookmark with a standard hole punch and insert an eyelet for added strength. Insert cording through the eyelet.

Origami has been around for centuries and this is one paper craft idea you should try at least once. There is a reason it has endured for so long. To make a simple sailboat, all you need to do is take a piece of paper that is square and then fold it into a triangle. Fold the lower half to make the sail. Complete the boat with the help of a few markers and you are set. Give it a try today. You just might be hooked.

 

 

Construction Paper Crafts Are Easy and Fun

In school at just about every grade, we all played around with construction paper crafts in one way or another. In kindergarten we built all sorts of creative pictures that used layers of construction paper to create vivid and illuminating artwork that showed our parents just how much we are learning about how the world works. As we aged in school the construction projects evolved into small books of folded sets of construction paper that formed pages of a book we could create scrapbooks from.

We entered high school and wanted to run for school office, to boast about a car wash charity event we used this paper to accomplish bright and beautiful- eye catching signs, and even today in adulthood many use this crafty paper to post garage sale signs, build signs for activist events or to tell people which way to turn to get to that 5.00 pizza place or anything else.

Construction paper is one of the most versatile types of paper as well as a powerfully resilient type of paper that is as beautiful to look at as it is versatile to use in any wake of life. It’s inexpensive and can be a powerful way to build a presentation, backdrop images, and has a million and one creative uses as well as things like CSI forensic uses due to it’s absorption and chemical properties.

You can even build some incredible sculptures using construction paper craft ideas. If you wet this paper then shape it, it can become a moldable and settable (it hardens when it absorbs water then dries changing it’s shape into where it was when it dried) substance to create powerful artistic work. If you’ve ever attended an art show where innovative art design was created using construction paper crafts, then you realize just how amazing this paper is and can be. It’s a great supporting paper as well for projects and can even become a stability core inside things like paper mache’ and plaster projects to set a mold before applying the permanent materials.

If you learn the physics of what you can do with this paper you would be surprised at just how many things it’s used in and how you can use it both for artwork, utilitarian uses (signs etc…) and as a great way to “make” a valentine and more!

 

Keeping the Kids Busy with Christmas Paper Crafts

Summer is almost over and the kids are heading back to school. The holidays will be here before you know it though and you will be looking for something to entertain them again when they complain of being bored. You can always make them clean their room, but then you are stuck trying to find something else to occupy them when that is done so they don’t mess it up again. Why not try some Christmas paper crafts with them? They will enjoy playing with paper and come up with some beautiful creations you can use to decorate your home.

When you go to make Christmas paper crafts with your kids, why not start with some homemade wrapping paper? Butcher paper makes a great base for the gift wrap. Take some Christmas cookie cutters and dip them in glue. Once the glue is on the paper, sprinkle the salt over the glue. Allow it to dry and lift the paper. All excess salt will come off. If you wish to save on salt, it is best to complete the first sheet and allow it to dry. When it is dry, decorate the second sheet. Lift the first sheet and let the excess salt run down on the second sheet. This saves both salt and clean up time.

Paper beads are another of the fun Christmas paper crafts that your kids will want to make time and time again. Gather gift wrap scraps, old Christmas cards and things of that nature. You’ll also need glue, glitter glue, scissors, and straws. Cut the paper into long, skinny triangles. The triangles should measure approximately 1.5 inches along the bottom edge. Starting at the base, wrap the triangle around a straw. Make sure it is very tight and that the right side of the paper or card is showing. As you wrap, apply a thin layer of glue, continuing until the entire triangle has been placed around the straw. Allow to sit for 30 seconds to dry and remove the straw. Add a clear nail polish coat or glitter glue embellishments and repeat until you have the desired number of beads.

There are two suggestions to get you started. You are sure to come up with plenty of other Christmas paper crafts if you use your imagination. Try some Christmas trees, angels or snowmen for starters. Kids will be occupied for hours and you will be able to keep your sanity.

 

3D Paper Crafts Are Inteactive and Exciting for Children

Anyone who has kids knows all about 3D paper crafts. Our kids learn a great deal in day care, kindergarten and all grades until graduation about building a large variety of objects from flat paper that intrigue everyone who looks at them. As parents we see this as a new step in creative learning that will help our kids comprehend the worlds many shapes, sizes, and how something once flat can become something much more tangible in the 3D sense.

 

Although making many 3D objects from paper involve other supporting tools like glue, staples, paper clips and more. There are some great projects that simply require the child to learn how to fold the paper in specific ways to allow physics to take over and bind the object into a 3D object that stays that way until unfolded.

 

These things adorn the walls of kindergarten classrooms and show the individual skill sets and creativity of each child. Walking through a classroom on “parents day” and seeing 20 different hand made 3D representations of the way the child sees herself or himself is an enlightening experience both to the child and the parent. Many 3D paper crafts include some pretty involved thinking and yet the child finds it fun and exciting, not work and learning so much!

 

Sometimes the teacher will hand the kids a few pieces of paper and some glue sticks and won’t give them any objective. They will just let them make something, anything they want to see how well they adapt to the creative and independent thinking that the past projects have instilled through practice and instruction. It’s fun to see what they create but more so it’s fascinating to see how involved a child will be in making what is in their imagination thrive on the paper. Give them a pair of safety scissors and different colored construction paper, tissue paper, and glue and you will see a beautiful imagination manifest through producing something that is as much a surprise to you as it is to the other students who love to watch and try things based on what others around them do! Children are natural networkers!