Hand Punches
Using Your Hand Punches Design your own greeting cards, announcements and place cards. Stuff punched pieces into greeting cards. (This is a nifty surprise for the card receiver). Decorate wrapping paper, tissue paper and gift bags for personalized gift giving. Spice up a scrapbook or photo memory page. Create a handmade picture frame. Place inside clear balloons. Accent rubber stamp projects. Combine theme related punched shapes. The same punch shape can look very different just by changing the colors, patterns or textures of the papers used. Layering – by combining and positioning different punch shapes, you can create an endless number of new images. Adding dimension – by using contrasting paper shades, patterned paper, layering punched shapes or crimping them, you can add depth to your punched shapes. Care If your punch is not punching well, try punching through wax paper and aluminum foil for easy sharp punching. If your paper gets caught in your punch, tap the punch lightly on your work surface to release the paper. Punching a few times through waxed paper treats the metal so that it cuts more smoothly and reduces the sticking. Keep your punches fry to prevent rusting. If your punch won’t compress, make sure the material you are punching through isn’t too thick. If your punch seems dull, try punching through a piece of aluminum foil or a piece of very fine sandpaper to sharpen. Alignment & Placement Use a ruler to measure spacing for patterns and borders. With a pencil, lightly draw guidelines on the back of your paper to ensure proper punch placement. Place dots where the center of each punch should be. Check the alignment before punching through the paper. By
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