<![CDATA[Stamp School! Playing with Punches & Prima Water Soluble Oil Pastels!]]>Howdy friends! Today we are going to talk about the power of a paper punch! These are workhorses of any stampers studio and if you buy wisely you can end up with a ton of looks from just a few versatile punches.

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I have to admit, I don’t have a ton of punches and the ones I use the most are basic: Circles, scalloped circles, flowers, tags and generic design elements like this mosaic punch (that I just got in the mail today and I think will b a new favorite-prepare to be sick of me using this LOL!) and labels.

Watch this video to learn more about punches and see how I made this card in real-time!

Supplies:

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Reasons why punches are handy:

  1. All in one tool, no die cut machine to fuss with.
  2. Quick, cute shape, no cutting!
  3. Versatile: Google “punch art” to see really creative ideas of embellishments you can make with basic shapes, you will animals, Sesame Street characters, minions and more made from basic shape punches!
  4. You can make use of small scraps of paper that otherwise might be thrown away.
  5. Portability: It is easier to grab a few punches to take to a crop instead of a machine and dies.

Punch Tips!

  1. Choose basic designs to start, a circle or oval will be more useful than a balloon shape BUT you can easily make a balloon from a circle or oval!
  2. The more detailed the design (like a lacy corner) the more limited you will be with materials it will cut. Die cuts are generally better for really intricate designs.
  3. If a punch sticks you can put it in the freezer and it will usually pop back. You can clean and sharpen punches by punching through aluminum foil and use WD40 or another light oil to lubricate them if they stick, just punch through scrap paper until no grease remains.
  4. Make sure to buy the designs you will use the most from a quality brand but it is OK to get the $1 novelty ones you are only likely to use a few times too. 🙂

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I hope you enjoyed this project and if you have punches you give it a try! You can always trace stencils or use die cuts to get the look that I have here. The most important thing is to use what you have! Thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!

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