How To .... Punch the edge!

As many of you know I teach at classes and Craft Days and I am often asked for ideas on getting the most out of your stash and how to use various tools and products. In just the last two weeks I've been asked about stamping, heat embossing, using punches, paint dabbers and distressing.

This led to an idea for a new series of blog posts we will be running through 2012. Each month we will highlight a tool, a crafting technique or a particular product and explain how to use it and also show you some samples of projects incorporating some of the ideas!

Now, I know we have a wide variety of readers of this blog, some are very experienced crafters and some who have only just discovered the wonderful hobby of papercrafting. So, I will say now, before we go any further, some of you may read some of the "How to... "posts and discover nothing you didn't already know and that's ok, but for others who may learn something or pick up a new idea or two, we hope you will find these posts useful!

So, first up is .... BORDER PUNCHES!!

I set Design Team member Louise to work on our first "How to ... " blog post using one of my favourite craft tools, the Fiskars bracket border punch and she has created some step by step instructions for using border punches.

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Hi, it's Louise here ...

Punches are most probably my favourite scrapping tool - they are easy to use and small enough to store easily. The table I work on is usually pretty full when working on a project. I make a huge mess and spread right out. If I want to use my die cutting machine, I have to get it out of the cupboard and attempt to clear a space on the table for it, so more often than not I prefer to reach for a punch!

Border punches are straight forward to use, they have guidelines on them making them easy for lining up your paper or card, enabling a continuous line. Lots of craft manufacturers make border punches but two of the most popular are Fiskars and Martha Stewart. There are lots of different designs for creating pretty and interesting borders. Here I show you how I use my new fabulous bracket border punch.

When I buy a new punch I always like to give it a test run on a piece of scrap card before using it on my projects. On the punch you can see the continuous design with the punch section in the middle.....

.....line up your card ready to punch. I always start with the card in the middle of the punch, so I get a nice half design on the edges. You can do this or punch in the middle of the card and work on either side of the design. Ensure the edge of your card is "butted up" against the raised lip on the punch.

.... make your first punch. You may need to press on the lever quite firmly!!

.... next, carefully line up your punched card with the design marker on the base of the punch. You can see the white design lined up with the pattern you've already punched. Again ensure the card is lined up against the raised lip and then punch again.

.... continue lining up your card with the design pattern, and punching.

.... until you have punched the desired length of your cardstock.

Here, in the final photo, I've punched the two edges to show you how gorgeous the design is.

Here's a couple of layouts with punched borders:

For my Pumpkin Carving page, I punched two borders and put them together with the design offset. The punch was also used on the edge of the green paper, right at the very bottom of the page.

 

The Spooky page shows one of the simplest ways to use a punched border - to add interest between two patterns.

Also, don't forget to use your border punches on your cards too!!

Here's a couple of ideas:

On this last card I also used  a couple of regular punches, a scalloped circle and a Martha Stewart butterfly punch.

I hope this has given you a few ideas for border punches!!

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To see more of Louise's work you can visit her blog here!

Don't forget to enter our monthly challenge where the theme is "Happy" and the "added extra" is to use a punch!! One entry picked at random will win a £10 voucher for the S J Crafts shop!