Paper Cutting - Punching

Border Punch Tips - Fiskars Place paper into the punch making sure it slides all the way to the back. Line the edge of the paper up with the grid marks. For a 1/8" margin line the edge of the paper up with the 9th grid mark in from the side. For a 1/4" margin line up the edge of the paper with the 8th grid mark from the side. Each grid mark out from the 9th adds 1/4" inch to the margin. For continuous border use the following pattern. Punch, slide, match, punch, continue until you have punched the entire length desired. To add a margin between punched designs, punch the cardstock, slide the cardstock until the complete design is showing to the side of the punch, then punch again. Repeat until you have punched the entire length desired. When punching a border strip, punch out side, rotate the strip; align the grid mark and punch again. (If you punched the first side starting with the 9th grid in, when you rotate the strip you will start with the 9th grid in on this side also.) Tip - in general you will rotate the border strips to create designs, in rare cases to create a particular design you will turn the border over to punch the other side. There is a mark on the punch housing to indicate the centre of the punch design. This mark is helpful for alignment purposes. Tips - you do not have to glue the entire border down, just dot with enough glue to make sure your border stays in place. Don’t be afraid to turn you punch over, sometimes you need to see what you are doing. Fiskars (Australia) Pty Ltd. has supplied these tips.

Corner Punch Uses The single most important rule when using corner punches is to have a perfectly square corner on your punching media. Working with your corner punch upside down will ensure that the punch is created where you want it. The corner guides can be removed to create a punched edge, it is helpful to draw a guide line on your medium to ensure a proper alignment. Print Blocks Pty Ltd. has supplied these tips.

Paper Chains To create paper chains fold paper in half the long way. Choose the most protruding part of the blade design, realign and consistently cut little bites out of the fold with that part of the blade for a perfect chain. (Using more or less of the blade design will alter the paper chain pattern, making it irregular.) Position blade on the fold so that only part of the fold is cut. Like a snowflake, part of the folded edge has to be left uncut. Cut to the end of the folded strip. Flip paper over and cut parallel to the folded edge. Open up folded paper - Voila - a perfect paper chain, every time! Fiskars (Australia) Pty Ltd. has supplied these tips.

Paper Edger Tips - Fiskars Before beginning on a project, practice cutting on scrap paper. Try cutting various paper weights. Practice cutting curves, angle cuts, straight lines and patterned lines. After making the first cut, realign a point or curve of the Paper Edger blade with a corresponding point or curve of that cut, then make the next snip. This will make the design continuous. Use straight scissors or cut out or trim shapes, then edge with paper edgers. To cut a straight line, draw a line or pattern on the back of the paper, then cut out. Before cutting out intricate shapes or long continuous strips, trim away any excess paper from the project. To cut out an inside area draw cutlines on backside of paper. With straight edged scissors, poke a hole in centre area. Cut to corners. Cut on cutline with paper edgers until excess paper falls away. Paper strips can look very different depending on the Paper Edgers used and the placement of the second cut. Paper Edgers work well with a variety of papers such as heavy stock, wrapping paper, art papers, wallpaper, watercolour paper, construction paper or even grocery sacks. Fiskars (Australia) Pty Ltd. has supplied these tips.

Punch Tips - Fiskars If your paper gets caught in your punch, tap the punch lightly on your work surface to release the paper. Punching a few times through wax paper treats the metal so it cuts more smoothly and reduces sticking. If you punch seems dull, try punching through a piece of aluminum foil or a piece of very fine sandpaper to sharpen the punch. Keep you punches dry to prevent rusting. If the punch won't compress make sure the material you are punching through isn't too thick. Use a ruler to measure spacing for patterns and borders. With a pencil, lightly draw guidelines on the back of your paper to ensure proper punch placement. Place dots where the centre of the punch should be. Check the alignment before punching through the paper. Combine theme related punched shapes. The same punch can look very different just by changing the colours, patterns or textures of the paper used. Layering - by combining and positioning different punch shapes, you can create an endless number of new images. Cutting - by cutting punched shapes, you can combine paper colours and patterns for unique effects or remove extra portions of the punched shapes. Snipping - by snipping into the primary shape with a second punch, much as you would use scissors, you can redefine or create a new punched shape. Adding dimension - by using contrasting paper shades, patterned paper, layering punched shapes or crimping them, you can add depth to your punched shapes. Fiskars (Australia) Pty Ltd. has supplied these tips.