Scrapbook Punches

Written and Created by PaperCraftCentral Susan

Scrapbook punches can help you create some amazing effects. The shapes they produce are precise, uniform, and just like little building blocks to me.

"Humility is to make a right estimate of one's self;
it is no humility for a man to think less of himself than he ought,
though it might rather puzzle him to do that."
~Charles Haddon Spurgeon

Jigsaw Puzzle Scrapbook Punches

I need to give lots of thanks to my friend Vanessa for generously allowing me to photograph this page from her albums to show how a jigsaw punch can be used.

Vanessa used her shaping tool to cut an entire photo in pieces, then re-assembled the picture leaving some of the pieces loose.

Doesn't the texture of the water look great when the picture is put together in pieces like this? And the placement of the loose pieces makes me focus more on the figures in the photo.

I really like how Vanessa then cut some more puzzle pieces and assembled them into a title bar at the bottom of the page. That's a clever echo of her photo technique for me.

It makes me think that the person in the photo is thinking about a problem, or about what she will become in the future. Puzzle pieces always make me think of solving them. I think life is like that so often, when we are faced with decisions and stages that are new to us.

Puzzle pieces could therefore be used to create moods, to show how a person solved an issue in their life, or just to be playful and fun.

If you have a friend or relative who likes to complete jigsaw puzzles, how appropriate would this punch be for a layout about them!

If you like this effect too, did you know that you don't actually need a jigsaw tool to create it? Of course, having a jigsaw punch will make the project a lot easier, but if you are good at drawing random puzzle pieces or if you have an actual jigsaw puzzle itself, use the pieces to trace around on the the back of your elements with a pencil, then carefully cut them out with your Paper Snips or a sharp scalpel tool on a self healing cutting mat.

A glass mat like this would also be an ideal surface for cutting around shapes.

I can imagine using this particular puzzle shape on a handmade greeting card. It would make a great themed shape for an adult who likes to work out puzzles, or for a child who enjoys them.

Change the cardstock or designer series paper you use to suit the recipient and colour scheme of your card.

Other Ways to use Punches in Scrapbooks

One of my favourite punched shapes to use is a fancy topped tag. I love to make journalling cards with them. You can add a ribbon to the top of a tag and then tuck your tag behind a photo or other element on the page. It makes your page more intereactive too as the viewer needs to pull it out to read it.

I often make my own flowers to go on a scrapbook page. There are many punches in the shape of petals and leaves to help you make your own floral elements.

You can use punched circle, star, square or triangle shapes ot help highlight a certain photo. Layer them in the background.

An animal page can be enhanced with a figure created from punched shapes that reminds you of the animal you are scrapping about.

If you have a ballooon punch, you can make a celebratory layout such as a birthday page or a congratulations page.

Punches can also be used to createborders and strips with fancy shapes cut in them so you can add a decorative element to your page.

The Variety of Punches

You can purchase so many other lovely punches from the Stampin' Up! range, so do have a browse of the latest ones.

There are some other ideas using punches that you might like to check out on this site, where I have used other shapes such as circles, ovals, and hearts to make special embellishments for my projects:

• Teddy Bears
• Hearty Ladies
• Paper Flowers
• Paper Bunnies
  

You may have a unique way to share your own way to use punches in a scrapbook layout. If so, do share it with me. I will make a page of your idea to share with readers on PaperCraftCentral.com too, if you give me some nice photos of your page.

You could have your own page on PaperCraftCentral.com to show your friends and family.

All you need to do is fill out this easy form below:

Thank you for stopping by today to read about using a puzzle punch on a scrapbook layout.

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