Useful Hints & Tips |

Useful Hints & Tips

Here are just a few hints & tips which I hope you will find handy when using card making punches :

1. New punches can be a little stiff when you first use them - don’t be put off they will loosen up with use.

2. Never hold your punch and paper in mid air when you want to punch - always use the punch on a firm surface.

3. If you are having difficulty with a stiff punch, or the card stock you are using is quite thick, try standing up when punching - this will give you more leverage.

4. If you have used a punch a lot and feel that it is not cutting as cleanly as it should try punching through a piece of aluminium kitchen foil. This should sharpen the punch up for you.

5. If your punch starts to stick then it may need to be lubricated - just try to punch through a piece of wax paper a few times and this should help.

6. If a punch has jammed try tapping it on your work desk to release the mechanism. Just be careful that you don’t whack it down so hard that it damages it, or worse still dents your desk.

7. Never jam your scissors or other crafting tools into the mechanism to try to free a jammed punch - if your hand slips you could cut yourself, if it doesn’t you could damage the punch!

8. Try placing a jammed punch into the freezer of fridge to cool it down. Metal expands in heat and contracts in the cold so this may help free your punch.

9. Know your punching weight! Different punches are capable of punching through different weighted papers. Never try to force a punch through a paper which is too thick for it. If you force the punch down you will break it. Even if it continues to work it may not cut a sharp image ever again.

10. If you’re not sure whether you have placed the punch in the right position on your work turn the punch upside down so you can see the exact placement.

11. Keep any punched out pieces of paper to use as “confetti” to create confetti flowers or for use in aperture cards.

12. Try to keep your punches clean, dry and dust free. This will stop them from rusting and keep them punching crisply.

13. If you start to accumulate a lot of card making punches then make samples from them all and stick them into a pocket sized notebook so them when you go shopping you can see at a glance what you already have, and don’t make the costly mistake of buying a duplicate.

13. Cut out some border edge samples and use these as stencils when inking up your cards.