When making cards or scrapbook pages the quickest and easiest way to cut clean shapes is by using paper punches, these come in different shapes and sizes and the designs can be either complex or very simple.
Paper punches can cut through paper or cardstock that's not too thick, if you try to cut shapes out of very thick card you might break your punch mechanism.
Paper punches allow you to cut not only shapes that you can use as embellishments but also create decorative borders and corners making your cards / scrapbook pages even more special.
Border systems allow you to use your regular shape punches to create decorative borders, the ruler helps you keep an even spacing between the cut out shapes.
Punch art is the art of combining several different punched shapes to create a new different shape. For some examples of punch art, please visit the following sites:
The cards shown below were made using mainly paper punches and I hope they may inspire you when using punches on your craft projects.
Tips
* If you punch out shapes that you end up not using don't throw them away, store them in a box for use in future projects.
* Use your paper punches and thin paper to make confetti that you can use to decorate your table for a special occasion or even on shaker cards.
* Keep a record of your paper punches on a small notebook and take this with you when you go into a craft store so you always know exactly which punches you have. Use paper scraps to punch out shapes and glue them on your notebook pages for a quick visual reference. The photo below shows my paper punch record, it allows me to know which punches I have at a glance.
I will be posting a series of articles on different card making techniques which I hope you'll find useful.
