I know my punches are getting a workout as I put together my Christmas cards. If yours are, too, here are a couple of tips to keep them working well. (I know these work with Stampin' Up! punches) but haven't tried with others!
Punch tip: To
keep all your punches in fighting (er crafting) trim you can alternate
punching through waxed paper (to keep them sliding through material
well) and punching through soda pop aluminum cans (to keep them
sharp). Cut the ends off the cans (carefully so as not to cut
yourself) and cut down one side to open up the material. Then punch or
run the sheet of aluminum though your big shot dies and you’ll have a
fun colorful shape to add to your projects as well as keep your cutting
tools nice and sharp. The nice thing about the aluminum cut pieces is
that once punched they are no longer too sharp to use safely – at least
that has been my albeit limited experience. Our craft scissors by the
way do a terrific job on the cutting down the side. You’ll probably
need a knife to do the ends (Yep just like in the Ginsu commercials).
Punch tip #2: When
your new punches arrive take some old copy or junk mail paper and punch
several times to make sure you’ve gotten any machine oil from the
manufacturing and storage process out of the punch so you don’t stain
your nice Stampin’ Up papers (don’t ask me how I learned this tip
‘kay?). And if for some reason your punch is a bit sticky you can
stick it in the freezer for a short time remove and let thaw and this
should take care of the problem.
If you haven't seen all the fabulous punches we offer, take a look!
