• Thin paper.
• Smooth surface.
• Bright colors.
• Not usually colorfast.

Tissue paper flowers or jewels, papier mache or papel picado.

Can be shredded for packaging or used as gift wrap.

Tissue paper for crafts is usually sold in rolls but can be bought in sheets.

Tissue paper is inexpensive but try to make sure you get good quality tissue.

The type sold for kids or for shredding can be very thin and tears far too easily.

• Thin paper
• Crinkled surface
• Can be stretched easily
• Often brightly colored
• Not usually colorfast

Crepe paper flowers, papier mache, kids crafts and can be used as gift wrap.

Usually sold in rolls.

The color will bleed if you get the paper wet which can be used to good effect in some craft projects.

The dyes can stain your fingers but it will wash off.

• Multipurpose medium weight paper
• Smooth surface
• Usually white, other colors are available

Printing, decoupage, paper making, drawing and colouring crafts. 

This can be purchased any where.

This is the sort of paper you use in a printer.

Scrapbook Papers

• Various weight papers
• Patterned or plain

Scrapbooking, card making or decoupage.

A huge range can be found in craft supply shops.

Decoupage Paper

• Various weights and finishes
• Patterns, images or plain

Decoupage, card making or scrapbooking.

There are huge ranges of decoupage papers in craft shops.

Some of theses have images like flowers or fairies for you to cut out.

Origami Paper

• Thin paper that is easy to fold
• Usually colored or patterned on both sides 
• Sometimes white or contrasting color on the reverse side 

Origami, scrap booking or card making.

Can be expensive.

It is great for retaining the folds necessary in origami.

Usually sold in squares.

Mulberry Paper

• Handmade paper from the mulberry plant
• Medium thickness
• Various colors

Scrapbooking, decoupage, card making, gift tags or papier mache

The easiest way to tear mulberry paper is to wet along the area you want to tear. You will get a nice fuzzy edge that looks great in lots of craft projects.

Washi Paper

• Handmade thick paper
• Long fibres
• Uneven surface

Flower making, papier mache or decoupage

This is expensive but it's lovely to use.

Similar to mulberry paper but thicker and very soft.

If you tear it you get a very uneven edge with long fibres on one side or the other.

Construction Paper/Sugar Paper

• Light to medium weight multipurpose paper
• Slightly rough surface
• Wide range of colors

Widely used in kids crafts. Papier mache, decoupage, printing, picture making, scrapbooking, paper hats or masks.

It's cheap, cheerful and has 100's of uses.

Kraft Paper

• Strong paper
• Usually brown but can be found bleached

Bags, gift wrap, envelopes, paper mache and many kids crafts.

Kraft paper can be bought in sheets or rolls.

It can also be recycled so keep your paper shopping bags for your next craft project.

Newsprint/Newspaper

• Thin to medium paper
• Low cost but tough
• Usually white but can be colored
• Newspapers will already be printed on but can still be used for loads of craft projects

Papier mache, decoupage or scrapbooking

This is the type of paper they use for making newspapers.

You can buy it unprinted in packs or on a roll.

Or you can recycle your old newspapers. 

Vellum/Parchment

• Very thin but tough paper
• Translucent
• Can be plain or patterned

Parchment crafts, card making, printing, stamping or embossing.

Modern parchment or vellum is made from vegetable pulp that has been treated with sulfuric acid.

Watercolor Paper

• Thick paper or board
• Rough surface
• Usually white

Painting, card making or stamping.

For best results watercolor paper should be stretched before use. Get the whole sheet of paper wet then use brown gummed tape to fix it to a board and leave it to dry.
Leave it fixed to the board when you are painting and it shouldn't buckle or warp.

Rice Paper

• Made from the rice plant
• Rough surface
• Translucent finish
• Usually white

Painting, drawing, calligraphy, printing or scrap booking.

This type of true rice paper is not very common and can be expensive.

Edible Rice Paper

• Made from starch
• Thin edible paper

Used for making spring rolls, cake toppers, edible flowers and macaroons.

Used for all types of food crafts particularly with cake toppers and sweets.

Card Stock

• Medium to thick paper
• Wide range of colors
• Various finishes

Boxes, cards, cut outs, masks or models.

This usually refers to paper that is thicker than printable copy paper but thinner than paper board.

Paper Board

• Thick paper
• Wide range of colors
• Various finishes

Book covers, packaging, postcards and board books

It is heavy duty paper and is very easy to cut.

It is often used to create sculptures.

Cardboard

• Generic term for any paper heavier than 130gsm
  

Any craft project that uses card.

I use this term throughout my site when refering to any board thicker than copy paper.

Corrugated Cardboard

• Two or more layers of paper with a fluted layer between them
• In crafts it can refer to just the fluted card 
• Usually brown or white but can be found in many other colors

Great for making dolls houses  and large toys for kids like cars or ovens.

Can also be used for packaging.

Often used to create an internal support for large papier mache sculptures. 

The fluted card is often used in card making, scrapbooking and collages.

Many crafts use just the fluted layer of card to add texture and interest to a project.