Punches

[Tanneb]

I bought several little punches and a Punch-ins stamp a few weeks ago and am now trying it out. I've never done Punch-ins before so I'm pretty excited. The trouble is that one of the little stamps, a balloon about half the size of a dime, doesn't punch cleanly. The little edges of the punched piece are a bit ragged. So before assembling I have to trim each one (16 for each card). I tried punching foil and then wax paper to sharpen it, but there's been no improvement. It won't even punch thru the wax paper.

Does anyone know of any other sharpening techniques I could try?

You could try a fine-grit sandpaper. Also, if the wax paper doesn't work, rub some beeswax on a piece of paper, and then punch through that. You can also try punching through a thicker piece of paper, or several layers of thinner paper, if you are getting ragged edges, because this seems to result in a cleaner cut.

Have you seen the new Paper Garden book by the same author of Punch Ins? I'm interested in finding out if it's worth getting.

[Palapala]

The only thing I can recommend is using Heavy Duty foil, it does make a difference. Otherwise, I think it may be defective and needs to be returned:(

Sorry that I can't be more helpful.

[GarnetJ]

Barbara... thanks for the tip on the heavy duty foil. I have several rather old punches. I'll try that.

[Tanneb]

Cre8nart - Now that you mention it I have heard that trick with the sandpaper before! I'll give that a shot and try more layers of paper when punching. Hopefully that'll do the trick!

Thanks for the tip on heavy duty foil Barabara, that's next in line to try if the sandpaper doesn't work.

Would hate for this $3.50 punch to be defective and drive 45 minutes to return/exchange it!

[RidiculouslyAddicted]

Not to hijack or anything, but what's a punch-in?

[SilverDragoness]

But I believe a punch in is a stamp that you use and then you use normal punches and glue them in to make it look like a flower. My mom owns a couple of the stamps and it's quite fun.

[sparksdm]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RidiculouslyAddicted

Not to hijack or anything, but what's a punch-in?

Here's a website you can check out
http://www.makeanimpression.net/howto/punchins

[Tanneb]

I just posted a pic of the Punch In card I made.

Gallery at Splitcoaststampers

Unfortunately I think my punch is defective. The only thing I haven't tried is beeswax as I don't have any. It does help to punch it thru two layers of paper though my thumb is pretty bruised now! Just looking at the blades of the punch I can see what's causing the tearing so I think I'll be returning it. I had to trim most of the petals (balloons really!) to make the card in the above sample.

Thanks for all the tips!

[Sereikastamper]

Well that is a bummer because your card is beautiful!

[stampmouse]

here is a picture of a lilac punch in

Gallery at Splitcoaststampers

they are a lot of fun. but take some patience.

[jandj8112000]

I have had problems in the past when using
punches and SU paper. SU paper is heavier,
and alot of times I would get the ragged edge.
When I tried to return a punch at Archivers,
the sales clerk used their cardstock and the
punch I was returning and it made a clean cut.
That was when I realized it was the paper. I
don't know if this helps, but try some different
cardstock before you return it if you're using SU
paper.

[Tanneb]

but no such luck! The punch doesn't seem to care what kind of paper or cardstock I use. I still haven't tried the beeswax, but if I get some before I go to Issaquah (where I bought it) again I'll try it out and see if it helps.