Find ideas, instructions and materials used to make a variety of paper-craft projects using Stampin' Up! products. As an independent Stampin' Up! demonstrator in New Zealand I love to share my passion for creating things with paper including cards, boxes, gifts and decorations. I find that making things is a fun and relaxing past-time which relieves stress and gives me a purpose to be active every day. If you have any questions or want to learn more about Stampin' Up! feel free to contact me.
Stampin' Up! punches are well made and heavy compared to other companies but that is only one of the many features of these fabulous products. There is so much to say about these punches that I have made three short videos to explain everything and I have included them throughout this blog post.
My Stampin' Up! Punches Stacked
All the punches have a locking mechanism which allows them to be locked in the closed position for easy transportation and storage. You simply slide the dark grey lock towards the punch hole to unlock, which allows it to open up for use. To lock the punch, just hold it closed and slide the grey plastic towards the front of the punch. This keeps it flat so you can store the punch stacked on a shelf or in a drawer.
The shapes and sizes of some punches -- the two on the far left are unlocked and the rest are locked and stacked.
The image on the top of each punch shows the actual size of the item that will be created when you use the punch. The front, angled edge of the punch has a small picture of the image as well, so you can easily find the punch when they are stacked.
When I first get a new punch I use it on some cardstock so I can test how it works. I am then left with a template which is very useful when designing my projects.
Punch templates are handy when designing a project as you can use them to choose the correct size for your sentiments.
I can place the template over my cardstock to see how the image will fit my project. I can also use the templates to determine which size label punch will fit the sentiments I want to use.
Some cards and papercraft projects with the punches I used to make them.
The templates are also very useful when using a punch that has more than one image. Place the stamps on top of the cutout sections of the template (the negative space) to arrange them so they will perfectly fit in the punch after you have stamped the cardstock.
I show you how to do this with the Hot Air Balloon punch in this video.
Stampin' Up! punches are strong and durable but sometimes they do get dull with a lot of use. You can sharpen them easily by punching some aluminium as shown in my next video.
You can use the image you have leftover after sharpening to make some interesting projects. Here I have made some flowers with the daisy and leaf punches. I just attached the metal images to some green wire and gently shaped the flowers with a bone folder and my fingers.
Some little metal flowers and leaves made from aluminium cans, wire and buttons.
I hope you've learnt some things about using punches from this post and my videos. Punches are great tools for enhancing your cards and to complement your projects!
When I was a Brownie Leader, about 15 years ago, I used to print the Brownie promise, song and Girl Guiding rules onto a piece of paper and then with a bit of folding and one little cut I turned it into a mini booklet for the girls. I decided to revisit this idea and create mini booklets with Stampin' Up! products.
I started with an A4 sheet of Whisper White cardstock and scored it in the middle at 10.5 cm (4-1/8") and turned the page 90° to scored it again at 7.425 cm (2-7/8"), 14.85 cm (5-7/8") and 22.275 cm (8-3/4"). I folded it down the middle both ways and then folded each narrow end in towards the middle. I cut the centre scoreline (10.5 cm line) down to the outer fold lines. I then folded the paper on the 10.5 cm middle fold and holding each end, pushed the sides in to create a little booklet.
Sample of cutting and folding using a piece of printer paper
I used a piece of printer paper as a sample to create my design placement. If you are going to stamp on each section you need to do it while the cardstock is flat, before you put the booklet together. Other embellishments can be added when the booklet is folded up.
For my first booklet I used the Beautiful You Cling-Mount Stamps, the Under My Umbrella Photopolymer Stamps and the Umbrella Builder Punch.
Pages 1 and 2 of Umbrella booklet
The designer series paper I used was only available during Sale-A-Bration and the designs matched the Umbrella Builder Punch. I fussy cut the stamped flower images after colouring them with Stampin' Blends.
Pages 3 and 4 of Umbrella booklet
I used a bit of Balmy Blue cardstock and coloured in the stamped images with Tuxedo Black Memento Ink before colouring them in with Stampin' Blends using colours from the umbrella designer series paper.
Pages 5 and 6 of Umbrella booklet
On page five I sponged a bit of Daffodil Delight ink in a circle to create a little sun peeking out of the Balmy Blue cardstock which was die cut using the Stitched So Sweetly Dies.
In my video I show you how to make a mini booklet using Painted Poppies Cling Stamps, Peaceful Moments Cling Stamps, Painted Labels Dies, and Poppy Moments Dies.
Pages 1 and 2 of Poppy booklet
I stamped the images using Tuxedo Black Memento Ink and decorated them with Poppy Parade and Old Olive colours.
Pages 3 and 4 of Poppy booklet
For the die cut flower I used Rich Razzleberry ink, stamping several times to get subtle colour changes in order to match the designer series paper peeking out of the floral die cut from the Poppy Moments Dies.
Pages 5 and 6 of Poppy booklet
I used one of the Peaceful Poppies Elements along with some die cut images from the Painted Labels Dies to decorate the final two pages. To get the black ribbon I coloured a length of Whisper White 1/4" (6.4 Mm) Crinkled Seam Binding Ribbon with the brush end of a Basic Black Dark Stampin' Blends pen.
In my video I show you lots of tips for partial image stamping as well as how to colour embellishments with a Dark Basic Black Stampin' Blend pen.
I hope you liked my little project and make your own little booklet to share with someone special!
