Couture Cardstock

Hi Everyone!

As promised I have a product review for you today...Couture Cardstock, a division of the Cardstock Warehouse, which recently launched its extensive product line at CHA 2010 in Anaheim, California.

CarrieAnn DeLoach, the founder of Couture Cardstock, fell in love with paper crafting at a very young age (see her story here) and wanted to start a paper company with three main goals in mind...

Provide a quality product at a fair price.

Service with a smile.

and

Focus on what the consumer wants.

The launching of Couture Cardstock has allowed this list to become a reality and CarrieAnn would like share the promises they make to you, each and every time you choose to create works of art with them.

About the Paper....

Couture Cardstock offers papers in over 200 different colors, finishes and weights. A unique feature of CC is stocking paper of 3 different weights. Each weight (light, medium or heavy) is specially suited for different techniques, projects, and challenges. Every paper weight is clearly marked and helpful project suggestions can be found in item descriptions and design team member gallery.

I was fortunate enough to try their papers first hand and I'm here to share my results with you!

Since CarrieAnne was nice enough to allow me to choose the papers I was going to work with I of course went for the blues...Rainy Day Monochromatic Family.

If you will notice on the linked page the color family is pictured in the center showing a composite of all of the colors included in this family pack. The color names as well as the weight of each individual paper (as well as links to their own page) is listed along the left hand side. Very handy if you want or need additional sheets of a favorite color.

I stamped, punched, cut, distressed, and put these papers through their paces. If you will note the pack I rec'd consists of a mix of heavy (h) and light (l) weight papers. To give you an idea of how their paper stacks up against other well know brands I did a bit of comparing.

The heavy weight papers are comparable to Bazzill Basics cardstock in every way. Textured on one side and smooth on the other. I found no noticeable difference between the two in texture, weight or quality.

The light weight papers are smooth on both sides and in my opinion are very similar to Die Cuts With a View smooth cardstock or Basic Grey pattern paper weight.

Quality out of the way I was concerned with how well the paper took to stamping and working with the Ink Blending Tool (as you know, my fav!!). I am pleased to say the cardstock again was excellent to work with.

Here are a few examples of what I did with the paper. As you can see I stamped on both the smooth coat and textured cardstocks...each working exceptionally well. (Note: All paper is CC except for the pattern paper on the 2nd & 3rd cards. The pattern paper is Pink Paislee.)

I didn't have any trouble at all getting nice clean impressions, the IBT and Distress Inks blended and inked the paper perfectly.

After I tried it out I asked CarrieAnn a bit more about her paper...

ISR - Is your cardstock made in the USA?
CA - Our canvas texture product line contains over 75 colors. These papers are made in America and of 100% recycled materials. Shoppers will know they are purchasing one of these products if the item number begins with "CC".

ISR - How often do you plan on releasing new colors/types of paper?
CA - We release new colors and types of papers both seasonally and as we become aware of consumer needs. This summer at CHA we will be releasing 12 new light weight smooth colors, 3 new canvas texture colors and several specialty items. We always encourage paper crafters to participate in our community polls on our website to help us develop products which met their exact creative needs. Couture Cardstock users are also encouraged to contact us through the Couture Contact form to fill special requests.

ISR - Are you planning on offering swatch books?
CA - Swatch books are currently available for media representatives, wholesale clients, stationary customizers, event planners, and professional designers. We do plan on offering them to every day crafters in the near future for $4.99.

Their individual sheets of cardstock are searchable by Color, Weight, and Finish or Texture making it easy to find the cardstock to fit whatever your need.

Now, not only do they offer Monochromatic and Individual Paper Paks but they also offer Couture Collections. Paper collections which offer a wide variety of colors, textures and weights to suit many needs. My favorite of these collections is the Almost Autumn Collection. I can just about hear the crunch of the leaves just looking at it.

There is also a very unique option offered that I am extremely excited about....12" x 24" sheets of select colors of cardstock!!! They are called Super Cuts which is offered in 23 different colors all for $1.00 per sheet. This is PERFECT for creating mini albums, accordion cards or books, etc. It is very rare to find quality paper in this size. I have only located two places that offers this size and it is $2.50 per sheet!!!

CC also offers a variety of Specialty Papers which includes everything from mulberry paper in both 8.5x11 & 12x12; vellum, mirrored, chipboard and more!

At the moment Couture Cardstock is offering an amazing deal on select colors. It is a Buy One, Get One Free offer on perfectly coordinated pairs of cardstock. 50 sheets of paper (25 sheets of each color) for the price of one. I personally can't wait to take advantage of this great offer.

If you are interested in placing an order, Couture Cardstock accepts credit card and Pay-Pal. I did ask about international shipping since many of you are located outside of the cont. US and here was CarrieAnn's reply....

In the next month you will see some major changes in our shipping function in the online store. We are currently designing a custom shipping calculator which will give exact shipping rates as opposed to flat rate shipping. This option will also be available to international shoppers. We currently do ship internationally, but customers must contact us through the Couture Cardstock contact form for an estimate before placing their order. This can be done through the following link: http://www.couturecardstock.com/contacts/.

I wanted to direct you to Couture Cardstock blog. In honor of National Craft Month they are offering a special give-a-way each and every day during the month of March!! Each day there will be a challenge posted and a winner drawn the next day on all qualifying entries. (See the blog for full details.)

In addition to their daily drawing they are also having a HUGE Give-A-Way going on all month long ~ you could win 291 sheets of cardstock ~ one of every piece of cardstock in their entire store ~ every color, weight and texture they offer! All you have to do is post their blinkie on your blog and leave them a comment telling them you did so. How cool is that?!?!?

There is one additional product I am going to tell you about but I'm saving that for tomorrow...it was far to cool not to talk about in it's own right.

BUT

I do have a bit of a give-a-way for you...

Since they are hosting such a generous daily give-a-way on their blog this month I don't have a whole pack of paper to give you but I did cut up 4 swatch book samples of the Rainy Day collection I got to play with. I thought it would be a nice way for a few people to actually get their hands on it to see what they thought.

To enter to win one of these 4 mini swatch books all you have to do is go to CC and check out their papers.

Come back and tell me which color or collection is your favorite!

Simple as that!

You have until April 4th to enter!

Now, be sure to stop back in tomorrow to find out about their other must have cardstock!

TTFN!