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Hi, I have a purging question and need some advice:
I have several drawers full of punches and am considering getting rid of a bunch (maybe all?)-- I'm wondering if anyone else has or seriously downsized to only a few. I have mostly edge/corner, shapes, decorative and floral punches. I also have a ton of thin dies, which I use far more frequently. I think I can downsize the floral punches, as I may have similar dies. I also own a Scanncut. I have only a few edge dies, so not sure about getting rid of all my edge and corner punches yet.
Has anyone successfully replaced all their punch shapes with dies? How about edge/corner punches?
I've given away or donated all my corner punches, all but 3 shape punches, and any border punches that I have dies that are similar. I still have quite a few edge punches and small circle and square punches. It's just easier to punch a 1/2 or 3/4 inch circle from a punch than to pull out all the circle dies!
Oh, I am so grateful for this thread. I need help with this too. I think this has been the hardest part of my room to destash. I want to update it not mess up by getting rid of something that is needed.
I got rid of a lot of my border punches. I got rid of the ones that hurt my hand. I kept two border punches. I kept my corner punches. I use them all the time. I kept all my circle and scalloped circle punches. I kept my confetti punches. I do dollhouse miniatures.
I am on the thin rule die kick too. I would love to be able to replace all my punches with thin rule dies. I am wondering if it is possible. What is the good balance for this.
Punches are a storage hassle, but sometimes it's just so much easier to use a punch than get out a die or work with your SNC machine. And there are some punches for which there aren't any die equivalents, or not ones you like as well.
It's like the Scan N Cut. Many thought that buying one would mean they would never have to buy dies again, but that's not been my experience. I still buy dies. And punches. Just maybe different ones than I would have before.
Just my opinion, of course! Destashing is so personal. All you can do is listen to a lot of people give you their take and pick and choose what makes sense to you from it all. ;)!
__________________ I have come to the conclusion that buying craft supplies and actually using them are two separate hobbies. RachelRose Designs by Robin... GALLERY
Keep the ones you use often. I just did a major purge of punches, but still have a lot. I do have lots of dies too. The dies are so much easier to store, but sometimes grabbing a punch is so much faster. Can you put them aside in a box for a bit and see how many times you reach for them. If after a certain time period you haven't used them, then you can probably get rid of them!
__________________ Pia 2024 Scrapbook goals April 16/10 layouts YTD 91/120 Check out my gallery
Thanks Rachelrose! Great points. It's true, the SNC just stopped me from buying matching dies to stamps.
I am wondering if someone had the idea of punching out a frame of corner/border punches, scanning that into the SNC and resizing as needed. It's another step, but the saving of space may be worthwhile.
Also, was wondering if others found close copies of their punches with certain manufacturers.
Thanks to all for their thoughts. There is much to consider between design, storage and convenience.
I like my punches, got rid of some, but never had scads. But my punches have to earn their keep and stay within their assigned space. If they outgrew it, one or more would have to find another home.
I'm a big die cutting fan, but sometimes grabbing a punch is faster/more efficient. I just punched both ends of 27 strips of paper. I would not have wanted to crank my die cutting machine 54 times, but punching while watching a video on my tablet was easy.
Friends and I were recently discussing how much we like punches!
Granted....our discussion was more about the SU "Builder" punches (like their Bird Builder, Fox Builder etc)
I definitely have a huge preference for dies, and continue to build on my collection of those, but some punches are "keepers".
I have divested just about all of my border and corner punches . I've kept a few floral themed punches but managed to get my storage needs cut in half.
For me it boils down to the subject matter of the punch. They are still be a valuable tool.
Gdoreen- I know a lot of girls with the e-cutters have scanned and cut their images.
Most of the punches are generic copyright free designs so there are definitely SVG's on the market for them. Silhouette Studio has a lot of the crafting companies in their store. They are selling SVG's of their files now. They cost fifty cents more than the normal files. You could download Silhouette Studio and purchase some of your favorite punches. I decluttered two punches that I did love but killed my hand when I used them. I bought the files instead. It was worth the ninety-nine cents, lol. I think they run $1.50 without the sales.
Cricut has the Martha Stewart punches. They don't sell SVG's. I am throwing that one out there for those who have an Explore or want to buy the Martha cartridges for their older machines.
Most of my punches are basic shapes like circles, squares in incremental sizes. 1 inch, 1 1/4 inch, etc.
However...both punches and cranking a big shot have physical aspects to them. It might be easier for some to just lean on a punch if they have arthritis than to grasp and crank.
I keep 2-3 basic rounding corners on my desk all the time-they are little.
Punches dont care what size panel you are rounding. Dies can give you terrific layer sizes.
Punches are portable for play date parties/crops. Possibly easier for classes.
Maybe if you think about how you work, and what you like to do...big panels with a contrast layer under it? Quick punch out of a leafy branch for a wreath?
Why have die and punch of same shape?
Each may cut some materials easier than the other.
You can place a die anywhere you want it on a card whereas punches can only reach so far.
If I need 6 circles I would rather punch than die cut them. Way faster to me. Also if I want different colors. Way easier.
Big tell: Have you used it in the past 2 years? If not, then..... Try using them. Is it hard to now? It might answer the question for you.
Hope this helps. Not news but sometimes seeing it helps organize your thoughts
wavejumper- That is such a helpful post. Thank you. I can't even tell you how much that helped and inspired me. I am not a layer girl. I tend to reach for my punches more than my dies. If I do layer I prefer using my e-cutters.
Everyone is like "Get rid of your punches, dies are the way to go now." I keep asking why. Nobody can answer me. I get that shoulder thing with "I don't know." "You don't know!" "Why don't you know!" "I need these answers!" LOL. This die/punch thing has been a frustrating journey for me. I actually love my e-cutters and then use a punch for a finishing touch.
I am so glad that Gdoreen brought this subject up.
I've actually been thinking of buying some new punches. I love love love my diecutting machine and my SNC, but punches are so easy.
wavejumper, that was a great post.
__________________ I have come to the conclusion that buying craft supplies and actually using them are two separate hobbies. RachelRose Designs by Robin... GALLERY
Punches are quick and easy. Especially when I want to take a munch out of a certain piece of pattern paper.
I have a silhouette and a Big Shot with two sets of nesting circle dies. But when I want a 3/4 inch circle or 1/2 circle, I use a punch. It's quick fast and easy .
I also love my border punches. I have borders I have purchased for my Silhouette but I would never get rid of my border punches. I actually want more border punches.
I am not downsizing anymore, unless what I have causes ME stress.
This is my hobby and I love it and i still maintain that it is cheaper than therapy, drugs or cognac. (My husband questions that statement)
So my advice. Keep the punches that you love and are easy to use. If it's broken, difficult to use or just not getting used ditch it.
I keep looking at my dishpan of punches, thinking, "I should probably move some of these out." But I greatly prefer using border punches to using the border dies I had, so I got rid of the dies instead. I could stand to probably move out a few borders, but they're all different enough that I have a hard time chosing, so they stay. I did get rid of my fancy corner punches, because they were too hard to line up right, and ususally looked bad, when I tried them. I'll reassess the border collection again soon.
Did anyone say anything about storage room for the bulky and HEAVY punches. I tried keeping them on a shelf and they buckled it, I tried storing them in a drawer and I can hardly open it. All the new technology kind of out-dates them. I'm pretty sure they are getting legs and moving to a storage closet for me.
I purged most of my punches and some dies about a year ago too. Since I have the Cricut Explore Air, I made a sample of each punch, scanned it and converted it to an SVG file and uploaded it to my Cricut. It cleared out a lot in my craft room and the Cricut is so much easier to transport than all the punches. I did the same with a few of my dies as well. The nice thing about it is that now I can make them any size I want.
I did not purge any that I still had matching stamp sets fir and I also kept the circles, squares and ovals as sometimes I just need one or two and don�t want to pull out machine. I also kept my edge punches as I felt those wouldn�t scan and cut as well as punching by hand and I also kept the mini punches as they are too small to get a good image of to upload.
Excellent advice from everyone. I use both, punches and die cuts. For Me punches take less time to use.
I have donated what I don’t use or never will.
As far as needed space, I have done the following.
Using the desk computer, I have made 2 lists using publisher or excell.
Made columns, with name, icon, manufacturer. By shrinking the icon a little bit larger than thumbnail I can have 20-25 per page. Individual preference as needed.
The icons are easy to locate then copy and paste. I print and tape the lists at the craft room door. Easiest access and quick reference to my supplies. Avoid most of the clatter this way.
I pack them in storage boxes and stack them on a shelf.
I craft for pleasure and the system works for me.
For the ladies that are in business it might not work.
Example
__________________ Irene I have learned one thing from our ancient Greek ancestors- PAN METRON ARISTON- "Nothing In Excess"
without reading what everyone else has suggested, I would keep basic shapes in the hand held punches. reason being, you may decide you want to make jewelry. basic shapes are fantastic for that. i punch several layers of a cracker box or something thin enough that the punch can cut and glue those layers together and then you have a base for a piece of jewelry. Necklaces, earrings, bracelets...you name it. if i buy any punches these days, it's with that in mind. hope that helps. hugs, patty
I found this interesting...I always struggled with the fact that many border punches would only work with very light cardstock, so for borders I much prefer dies. I like the fact that we all have our own takes on what works best for us, there's no universal answer.
But my basic shapes, leaves, butterflies and flower punches; they're not going anywhere, they still get plenty of use.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kendel
I keep looking at my dishpan of punches, thinking, "I should probably move some of these out." But I greatly prefer using border punches to using the border dies I had, so I got rid of the dies instead. I could stand to probably move out a few borders, but they're all different enough that I have a hard time chosing, so they stay. I did get rid of my fancy corner punches, because they were too hard to line up right, and ususally looked bad, when I tried them. I'll reassess the border collection again soon.
I love my punches! Got a Silhouette-SD years ago and hardly use it as I am not too computer savvy. I store mine in tray boxes (I got from Costco) in the metal cubes with added shelves.
Click on image to see larger picture.
The white ribbon are handle pulls. The boxes are pretty heavy and I didn't want to tear the side of the boxes pulling on them all the time. This ribbon acts to pull the box from the back side.
I am starting to collect and use metal dies too.
Barb
Last edited by Cre8ive Mind; 12-13-2017 at 08:36 AM..
There was a time that I had to have every shape and size they made in the way of punches. I can't even count the number of Martha Stewart punches that I had and still have.Well now I feel the same way about dies and my punches have been neglected for years, some never even used! The solution for me, and believe me it wasn't easy, was to donate most of them to an adult special needs school in our town. After the holidays I plan on purging some more sadly neglected craft items like rubber stamps, paper, and tons more craft items I no longer use. Part of me still wanted to keep all the items but the day we made our first drop off the facility was so excited over all the craft goodies that I am now encouraged to purge, purge, purge.
Did anyone say anything about storage room for the bulky and HEAVY punches. I tried keeping them on a shelf and they buckled it, I tried storing them in a drawer and I can hardly open it. All the new technology kind of out-dates them. I'm pretty sure they are getting legs and moving to a storage closet for me.
I craft in a spare room and store my punches in a hanging shoe storage bag that hangs over the door. This way they're convenient and not taking up shelf space. Here's one on amazon but they're available at so many places (walmart, TJ Maxx, etc.) and can often be found with different pocket sizes.
So my advice. Keep the punches that you love and are easy to use. If it's broken, difficult to use or just not getting used ditch it.
I love that advice. Thank you. I ditched all the punches that were hard to use and the ones that were on their final lifespan.
This thread really helped me because I do see myself more as a punch girl.
I was reading RubberStampMadness. This lady in one of the articles wrote she is a simple stamper. She stamps and adds a punch and she is done. Her cards didn't look simple to me. I really saw myself in that. Between this thread and her sage advice has helped me with a good balance.
Dies- I just packed away all my steel rule dies. I am still going back and fourth about my thin rule dies. I just don't really use them but I do see my art changing substantially this year and incorporating more die cuts.
Cre8iveMind- I LOVE YOUR STORAGE!!!! Ooooh, dream alert!
Sorry, I am one who loves most all that I buy. I have a hard time parting with my stamping supplies. I find if you do a lot of volume, that a punch is much faster than a die to use. I belong to a card club, (an awesome group of over 25 stampers) and when making a label for a card, it's a real time saver to punch over the die cutting. I say that most people get rid of punches due to the storage issue. My son built me a punch rack that fits behind the door (wall mounted though) that holds all my punches. That space wouldn't be used for anything other than the punch rack. I love love love it. They aren't taking up space that would be used by anything else. SO I AM KEEPING THEM ALL! LOL
I have all my punches. Truthfully there a few that I definitely don't need anymore and thanks to this thread, in the new year, I will purge those and donate them to my friend's granddaughter's school. I will keep all my edging punches and corners as I am also a scrapbooker and work with 12 x 12 layouts and they always come in handy for dressing up a layout. Dies just don't work in this case. I keep my punches in a rolling plastic drawer unit that has 7 or 8 drawers and it works fine for me. Except if truth be told my bottom drawer doesn't open to easy any more, but with my purge I will be able to rearrange my punches and the problem should be solved!
I would love to find dies & digital cutting files to replace all of my punches. I have 2 different digitals cutters and a big shot and no idea why I can't bring myself to get rid of the 2 or 3 drawers full of punches that take up so dang much space!
__________________ Suzanne "Wear fabulous underwear even if you are the only person that is going to see it"
Everyone is like "Get rid of your punches, dies are the way to go now." I keep asking why. Nobody can answer me.
Which is exactly why we have to keep what works best for US imho. A lot of people liking a product is great research if you want to get it...but what you KEEP...that we need to decide ourselves. If you are using it-who cares what everyone is doing? You keep truckin'!
Storage: I have them in a plastic box on top of my 2 drawer file cabinet. Before I was strong enough to pick the box up off the floor but no more.
Sorry, I am one who loves most all that I buy. I have a hard time parting with my stamping supplies. I find if you do a lot of volume, that a punch is much faster than a die to use. I belong to a card club, (an awesome group of over 25 stampers) and when making a label for a card, it's a real time saver to punch over the die cutting. I say that most people get rid of punches due to the storage issue. My son built me a punch rack that fits behind the door (wall mounted though) that holds all my punches. That space wouldn't be used for anything other than the punch rack. I love love love it. They aren't taking up space that would be used by anything else. SO I AM KEEPING THEM ALL! LOL
This idea seems like a good idea. Could you post a picture of your punch rack? thanks so much.
I have only a few punches, but I didn't start with too many, either. I wish I could find dies for all my punches, but I can't. I have replaced all that I can, but I have a few border punches (can anyone suggest a good source for nice border dies?) Most of my punches are old and hard to use so, I got rid of them. I use them so seldom, but sometimes a butterfly or a snowflake is just the touch that is needed. I really enjoy fussy cutting, so don't need any dies/punches for that---just for rounded symmetrical forms. Would love to get rid of all my punches, but as long as they fit in their one designated drawer, I will keep them if I can use them easily and do.
jeanne3579- This is my problem too with punches is that I have a massive love of fussy cutting. I am looking for punches that enhance my fussy cutting. I am so glad you wrote about fussy cutting. I definitely see that all of us seem to lean towards a paper punch personality. That is great. I think us fussy cutter's are a bit more frustrated, since this is not a tool that we use very often.
I have been looking for a good source for border punches too. The only ones I have been able to find are Spellbinder's. They are nice but a little too fussy for what I want. I do have one though. I am more looking for Martha Stewart type borders. I have asked over here and a different forum. Consensus seems to be there is not a big market for border dies.
[QUOTE=wavejumper;21584821]Everyone is like "Get rid of your punches, dies are the way to go now." I keep asking why. Nobody can answer me.
Which is exactly why we have to keep what works best for US imho. A lot of people liking a product is great research if you want to get it...but what you KEEP...that we need to decide ourselves. If you are using it-who cares what everyone is doing? You keep truckin'!
Wavejumper: you are right, each person should do what is best for them. I mean no judgment or to convince others to follow trends over usefulness. To answer your good question (which anyone should consider before purging), my reasoning for purging punches was about storage and because I tend not to use them. I want to consolidate my crafting supplies to take up less room. I'm considering downsizing from a dedicated craft room/office to a few shelf units and maybe a bar top and cart. Last time I moved (from an apartment to a house 4 years ago) I wanted to get rid of half of what I owned and instead bought tons more. I also find that my creative MOJO is stifled by the horde.
I collected almost every flower punch I could find, but then I bought a ton of dies with similar shapes, or ones that create a similar flower, (Heartfelt Creations, Susan's garden, Crafters Companion/Sheena) etc. and that started me on this journey. I realized that I have a ton of border punches (Martha Stewart) and expensive corner/border systems (Kreations), when I have tons of dies that accomplish similar things (although not exactly) in a quarter of the space.
It's also true that for basic shapes or multiples, punches are the way to go. I think it depends on one's craft style, output and storage/space needs.
I have only a few punches, but I didn't start with too many, either. I wish I could find dies for all my punches, but I can't. I have replaced all that I can, but I have a few border punches (can anyone suggest a good source for nice border dies?) Most of my punches are old and hard to use so, I got rid of them. I use them so seldom, but sometimes a butterfly or a snowflake is just the touch that is needed. I really enjoy fussy cutting, so don't need any dies/punches for that---just for rounded symmetrical forms. Would love to get rid of all my punches, but as long as they fit in their one designated drawer, I will keep them if I can use them easily and do.
Not sure which border punches you want to replace but here are a bunch maybe there is something that will work:
Suzanne, Thank you so much for the links. I found two sets I really like. I'm looking for rather basic ones as well as some lacy ones. I'm sure I won't find the exact one's, but close enough. Have some old Fiskars ones and 2 MS for borders. The rest are mostly things like snowflakes, butterflies, dragonflies and flowers. I do have some designs, but use them so seldom, or never, I may just get rid of them. Thanks again.
Jeanne
Anyone destashed their punches?
