Beginner’s Guide
If you’ve never tried crafting with paper before, here are a few basic skills to learn as a beginner to give you the best results.
One of the unique features of the paper crafts you will find on RomantiCraft is the ability to personalize them through a template PDF. This guide with show you how to properly download and use the template to create your own free and unique gifts.
The other topics include printer settings, recommended paper craft supplies, as well as tips to score and cut paper.
More detail is given here for every step since it's the same or similar for each our exclusive paper crafts.
Get Started
Get the free Adobe® Acrobat® Reader® PDF viewer to open, personalize, and print the PDF Template properly on your computer.
The free Adobe® Acrobat® Reader® app for iOS or Android is required to fill PDF forms if using a mobile device. A computer is much simpler for printing if you have the option. I have not found an easy way to print from a mobile device since the printer settings do not always give the option to print on heavy paper. The auto settings for paper weight do not always work well.
See FAQ for more information.
Download & Personalize PDF Template
This can be the most confusing part because your computer or mobile device will just want to open as a basic PDF for review, which will result in the personalized fonts in the form fields not showing correctly. You will need to open the PDF in the free Adobe® Acrobat® Reader® to maintain the font style when personalizing each of the form fields.
If you do not follow these steps, the personalization will be way off and print poorly. The standard reader in most computers, browsers, and mobile devices do not show the embedded font style correctly substituting other basic fonts and standard sizes.
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Press the red Download button with the Adobe PDF logo to download the template.
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On a computer, a tooltip will pop up when hovering over the download button to explain the process that is shown in the steps below.
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The PDF will be in your Downloads folder with a .zip after the name as shown here.
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Double click the .zip file and it will unzip or uncompress to a standard .pdf only file as shown to the right.
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Right click on the .pdf only file and choose Open With > Adobe Acrobat Reader.
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The full PDF Template will open in Reader. Scroll down to the form fields.
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The grey box indicates the form fields that can be personalized.
Hovering over the form field will give you a tooltip.
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Click and highlight the text you want to personalize. The box will turn blue. Then type in your own text.
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For a long name, the form field will shrink the text to fit automatically.
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The other form fields are set at a specific size to give multiple lines of text.
Repeat highlighting and replacing your text for the other form fields.
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Click File > Save to keep your changes or Save As to save to a specific folder outside of your Download Folder.
Printer Settings
A laser or inkjet printer that can print on heavy weight cardstock paper is necessary or access to an office store that can print for you. The quality of your print is based on following these printer settings. Printing heavy cardstock on the default setting will have some color missing on the paper and may damage your printer. The settings below are based on an HP Color Laser Printer.
If you do not have a printer (or only a mobile device without a computer) consider using a professional printing service at your local office store like Staples, Office Depot, or UPS. They can print from an emailed or uploaded PDF for about $1 per page on heavy cardstock. Just make sure to tell them the page range to print as the first and last page of the template are not necessary.
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In Adobe Acrobat Reader, press File > Print to bring up the main options.
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Confirm the range of Pages to print. Confirm checked for 100% Scale or Actual size. Then press the Printer button at the bottom to access your specific printer options.
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Re-input the page range to print and scroll down.
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Choose the Media & Quality dropdown. Under Media Type, choose the dropdown that shows Auto Select for a list of all the different kinds of paper the printer can handle.
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Choose Heavyweight Paper to print on cardstock.
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You may also want to select Manual Feed instead of Auto so only one piece of cardstock loads into the printer without curling.
Press the Print button at the bottom to go back to the main print screen.
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Load heavy cardstock paper into the printer either through main feed or manual feed.
Press the Print button at the bottom right to print the template.
Printer settings may vary by brand.
Craft Supplies
There are common paper craft supplies needed to make your own printable creations. You probably have some of these items laying around in a junk drawer. You will definitlely need a printer that can handle heavy stock paper as listed above.
If you can’t find these supplies locally, each one is listed below.
Bone Folder
Made of real bone, this folder tool helps with scoring the paper for a crisp fold line. You can also use the back of a butter knife that is rounded. A simple metal paper clip also works well.
More Info
Utility Knife
A light duty utility knife is the best choice since you don't have to worry about losing the cap and sticking yourself. The blade slides out and can be snapped off when dull for an always sharp edge. Cuts where scissors can't and best for straight lines. Very sharp blade so use with caution.
More Info
Self-Healing Cutting Mat
A cutting mat underneath your project will protect your furniture. You could use some cardboard or a few pieces of paper underneath but they will both get cut up into shreds when using the knife. The self-healing in the mat are layers of plastic that keep a smooth surface after every cut. The best size is 9x12 .
More Info
Pen
A standard ball point pen helps to curl paper into different rounded or smooth shapes. The rounded end rolls the paper. The pen can be combined with a paper clip to have 2 tools in one by making your own pen scoring tool. You can even use a “dead” ballpoint pen to make creases in paper.
Double-Sided Tape
I personally use 1/2" double sided tape instead of glue since it's instant, neater, and easier to work with. Although, some glue may be needed to close a box or to correctly position parts together. All RomantiCraft exclusive paper crafts are designed for assembly with tape first and glue second. Use what you have.
More Info
Glue Stick
Wrinkle free and acid free are the best so the paper does not yellow. After applying, hold the parts together for a minute to allow the glue to dry properly. Slide and position the part before drying. Glue is also best for small triangle tabs around a circle or cylinder part.
More Info
Storage Case
Store all your paper craft supplies in one place so they are easy to find when you need them. Three top pockets hold all your tools and the zippered interior stores the cutting mat and ruler. Most paper crafts can be completed on your lunch break so you can take this on the go.
More InfoScoring Paper
To score paper simply means to make a crease in the paper for a neat and clean fold. Most scoring requires a ruler to maintain a straight fold line. You may need to freehand score a rounded line without a ruler for certain shapes. Here are some basic tips to scoring and folding.
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Some of the basic scoring tools are: a butter knife (the back curved side) a bone folder, a paper clip, and a pen scoring tool combining the paper clip and a pen that you can make yourself.
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The dashed lines are the scoring guides to score those lines as shown here.
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Place the scoring tool on the dashed line then place the ruler up against it. Match the ruler up to the other side the same distance.
You can see the ruler is not right on the dashed lines due to the thickness of the tool.
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Press down firmly and glide the tool along the ruler.
Hold the ruler straight and make 3 passes to crease a line in the paper which will make the fold easier later.
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There may be areas that require scoring a curved line without a ruler like this rounded tab.
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The scoring results in a deep crease in the paper as shown in this close up.
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The pen is also used to round and shape the paper.
Cutting Paper
Straight cuts can be done with a utility knife and ruler. Some crafts will require a utility knife to cut a small rectangle or tab insert. Scissors are much better to use on rounded shapes than straight lines.
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Place the utility knife on the outside line of the craft, then place the ruler along side it, matching the distance on both sides.
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You may also want to cut along the outside line freehand so you can see clearly where you are cutting. Curved shapes will require a freehand cut or using scissors.
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The utility knife also makes cuts on the inside of the craft possible as shown.
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The knife will help with shape cut-outs as shown.
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For small curved areas, first use the scissor to cut the piece away from the rest of the paper. Then cut into the details around the small curves with the scissors.
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The scissors will also help cut curved shapes
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When cutting a rounded shape, turn the paper into the scissors for greater control.
Folding and Assembling
After scoring and cutting out the paper craft, it’s time to fold and assemble with either double sided tape or glue. The tape is much easier to work with and immediate when bonding two pieces together but glue may also be needed to close a box shape or for small triangle tabs.
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When all the pieces are cut out, fold along the score line with your fingers or use a ruler.
The paper should fold easily based on the score lines done earlier.
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Fold down tabs or other pieces based on the specific instructions.
Some pieces require shaping like this.
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The double-sided tape is a quick and easy way to attach pieces together.
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Use thin pieces of tape on the tabs and lightly push each one into place keeping as flush as possible.
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Here is a straight edge view of keeping the parts flush when assembling.
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For areas you can not get your fingers comfortably, use the pen to attach the pieces together to have enough pressure on the tape.
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There may be a craft that requires closing a box and you can’t get your fingers behind it.
Use small drops of glue on the tabs and focus on keeping all the edges flush when closing.
RomantiCraft > Crafts > Crafting With Paper
