Technique Tuesday with Karen Grunberg

A Love Affair with Punches

I've always had a love affair with punches but recently, it's become even more so. The great thing about punches is that they are a quick source of unlimited embellishments. They can be pricey but it's a one-time cost for something that can be used over and over again. I tend to buy punches that aren't themey and this way I can use them all year round and I never get sick of them.

Here's a recent layout I made that only uses 4 border punches and 1 heart punch (it's a punch that has 3 hearts on it. I used nothing but cardstock, patterned paper, and alphabets on this layout. No embellishments.

Here's another example which uses one border punch and a butterfly one. Again, no bought embellishments.

In this layout, I used my border punches to create a background for my photo.

And here I just layered a bunch of them to create texture and interest.

And, finally, in this layout using the June kit, I made a frame using several border punches.

If you have even one single border punch, I recommend trying to play with it this week. Create a background or a frame or just a piece of patterned paper on the corner of your layout. You'll be amazed at how many different things you can do even with just one punch. You are warned, though, it's completely addictive.