Punch cards

High on my wish list of future purchases is a Martha Stewart border punch. Well, okay, several Martha Stewart border punches. Their attraction for me lies in the crispness and fine detail which most other brands struggle to emulate. Unfortunately, they seem very difficult to get hold of here in the UK, and they are very expensive to order direct from the USA. So until such time as I can find a supplier who isn't going to want a month's wages for one, I thought I'd see whether I could get a similar effect with punches I already have.

All the punches I used are corner punches. The flower one is by Dovecraft, and it comes with removable corner guides, so it is easy to make borders with it also. The other two I have had for a long time and neither has a maker's name on it. The corner guides on these two were fixed, but it is possible to remove such guides by carefully inserting a thin object (I used a metal nail file) and gently pushing them out. I was then able to make borders with them.

The first card uses a background paper by
Crafty Individuals, who also make the flower stamp. The quote is from Penny Black. Each daisy on the label is made from two tiny punched flowers stuck together with the petals offset. I then tinted the tips of the petals with Distress ink. A jewel forms the centre. The label is one of the Spellbinders Ribbon Tags Trio, from Once Upon A Stamp.



The second card also uses stamps from Crafty Individuals, except for the background lettering, which is by Judikins.





I made a background (seen behind the punched border) for the third card by sponging Distress inks on to shiny card and then lifting off some of the colour by dabbing it with a babywipe. The embossing above the border is the Cuttlebug Swiss Dots folder. Above that is a butterfly background paper from PDA Cards and Crafts. The flowers, by Craftwork Cards, are stamped on to a Nestabilities Large Label, again from Once Upon A Stamp. I coloured the label using Distress ink and a brayer. This had the effect of leaving a thin white border around the embossed part of the panel. A ribbon to hide the join and a couple of punched butterflies added the finishing touches.

They may not be Martha Stewart, but I wasn't too unhappy with the results. (Still saving up for a genuine MS though!)

Probably the worst card I've ever made....

The cards with freebie papers went down well at my class on Wednesday. I took along some sketches & papers, and some of the ladies had brought their own papers, and they made some great cards. However, Brenda had some papers she couldn't think what to do with, and she challenged me to see what I could make with them. Well, red rag to a bull, and all that. Or, in this case, strawberry red, lime green, orange and acid yellow. In a strange mixture of fruits, butterflies and patterns which didn't really seem to co-ordinate with each other. I almost had to put my sunglasses on to look at them.

Anyway, I thought, I'll have a go. The first one doesn't look too bad, I suppose, if you like that sort of thing. Other than the base card, a peel-off border and a Craftwork Cards greeting, I only used the free papers.



I had just bought a new Dovecraft punch which I was dying to try out, so I put it to use for the second card. I was at first totally uninspired by the paper with spots on, until I had the idea of turning a few of them into a flower to go with the border. I drew around the spots to make them stand out. One of the other patterns was a leaf print, so I cut out a couple of leaves and a stalk. Another had the butterflies all over it, so I cut out a few of those too. A Craftwork Cards button greeting for the flower centre finished it off.

I think this is probably the worst card I have ever made! I can't imagine sending it to anyone.

On the other hand, it's Brenda's birthday in May......... ;-)