As a tea-bag folder you'll know how to take advantage of the glorious papers that are available. One of the problems for the addict is tracking down the perfect paper and once you've located a source then it would be foolish to let it go. Suppliers aren't exactly thick on the ground and these specialist papers are highly sought after.



But take heart.There are cheaper, and quicker solutions, depending on your home PC set up.

Forget ordering and waiting for papers to come via snail mail. We're in the digital age so there are a number of companies offering digital download. Now that's what I call instant gratification. Of course there's the quality issue (have you got the right paper)? But if this becomes your preferred way of getting your stock then you really need to invest in the right paper.

Look at it from the practical point of view. You know how it is. You're beavering away on a particular project and want to make more but what! Run out of paper! Horrors. The flow is halted, enthusiasm crushed and worse, time is now eaten up with other practical things.

Imagine this: Run out of paper! Order on line. Stuff paper in the printer. Click to download. If you press 'Print' you'll still be able to carry on.

If you're a regular crafter then you'll be scoffing at those who let themselves get into such a scrape. Who me? Run out of paper, never! Ok, so seamless crafting is the ideal, but we've all been cut short in the supplies department.

Well Christmas, with all the fabulous papers around is the perfect time to try some new printing papers and craft papers.

But even if this falls short of your needs there's always the scanner! Just pop your original sheet in your scanner or copier and press copy. And there you have it! And there you have it - another sheet, ready when you need it. One of the joys of using the scanner is that you can really copy just about anything but it's especially good on fabric. So if you're dying to use some of your favorite textiles,no problem.

True, you haven't got the typical 4 cm squares you're familiar with in Tea Bag Folding, but you can always draft out some cutting lines with a ruler and pencil. And what's more, you can then be specific at which bits of the pattern you use for your projects. You can use either an acetate sheet, or a clear patchwork acrylic sheet as a cutting template.

First of all consider 2 things: the range of paper images on your choice of gift wrap the print weight/texture.

Thank of all the possibilities before purchase.

Will you get enough repeat patterns from the gift wrap sheet to provide you with the number of units that you need?

Can you make the most of an overall pattern? (if that's your choice)?

What parts of the design might you take advantage of and use in your project?

Will the paper take a fold crisply?

Is the paper robust enough to take a number of re-folds, if necessary?

How will the addition of a spot of glue affect the paper fibers?

There are a number of things to think through before you dive in and get busy. But time spent in planning, and deciding on your paper choice is well worth it.

Just like the ancient art of Feng Shui, where you know if things are placed right, so the ancient art of paper folding will let you know if you've made the right paper choice.

The right paper will allow you to make the neatest, crispest folds. It allows you to show off your technique and your appreciation of the preparation and folding of your units.

Choose your Christmas teabag folding paper wisely and it will work well for you.