Chipboard everything seems to be all the rage everywhere. Honestly, I’m not really willing to shell out $10 plus shipping to get something I can find in my recycling bin…. as you can tell I am a scrappy scrapper and I like to get creative with my materials. In part 1 I talked about my vellum substitute and in part 3 I will talk about metallics.
I make most of my chipboard elements from either cereal box or cardstock.
Cereal box
PROS:
-cheap
-eco-friendly (raid your recycling bin)
-variety of shades
-thick and sturdy
CONS:
usually has printed pictures on one side so can only be used in crafts where that side isn’t visible (unless you cut a second piece from cardstock or manilla and glue it over the colored part)
Cut settings: chipboard
Tips: do tape it down with masking or painter’s tape, even if your mat is pretty sticky, even if the chipboard is under the roller. It is tough to cut through and you don’t want to dull your blade by cutting it out twice if it moves.
I say cereal box, but really it can be anything that comes in a box. Cereal and pizza boxes have the advantage of having the biggest area without folds, so you can cut bigger designs.
Cardstock
-fairly cheap (though not recycling bin cheap)
-won’t dull your blade as much
-less bulk if you want the look but not the weight/thickness.
CONS:
-not as sturdy
Cut settings: cardstock
Manila envelope
PROS:
-has the look with 0 bulk
-cheap (everyone has manila enveloped stashed everywhere, right?)
CONS:
-really thin, this is for look only, or backing cereal box to cover the design.
Cut setting: copy paper should do it, you might have to go up a bit depending on the brand- do a test cut!
Here are some examples of my designs that use chipboard/craft paper:
What else can you think of to use to create this look? I’m considering scoring some manilla on my scor-board to make a faux corrugated look….
xoxo
-A
