Hot answers tagged

32 votes
Accepted

How to cut a tiny circle in paper?

Punch it Given the size of the holes you are doing this might not seem like useful advice but I would bet that this is what the artist in the picture did, as those are not perfect circles. Outside of ...
Matt's user avatar
  • 11k
25 votes
Accepted

How to prevent the paper from getting damaged due to a steel compass?

You will need to rest the point of the compass onto some other object first i.e. one that won't damage the paper. Some sort of disc A felt or rubber disc comes to mind. Something thin with enough ...
Matt's user avatar
  • 11k
23 votes
Accepted

What are the advantages of watercolour paper over sketch paper?

Watercolor paper is, normally, quite a bit heavier and made from cotton. Basic watercolor paper, 140lb, is okay for practice and will tend to buckle unless stretched. The expensive 300lb paper is ...
Joanne C's user avatar
  • 3,443
22 votes

How can paper be glued to cardboard without creating wrinkles?

Use SprayMount, or similar - it is formulated for exactly this purpose: fixing paper to cardboard. What you do is place your artwork face down on a piece of newspaper, spray a single, thin coat on ...
Tom Medley's user avatar
  • 1,788
17 votes

How can I draw right angles with just a ruler?

You can use the 3-4-5 method of creating right angles. Begin with a construction line and mark a zero point and a 3 point. Make a mark. Notice that I'm not using units of measure. You can use ...
fred_dot_u's user avatar
  • 7,231
16 votes
Accepted

What's the difference between drawing paper and regular paper?

TL;DR: Generally speaking, printer paper is not designed to last long and is intended to hold ink rather than graphite, charcoal, paint, etc. The same is more or less true of notebook paper. Printer ...
Wad Cheber's user avatar
15 votes
Accepted

How can I cleanly cut the inside of a paper on a different angle?

Using scissors, as you have pictured, would be a contributing factor here. Using a craft knife or something similar would most certainly be the go-to tool. It is important to try to do the cutting ...
Matt's user avatar
  • 11k
14 votes

How to prevent "tufts" in paper when cutting fine details?

A big factor to this would be to make sure your cuts are straight and not at an angle. If your cuts meet on top but are not completely vertical then a tuft would appear on the bottom of the paper, for ...
Matt's user avatar
  • 11k
14 votes
Accepted

What is Paper Weight?

The weight is the weight of a ream (500 sheets) in the unit of uncut size, which varies with the stock type (see here, for example). A more consistent measure of paper weight is the grams per sq metre ...
Conrad Turner's user avatar
14 votes
Accepted

What material can I use to dye paper to look older?

tl;dr: tea! Yup, that's right, good ole' Lipton (or whatever other type of black tea you happen to have on hand). Diluted coffee can also work, but will smell like, well, coffee-stained paper. Note ...
Martha's user avatar
  • 1,818
14 votes
Accepted

Which glue should I use to attach paper to glass?

We make beer. We occasionally make labels for that beer. The easiest, best cheapest way to attach the labels is... ready for this... you sure??? Milk. Don't know why, don't ask why. It works. You ...
Catija's user avatar
  • 3,496
13 votes
Accepted

How can I prevent watercolor paper from buckling?

To prevent the paper buckling/cockling you pre-stretch it, That is you wet the paper and tape it down to a rigid board with gum strip. I generally use a wooden drawing board that I made in work shop ...
Conrad Turner's user avatar
13 votes
Accepted

Future-proofing paper and ink letter

The choice of paper won't be very difficult. There are different types and brands of paper available in craft stores, stationary sections and even copy shops. You'll want to go for "acid free&...
Elmy's user avatar
  • 12.6k
12 votes
Accepted

How can paper be glued to cardboard without creating wrinkles?

I have a small project where I make name blocks for kids. I basically glue some paper to a painted 2x4 (craft paper, wallpaper samples... I reuse what ever I find). I had a similar problem. No matter ...
Matt's user avatar
  • 11k
12 votes

How to cut a tiny circle in paper?

It really does depend on how big the circle is. For tiny circles I recommend not using the knife at all. Find a pair of compasses (or, in a pinch, a dried-up pen or sharp pencil will do), and use ...
Åna's user avatar
  • 661
12 votes
Accepted

What does "for finished artwork" mean?

A 'finished' artwork is a piece that has been worked to a particular level of detail. There are various levels of 'finish' from a basic outline to a 'finished' sketch, then from a basic drawing to ...
Artemesia's user avatar
  • 334
11 votes
Accepted

Why have my paper crafts hung on the wall deformed and what can be done to prevent this?

I can think of a couple reasons why your paper curled like that: Vertically displayed paper has a tendency to curl more in my experience, especially when it has no support. The gum/glue itself may ...
Kirasha's user avatar
  • 291
11 votes
Accepted

Does paper have tooth levels?

Yes! Different papers have different "tooth" -- this is another term for the roughness of the paper. The smoother a piece of paper feels, the less tooth; the rougher, the more tooth. Most writing or ...
Erica's user avatar
  • 4,356
11 votes
Accepted

How can I make my own perforated edge?

A sewing machine without thread does a great job at making a perforation in most paper. Depending on the settings it can be rather coarse, or quite fine. Much of this will depend on what stitch types ...
BrownRedHawk's user avatar
11 votes

Printing on Black Paper

Print on regular white paper. Adhere the print to the black paper with rubber cement or temporary adhesive. Do the cutting, and scoring if needed (light scoring can also be used to mark glue edges ...
fixer1234's user avatar
  • 11.5k
10 votes
Accepted

What should I look for in a paper for a complex origami model?

When rejecting DIY solutions, you are limiting your choice a lot. Methylcellulose (MC)-glued double and triple tissue and well as self-made tissue foil are very popular and relatively inexpensive ...
Michał Kosmulski's user avatar
10 votes
Accepted

Gluing pasta to paper?

In short Yellow carpenters/wood glue or white craft glue should both work fine for kids projects. I found yellow glue to be a little stronger. I think it is important to give the glue time to cure /...
Matt's user avatar
  • 11k
9 votes

How can I prevent watercolor paper from buckling?

When paper gets wet, it expands. Apply wet watercolour to only part of the paper, and only part of the paper will expand, causing the paper to buckle. If there are no constraints on the paper, the ...
Earthliŋ's user avatar
  • 634
8 votes

How to cut a tiny circle in paper?

This will probably work well for decently-small sized holes that are around 2 mm in diameter: These things can be pretty useful. You often see them in paper cutting three of them at a time, so you ...
Zizouz212's user avatar
  • 777
8 votes

How to cut a tiny circle in paper?

How to cut a tiny hole using a knife: (This method requires a very steady hand and caution.) Draw the hole. You can use whatever technique you want. If you want to avoid people seeing marks, you can ...
JAMalcolmson's user avatar
8 votes

How can I artificially age paper without staining or dyeing?

Place the paper in a sealed box or plastic bag together with an open jar with a bit of ammoniac in it and leave it. The fumes will age it (works well with wood too). Another way is to bake the paper ...
Janw's user avatar
  • 326
8 votes

Do oil pastels work better on paper with more teeth?

Oil pastels work well on paper with a fairly high tooth level. It helps it "grab" the color -- a "toothier" paper is better than a smoother paper. I'll borrow this diagram I used in a similar answer. ...
Erica's user avatar
  • 4,356
8 votes

What alternatives exist instead of freezer paper when it comes on shirt bleaching?

Freezer paper is a product that has a waxed coating on only one side. It's sort of like a hybrid of oven paper (also called parchment paper, baking paper, or ladokola) and wax paper. Neither wax ...
Erica's user avatar
  • 4,356
8 votes

How can I draw right angles with just a ruler?

Draw top and bottom of the ruler to create parallel lines. Rotate the ruler and repeat using the original lines to create a parallelogram. Draw the diagonals of the the parallelogram, thus creating a ...
Meredith's user avatar

Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible