Glossy cardstock was originally produced for use with alcohol inks, and although it is perfect for that, there are other products and techniques that work brilliantly with it to create amazing background effects.

Distress Ink and Distress Oxide Ink work especially well, absorbing into the surface of the cardstock to produce colourful layered patterns. Usually slow to dry, the excess ink can be buffed away with a paper towel or soft cloth, leaving a surface which is ready to be worked on immediately. The two types of ink will give very similar results on glossy cardstock, so feel free to experiment with both.

Bold, simple designs work well with these vibrant, abstract backgrounds. The look is such that the colour appears to absorb through the gloss and into the cardstock, giving a top-quality shiny printed finish, yet retaining the originality of your chosen colouring style.

You can heat-emboss stamped images on glossy cardstock, although it is advisable to keep your heat tool moving so as not to damage the surface, which is coated.

Finally, a few words of advice: Don't confuse glossy photo paper with glossy cardstock for crafting – the two are quite different and you will not get the same effects. The same goes for Yupo (a synthetic cardstock.) While this is a perfect substrate for alcohol inks, it behaves very differently and the techniques shown here will not work in the same way.

However, if you will have picked up glossy cardstock somewhere on your crafty journey, try this technique as the results are quite striking. Look out for it in specialist papercraft stores and add some shine to your crafting!

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Stamping Die-cutting papercraft project