Backing paper for cards such as vellum, patterned, and textured as well as card stock are things a card maker or scrapbook enthusiast can never have enough of.

If you are anything like me you will have a huge pile of backing paper, but when it comes to making a card or designing a scrapbook page you simply cannot part with your favourite designs.

There are so many stunning designs of backing paper and card stock available for card makers to a point where some are so beautiful it seems a shame to cut them up and create cards out of them.  Although of course I know the cards will be beautiful too.

One problem I have often found when I wanted to make a small and simple card was that I did not have any suitable paper despite having stacks of backing paper. That may sound odd, but I would search through stacks of papers but could never find anything simple enough to use.

Most of the pretty papers are far too much for a small card, especially if you are going to add a large embellishment or maybe even a decoupage image.

Making Backing Paper

A solution I came up with was to create my own backing paper. I tried out many ideas, some worked some did not. The best way I found to create simple background papers was to use my ink pads.

First of all you need to decide which topper, embellishments or decoupage piece you want to use. You can then determine the colours you will need so the topper or embellishment, and the backing paper correspond and work well together.

Simply stamp your ink pad all over the front of your plain paper. Don’t worry about making it even as it actually looks better if it is not perfect. If you are lucky enough to have a large supply of ink pads you could always use more than one colour but make sure it matches whatever you are going to place on top of it.

It is important to wait until the ink is thoroughly dry so that you do not smudge it. Once dry you can then add your embellishment.

Making your own custom backing paper for your handmade cards will save you money and you can choose the colour to match your design perfectly.

You can use this technique on both paper and card-stock but try not to be too heavy handed with your ink pads as this can leave a thick layer of ink. I find when doing this, less is more.

You can also lightly spray your paper or card stock with a small amount of water, this will make the ink go a lot further. Again do not over wet paper or card as this can cause it to crinkle and no longer be flat making it a lot harder to work with.