I am pretty excited to be able to share some tips, tricks and techniques using products from one of my favourite companies. Core’dinations ColorCore Cardstock has been around since 2008 and offers paper crafters a unique product which is limitless in its creative options. Today I will be sharing an insider’s scoop on embossing and sanding.

I used some BasicGrey patterned paper and coordinating cardstock stickers to create this sympathy card for a special person in my life whom have recently suffered a loss. Let me now take you through a quick tutorial on some elements of this card.

1. The dragonfly is often used as a symbol of hope for those who are grieving. The dragonfly offers light and reflection. The dragonfly I used on this card is an embossing die made by Spellbinders and comes in a set with some small butterflies as well. I selected a coordinating Core Essentials cardstock by Core’dinations to compliment the card. In the image below you will see where I have started to sand the dragonfly with the Sand It Gadget made by Core’dinations. Sanding reveals the coordinating colour core of their cardstock.

2. The Sand It Gadget is a relatively new tool for Core’dinations. It is a sanding block with two grits of sand paper which can be replaced. I like it because it’s easy to hold, cost effective to replace the sanding pads and offers two options for grit. WhiteWash (Core’dinations cardstock with a white surface and colour core) requires a sand paper with more grit to reveal the colour core.

3. The Dust Buddy is the perfect pant, shirt and carpet saver. Yes. It’s true. When I first started working with Core’dinations cardstock I used to wipe my sanded projects on my pants, shirt or carpet in order to make it appear more crisp…as my husband will tell you. Core’dinations then came out with a brilliant tool! The Dust Buddy is a cloth which you wipe over your sanded project. Check out the difference in the “Before” and “After” shots below! The green cardstock is pre-embossed and can be found in the new “Ornate Core Impressions Collection”.

4. Besides improving the crispness of the sanding of your Core’dinations’ project, the Dust Buddy also offers a quick way to tidy up your craft space as well. It’s great at picking up glitter and we all know where glitter will end up if you don’t stay in control of that stuff.

Here’s a layout that I made for my daughter using this same collection of paper by BasicGrey and some different Core Impressions from the same collection pack (Ornate).

I hope you’ve learned a few helpful tricks today.

Article by: Sarah Hodgkinson