Which White?

Vy Tran
30 minutes ago
2 min read

Did you know that Stampin' Up has 2 different white cardstocks? Basic White has been the standby since 2021, and White Willow was added in 2024 when they integrated products from the Close to My Heart company that closed (Stampin' Up colors all have names with alliteration, so White Daisy was renamed to White Willow). I've been working with these colors over the last year and I keep both! They're also both represented in my cardstock swatch deck. Here's a quick comparison:

Both are ultra-smooth, making them great surfaces for accepting ink for stamping and coloring. They're also both acid- and lignin-free to keep your creations safe. They are perfect for general use and make wonderful layers on your projects.

Basic White has a warmer tone. It is available in an 8-1/2" x 11" size in both a standard and a heavier weight version called Thick, and the Thick also comes in a larger 12" x 12" size. I use Basic White Thick whenever I need a white cardbase, and when I do, I choose the standard weight of Basic White for all the layers, die cuts, and sentiment labels on the card so everything matches perfectly.

White Willow has a cooler tone. It comes in a 12" x 12" size and feels just a touch less heavy me. These features make it perfect for scrapbooking and for creating larger projects such as 3-D items and some fun folds that require a little extra width/length. I also find that this brighter cardstock is a better match for Paper Pumpkin cardbases, so this is often what I use when I add extra cardstock to make Paper Pumpkin alternatives. Because it feels slightly lighter and more flexible, it's also useful for hidden pop-up mechanisms.

When I use a colored cardbase, I typically add a white layer on the inside for the message panel. Because my cards are usually 4-1/4" x 5-1/2", the inside white layer is often 4" x 5-1/2". Below are the cutting diagrams for standard Basic White (left) and White Willow (right). Cutting this from the 12" x 12" White Willow is a tiny bit cheaper (but only by less than 1 cent) and leaves me with a more usable leftover scrap.

Sometimes, though, I like to make the white layer smaller, at only 3-1/2" x 4-3/4". In this case, cutting it from Basic White (on the left) is wonderful and more economical because there's minimal waste.