Pull Out That Crimping Tool!

If you dig back into the furthest recesses of your craft tools collection, you'll probably find this contraption. It's a paper crimper, and it's just as useful today as it was the day you bought it. And now that you've found it, this crimper can give new life and dimension to your projects.

To put it as simply as possible, the crimper creates rows of raised lines that resembled corrugated cardboard. It will make your paper slightly smaller than the dimensions you started with, so take this into consideration when you measure your initial paper.

The paper is fed into the crimper, then turning the handle pulls it through, crimping all the way across the paper. Depending on the type and color of the paper you use, it will give either subtle or dramatic texture.

You can layer these shapes to create beautiful contrasts, like with this handmade paper and card stock die cut.

Here's I've put two crimped flowers together with a metal brad, and they're added to a crimped blue mulberry paper background.

Experiment with crimping different kinds of paper and see what results you discover. Too many layers make it difficult to fit into an envelope and mail, but they're perfect for gift tags, cards sent in a box or hand-delivered notes.