Paper crafts are a very creative way to decorate your home and office. There have been thousands or millions of paper craft products available all over the world. Paper crafts have many uses in our life now. They are not just for decoration. It can also be used as a gift.
There are many types of leaves. They have different characteristics that make them suitable for a particular project over another.
The first is watercolor paper. It was developed in the 1750s by James Whatman. He created a wire cloth that was first used in printing. Note that this material is easily damaged when wet. For improvement, use alum gelatin for watercolor paper. However, this invention had problems with acidity.
Later, Strathmore developed watercolor paper made from pure cotton. Nowadays, watercolor paper comes in different sizes and only three different shapes. These are cold pressing, hot pressing and rough finishing. Cold compress is perfect for beginners. It has a semi-rough finish. The hot press has a smooth paper surface. The rough finish is less expensive. Its use may be effective with acrylics, pastels and paint sticks.
The second type of paper is drawing papers. They are permeable to graphite and permanent to erasing. It should not contain ink and stain and should absorb color freely. This type of paper is grouped into five basic groups: bond paper, bristol, charcoal and pastel, and graphics and drawing papers. Bond paper contains a ledger or planning bond. It’s like Bristol with a parchment finish.
Bristol is the strongest and most durable drawing paper. It is for all purpose drawing. May come in laminate or parchment finishes. Charcoal and pastel can be interchangeable. Two finishes are placed and irregular. Graphics paper is sold as a rag bond. They are called translucent to off-white paper.
Printing paper has a smoother surface. It is easier to process them in different shapes and sizes. Good to use in origami or origami art. Most printing papers are mass-produced in paper mills, while some are molded. The most affordable printing paper, as well as the best kind, is handmade paper. This involves a more difficult process, and each sheet becomes unique from the rest of the stack.
The visualization of papers is transparent, like non-rag tracing papers, drawings and rags. It is placed over a design for copying. The transparent or translucent feature see through the design well. This is often used by engineers and drafters. But it is also commonly used in paper crafts for various tracing purposes. The leaves visualization can also be used to overlay the design for a more elegant effect or a discreet look. It can also create an element of surprise.
The specialty paper can be interleaving or separating papers, calligraphy, transfer paper, coated paper, stencil paper, coated paper and decorative paper. Overlapping or separating sheets are for protecting the isolation of the artwork. Line is scratch and wrinkle free paper for pen and ink. Transfer paper is used to transfer the graphic from the original setting to another surface. Coated is used for book binding, presentations, and printing. Stencil paper has torsion resistance. Cove is used in catalog and magazines. The decorative paper is marbled, popular paper or printed paper.
Oriental paper is highly absorbent. Uses a natural vegetable-based adhesive. It can be handmade or machine made.