- Fiskars Craft

Interchangeable Border Punch Papercrafting Projects

Designer: Lisa Storms

Difficulty rating: Beginner

The new interchangeable border punch from Fiskars allows you to easily switch between different designs.

The individual cartridges stack neatly for compact storage!

To insert a new design into the interchangeable border punch, begin by pulling out the folded tabs from the bottom of the cartridge. Insert into main punch and click side tabs down to secure.

Now the border punch works the same as always. Insert a straight edge of cardstock and press down on top lever to punch design. Slide punched design down to line up with printed design on punch and punch again. Repeat for as long as you want a continuous punched border.

Border punches are great for adding an intricate design quickly and easily. It adds a lot of impact with minimal effort. A punched border is beautiful along the edge of a card or on a scrapbook page, but don’t forget to think outside of the box. Think of any crafting you do that uses cardstock with straight edges and imagine how much of a difference it would make to have a punched design. You can take something regular and kick it up a notch!

Here is an example. I transformed a basic decoration or ornament made from paper strips into something extra special.

It is easy to do! Just use punched strips the same as you would regular strips. For these examples, I either punched both sides of strip or just once depending on the design. Cut at least five strips per ornament and cut the center strip the desired length of finished project. The strips get longer as you go toward the edge. The measurements for my ornaments were 6 inches at center, 6.5 inches for middle strips, and 7.5 inches for outside strips. Gather strips together in order and staple at one end. Bend the other ends to meet together and staple to secure. Punch a 1/16 inch circle hand punch at top to hang.

Another example of turning up the style of a standard decorative element can be found in my Mother’s Day Brunch article found here . I simply border punched the edges of my paper before accordion folding.

Again, this book page wreath was taken to the next level by first border punching the pages. It adds amazing detail and texture.

Think of other basic projects you would like to do that can be taken to the next level by simply adding a punched border. You can add a wow factor with the new interchangeable border punch!

For further crafty inspiration make sure you drop by http://www2.fiskars.com/Activities/Crafting