Essential Cardmaking Tools for Beginners: Your Complete Starter Guide

Hello crafters! I’m Lisa Tilson and I am back with the next installment of the beginner’s guide to cardmaking. Today we are going to be focusing on tools – specifically those that are essential for new card makers.

Some technique specific tools have been covered in previous posts. However, this post covers some extras that need a mention. Whether you are into stamping, die cutting, colouring, foiling or pressing, there are some essential tools that you will need to get you started.

Basic Tools

No craft desk would be complete without these basic items! You will find yourself reaching for them time and time again.

• Pencil – whether you are making a sketch or maybe working out how to evenly space items on your project, a pencil will always need to be close at hand.
• T-Square Ruler – an invaluable tool when adhering anything which needs to be perfectly straight, especially sentiments.

• Metal ruler – very handy if you are cutting a straight edge using a craft knife.
• Bone Folder – this is essential for creating crisp professional folds on your projects. A good teflon bone folder is an investment but will serve you well as it won’t crack the fibers of the paper or leave shiny lines on it when used.
• Sand eraser – a sand eraser is an abrasive eraser that works really well for removing small ink smudges or marks on your cardstock. Use a light hand when erasing and gradually that ink will disappear.
• Anti-Static Powder Bag – an essential tool for clean, crisp heat embossed results. Before stamping your sentiment or image, lightly dust your cardstock with the powder. This removes static and oils from the surface, helping to prevent stray embossing powder from clinging where you don’t want it. The result is a much neater, more professional finish.
• Self-healing Cutting Mat/Glass Mat – these sit on your work surface and protect it from damage. They often come with imperial and metric measurements that are etched or printed on them.
  • A glass mat is very helpful for mixed media projects as the slick surface cleans easily.
  • A self-healing mat is useful when you are cutting with a craft knife, sharp edge etc. Not only does it help to keep your blades sharp, but the mat’s material also closes after being cut, which helps to keep its surface smooth.
• Tweezers – useful for picking up die cuts, embellishments etc. They are also great for removing the backing from foam squares or foam tape. You can use them to hold cardstock when embossing, spraying, or even adding glue. It’s often a personal preference for which tweezers you find easiest to use.
• Tool ‘n One – this tool has many functions. It has a brush end which can be used to clean paper bits (chads) from your dies. It also has sharp piercing tips (straight or angled) which can be used to pop out individual chads left in your metal dies or die cuts. It can also be used for paper piercing projects, lifting adhesive gems from their acetate sheet etc.

• Foam Mat – a very handy little tool for collecting all the little paper pieces that come out of your die cuts when using a brush to release them. Used in conjunction with a Tool ‘n One, simply place your die cut onto the foam mat and run the brush over it. This will help pop out the chads. These little pieces of discarded card will stay on the foam mat and allow for a quicker and simpler clear up.
• Handy Craft Tool Set – this combined set contains four essential tools. A Precision Tool which is like the Tool ‘n One but without the brush end. It also contains a Nudger which is helpful when you need to reposition a press plate after inking. There is also a Pick Up Tool that helps you to pick up small objects/embellishments and place them onto your project. This set includes two replacement rubber tips for the Pick Up Tool. Last of all is a pair of detail tweezers which have an angled top and sharp edges which is great for picking up the smallest of items. You’ll find all of these items super helpful for almost any project you are working on.
• Scoring Board – A scoring board is an essential tool for creating clean, accurate score lines and folds. It comes with a scoring tool – often called a bone folder or stylus – and allows you to add multiple score lines quickly, as well as score and fold your card bases with precision. Most boards feature grooves spaced at ⅛‑inch intervals across the top edge, giving you plenty of flexibility for different projects. You’ll usually find a ruler along the left side too, which helps with alignment and quick measuring. Scoring boards come in a range of sizes, but a 12″ × 12″ board is especially versatile. It handles all the standard cardmaking tasks with ease and gives you the space you need for creating envelopes and other projects.
• Craft Stax – not technically a traditional tool but they will help you solve the problem or challenge of storage/staying organised. These boxes provide very handy and robust storage for die cuts, die sets, stamp sets, pre-made sentiments, embellishments, projects that you are currently working on etc. The world is your oyster with these storage options! They come in medium and large sizes and are stackable so they save space. If you want to stay super organized, you can even get colorful bands which can help colour code different projects. Also available are magnetic sheets that fit inside the boxes and these are the perfect insert for holding your dies in place.
• Other storage options include stamp/die pockets, larger boxes, tins for your inks, and lockable boxes for embellishments as well as boxes for transporting your craft supplies. All of these will help to keep your supplies organized and make it easier for you to find what you need when inspiration strikes!

• Ink Blending Tools – ink blending will be covered in a later post, but it’s a technique you’ll find yourself using often in your cardmaking. There are many blending tools available, from brushes and pouncers to square or round tools with flat or domed foam pads. Many crafters like to keep a selection of blending brushes in different sizes for different techniques.

Die Cutting Machine

Even if you aren’t a die-hard die cutter, you will almost certainly find that you need a die cutting machine when starting out. There are many choices available to you depending on budget, space or your preferred use. You can get manual or electronic die cutting machines and they come in various sizes. Die cutting machines were covered in the Die Cutting For Beginners post, but here is a brief reminder.

• Platinum SIX Machine with Universal Plate System – This size can be used for most dies available on the market. It is also used in conjunction with the Spellbinders Glimmer Hot Foil System.
• Platinum Machine with Universal Plate System – 8.5” platform. This larger size machine is ideal for cutting larger dies or cutting a lot of dies in one pass.
• Platinum Scout Die Cutting Machine with Universal Plate System – 3.5” platform – this machine is great for cutting smaller sized dies. Because of its compact size, many crafters keep this permanently on their desk or even take it to workshops.

Stamping Tools

It’s more than likely that one of the first things you will do as a beginner card maker is stamp an image or a sentiment. To do this you will need some form of stamping tool.

• Stamp positioning tools are a revelation if you want easy, efficient stamping. There are many stamp positioners on the market for you to choose from (MISTI, StampWheel), again, depending on your preference and budget. They can be used for multiple stamping techniques and are a huge time saver if you want consistent impressions and accurate stamping.
• Acrylic blocks – acrylic blocks can be handy for when you want to stamp a quick sentiment or image and don’t have your stamp positioner to hand. They are also great for some forms of repeat stamping as you don’t need to keep repositioning your stamp within your stamp positioner. Just add the stamp to the acrylic block, ink it up and stamp it down. Repeat with ease!

Cutting Tools

There are lots of tools to help you cut cardstock, paper and other materials cleanly and accurately. A good cutting tool helps you achieve clean edges, consistent layers, and professional looking results – especially when you’re preparing card bases, mats, or decorative elements.

• Scissors – you will find you need a variety of different pairs of scissors depending on what you are cutting. Detail scissors come with a fine point and are great for fussy cutting and cutting into small areas. Larger scissors are more heavy duty and used for larger projects. Both the 4” Detail Scissors and 9” Pro Shears cut like a dream and can be used for almost all materials including foil! A non-stick coating will enable you to cut double-sided adhesive tape and foam tape without any residue sticking to the blades and you will get a clean cut every time.

• Paper Trimmer – You have a couple of options with paper trimmers. For cardmaking most crafters use either a guillotine paper trimmer or a rotary trimmer. All trimmers come with measurements and often have extendable arms to allow you to cut 12” sheets of paper/cardstock. But if you don’t want a large trimmer, there are smaller ones around. Many crafters have a few sizes and keep the smaller trimmer on their desk. Some trimmers also contain options for scoring cardstock.
  • A guillotine trimmer comes with a drop-down lever blade which sits on one side of the base. They have a slicing motion and can be used to cut several pieces of paper at a time.
  • A rotary trimmer has a blade which sits in a carriage that slides along a track. These are great for cutting single sheets and are very safe to use as the blade is shielded within its carriage. You can get replacement blades for these trimmers.
• Craft Knife – these knives cut a variety of materials and often have a retractable blade for safety reasons. The small blade allows for precision cutting.
• Metal Snippers – these can be used to separate metal dies and snip off the little tabs that remain. The fine sharp point gets into the smallest of places!

Adhesives

Although adhesives are not strictly a “traditional tool”, more a material or supply, they do function as a solution to creating depth and they bond one thing to another, so many consider them to be a “tool” within their craft room and they are probably worthy of a mention here.

• Low Tack Tape – easily removable and used extensively in cardmaking for many reasons, whether that be holding dies in place when running them through your machine, taping cardstock to your work surface whilst working on it. Used extensively in different masking techniques it allows you to get creative with your inks and stamped images. You’ll use low‑tack tape on almost every project for one reason or another!
• Liquid Adhesive – especially good to use when you may need a little extra time to reposition something on your project. Popular with card makers are those adhesives that come with a precision tip as they allow for applications on small intricate areas. Bearly Art Glue dries to a matt finish so it’s less visible if it strays outside of where it was applied.

• Adhesive Tape Runner – a tool that applies double-sided adhesive strips and is often used to adhere panels to a card base. This tape is quick and easy to apply, and you can often purchase refills for it.
• Removable Tape Runner – like the above adhesive tape but this is temporary and removable simply by running your finger over it. Very helpful for when you are working on a design and are not quite sure where you want to position your different elements. You can easily move them around until you are happy with their final position and then use permanent adhesive to secure them in place.
• Double-Sided Tape – an alternative to liquid glue. Simply add it to the back of your cardstock, remove the backing/release paper and stick in place.
• Adhesive Foam Squares – these are found in different sizes and thicknesses. They are often sold in white or black and both have a place in the craft room. They provide dimension and extra interest on any project and will be a staple in your craft room.
• Double-Sided Adhesive Foam Tape – available in many widths, lengths, and thicknesses, and most often sold on a roll. Like foam squares, this foam adhesive enables you to create dimension without bulk on your projects. Foam tape is especially helpful for adding dimension to larger areas and you can cut it to your preferred size.
• Masking Sheets – widely used for masking techniques. They are ultra-thin, low tack, adhesive backed sheets that don’t leave a sticky residue on your cardstock or tear your project when you are removing it. Pieces of masking paper can often be re-used over several projects.
• Double-sided adhesive sheets – useful to use with intricate die cuts, glitter or word dies etc when liquid glue might be a little bit trickier to apply. Apply the sheet to your cardstock, cut your die and then remove the backing from the die cut piece.

That brings us to the end of this post. I hope you’ve found it helpful as you start thinking about the tools you might want in your cardmaking toolkit. As you continue creating, you’ll naturally adapt and expand your collection as you discover the styles and techniques you enjoy most. Next up, we’ll be looking at simple design procedures for creating a handmade card. I hope you’ll join us for that.