

Crafting Glossary - Crafting Terms explained
Whether you're not sure of a term or have never heard of this Crafting Jargon, then look below for an explanation for all of these crafty terms.
Sound like a crafting pro with these crafting words!


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Accent-foiling – foil added to a design to highlight an area of design rather than in solid lines or blocks
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Acetate – a thin transparent sheet available in several thicknesses perfect for construction, aperture windows and more
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Acrylic Block – a clear acrylic piece cut into a block, used to pick up your stamps and provide a firm foundation for applying pressure when stamping
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Adorable Scorable – our top-quality branded cardstock that is perfect for your card bases, matting and layering, construction work, die-cutting and more, taking the perfect score every time without feathering or cracking! Most Adorable Scorable is 350gsm but is also available in smaller weights
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Adorable Scoreboard – our award winning scoreboard with in-built box making technology, create the perfect score every time and create handmade boxes with ease!
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Alcohol Markers – made up of a dye suspended in alcohol, when used the solution evaporates when dry leaving a super-smooth layer of dye ink - a colouring medium that is not water soluble
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Aperture Card – a type of card with a cut-out window section which can be used with acetate or to frame Decoupage/Deco-Large


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Background paper – this can be printed on one or both sides (double-sided) and cut up to create layers on your cards
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Blending Tools – a tool, usually with a sponge end, that is used to apply ink from an inkpad onto card; also helps blend ink to create patterns and ombre effects
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Brush Markers – a marker with a brush tip that combines the art and flow of a paintbrush, with the convenience of a marker, perfect for brush lettering and artistic projects


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Card Blank – a piece of card already scored in half ready to be used as a base for a card
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Cardstock – a piece of card not scored, comes in a variety of thickness’, each perfect for different elements of a card
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Concept Card – a special type of card that is made a certain way to create a unique card/project that often has moving parts, special die-cut or scored elements or other creative concepts that make these perfect as a gift and card
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Construction Glue – a wet glue commonly used for construction work such as box making due to the strong, permanent hold it achieves when dry; adhesive for card, mdf, fabrics and more
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Craft Knife – a cutting tool with a sharp, replaceable blade that can be used for small and precise cutting; used with a cutting mat
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Cutting Dies – a specialised tool used to cut material using a press such as a die-cutting machine, these dies are commonly used for cutting paper and card but some dies may also cut fabric
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Cutting Mat – a mat available in various sizes that is durable, used with cutting tools such as craft knives to protect your worktops; available as a self-healing cutting mat that when cut, retains its structure allowing you to keep cutting


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Debossing – the opposite of embossing, debossing creates an imprinted image with a depressed effect
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Deco-Large – the art of building layers to create a 3D design, our Deco-Large sets feature larger images and more layers, all die-cut for ease
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Die-Brush Tool – a tool used to aid die-cutting, made with a stiff brush that can be used to run over die-cut pieces to remove any small pieces of paper or card from the cut sections
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Die-cut – elements in Topper sheets and other card making kits, that have been pre-cut by machine and are held in the sheet by small pips, making it easy to pop pieces out for your cardmaking
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Distress Ink – a water-based ink pad that can be used to stamp or colour an area
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Distressing – giving something a vintage look by roughing up with a tool, or using mixed media to create a similar vintage look
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DL Paper Pad – Our DL sized paper pad features 72 sheets in total, printed onto a 150gsm high quality, uncoated Adorable Scorable paper, featuring a variety of artwork
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Dye-based Ink Pad – features a water based dye saturated with colour, held in a pad for ease of application via stamp, tool or smudging onto a surface


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Easel Card – a type of card that creates an easel shape when standing
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Embellishments – little decorative finishing details added to a card or project, usually including gemstones, ribbon, buttons, glitter and more
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Embossing – the process of creating a raised design on card/paper/other mediums
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Embossing Folders – a plastic folder that contains a design on the inside which, when run through a die-cutting/embossing machine with card inside of the folder, creates an embossed version of the image on the card
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Embossing Powders – a powder that can be used with stamping to create a raised/embossed image without using embossing folders; requires heat to create the embossed effect and is available in a variety of colours
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Embossing Tools – tools with metal ends in various shapes used to create different effects when used on card, paper or parchment
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Envelope Glue – a type of adhesive that can be used to create your own glue strips on handmade envelopes
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Ergonomic – refined design to optimise products for use of crafters in application and comfort


- Foiled – elements, borders and accents have been foiled by machine to enhance our imagery
- For the Love of Masks – laser-cut from quality mylar, these masks are perfect for inking through and around or using other mixed media to create background designs
- For the Love of Stamps – our award-winning clear, photopolymer stamps available in a huge variety of designs and styles, with self-adhesive backs for easy stamping


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Gatefold Card – a type of card where the front is cut in half to create an opening that opens like a gateway
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GSM – the weight of card or paper, the higher the number, the thicker the card or paper
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Guillotine – a tool used for cutting heavy-weight cardstock, done so with the aid of an arm attached to the body of the guillotine, which holds a large blade


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Heat Embossing – a method of creating an embossed image with the use of embossing powders and a heat tool, often combined with stamping to make the stamped image embossed
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Hi-Tack Tape – a strong adhesive double-sided tape often used for construction projects or for adding a stronger hold for acetate and other card making elements


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Inserts – a piece of paper than can be scored or cut down to fit inside your card, or can be used as a layer on the front of your card


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Kraft card – a brown cardstock with a natural look that can be used for layering, die-cutting and more


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Little Book – Our branded Little Books are paper pads containing 144 or more pages of 150gsm printed paper in a wide range of images and designs, available in A6 and 5” x 5”
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Low Tack Tape – an adhesive tape with a weaker hold perfect for masking or using to stick down elements which can be removed without ripping the paper/card


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Masks – are the reverse of a stencil, these features designs that are cut out of the piece of plastic, wood, metal etc giving you a negative image to ink around, leaving you with a negative space underneath
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Matting & Layering – building up your card with different layers of card or paper so that you main element – topper – is enhanced by the design
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Mica Powder – a fine powder made from a natural mineral that creates a metallic or pearlescent effect
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Mirri Card – our most highly respected mirror card with a highly reflective foiled finish, often used as part of layering on your card front or die-cutting
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Mirri Mats – Mirri card cut to a specific size to co-ordinate with a product that allows you to mat & layer a sheet from a Little Book, DL Paper Pad, Topper Deck or Picture Perfect Pad, to create a decorative Mirri frame
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Moonstone Dies – our brand of high quality, metal cutting dies featuring a huge variety of designs and sizes to create cards, embellishments, frames, sentiments and much more
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Mylar – a polyester film used for its durability and transparency


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Paper Trimmer – a cutting tool used to create a straight cut edge, for cutting one or several sheets of paper at a time
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Parchment Paper – also known as vellum, is a semi-translucent medium used to add a softer look to cards, create embellishments, used in parchment craft with embossing and general card making
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Photopolymer Stamps – holds ink better for a crisper, cleaner image – are clear allowing for more accurate placement when stamping
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Picture Perfect Pad – our branded 8” x 8” paper pads that include 48 pages with a whopping amount of images included in various sizes on each page; available in a variety of themes
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Pigment based Ink Pad – ink pads feature high amounts of pigment suspended in a liquid, these are slow-drying as the ink sits on top of the paper
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Prism Brush Markers – Water-based colouring medium, colours can be blended on cardstock or on an acrylic block or glass mat, with a waterbrush or paintbrush
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Prism Glimmer Mist – high pigment mica powder suspended in a water-based solution, in handy spray bottles – water soluble and can be mixed together, they work on a variety of materials from paper to wood, clay, canvas and fabric.
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Prism Ink Pads – a dye-based ink pad that is non-toxic and acid free, available in over 30 colours


- Quilling – a form of art created by rolling/shaping strips of paper to create decorative designs and images


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Rocker Card – a type of card with a rounded base that allows the card to rock when nudged
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Rubber Stamps – an image or pattern that has been carved, molded, laser engraved or vulcanised onto a sheet of rubber


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Scoreboard – a crafting platform with grooves inlaid into the base along with measurements, run a bone-tool/scoring tool over card/paper, on this to create a clean score for card blanks, box making and more
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Self-Healing Cutting Mat – a craft mat with a surface made from tiny individual pieces that allow cutting tools to move between them, not cutting the surface as a whole, keeping the mat intact
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Sentiments – a word or phrase relevant to an occasion or recipient, used to personalise cards and projects, can be found in dies, stamps and papercraft elements
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Stamping Platform – also known as a Stamping Press, this tool is a platform with a clear lid which a stamp can be applied to, to create a clean stamped image when the lid is closed
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Stencils – is a piece of medium like plastic with a design cut out of it, to re-create the design by applying ink or mixed media through the holes in the stencil
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Stepper Card – a type of card that features several folds to create a step look when standing


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Topper – this is anything used as the main element of your card and is usually the top layer
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Topper Deck – our branded product, Topper Decks are a box containing 54 Card Toppers in a handy 2.5” x 3.5” size, available in a variety of themes
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Topper Set – Includes an A4 foiled & die-cut Topper sheet, plus 2 co-ordinating cardstock sheets that can be used as Card Blanks or as part of matting & layering
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Topper Sheet – A4 sheet of foiled and die-cut elements perfect as Toppers for your cards and often include embellishing elements


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USB Keys – a USB flash drive that stores data for use with computers, our [email protected] USB Keys feature a variety of digital copies of our papercraft collections for printing out


- Vellum - also known as parchment, is a semi-translucent medium used to add a softer look to cards, create embellishments, used in parchment craft with embossing and general card making


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Waterbrush – a brush-ended tool that can be filled with water to use for blending or painting
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Watercolour Pencils – pencils containing a rich pigment that when mixed with water, can be blended to create a watercolour effect
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Whopper Topper Pads – our branded A5 paper pads featuring large sized Toppers, sentiments and borders on each page; contains 40 cards with Toppers in a variety of shapes and designs