A public service announcement

Taking a (brief!) break from l/o sharing to offer this PSA. Probably most of you already know this. But, for the rare un-pinterested person out there, here you go.

Today's topic: border punches. They are hot, they are handy and they can be dang cute! While perusing Pinterest last week I found a lengthy video tutorial on how to make double sided strips from border punches. Here is the Readers Digest version!

1. Cut a strip of the cardstock you want to use to exactly one inch. (Pattern paper works, but often you lose the pattern due to the size).

2. Mark the strip on BOTH sides, at the center of your strip. 12" border? Mark it at 6" (etc). Just a small mark is good because it will be cut away when you use the punch.

3. Center the mark on your paper with the center of the punch design. Punch.

4. Turn the paper around, line the paper mark up with the center of the punch and punch again.

5. Use the grid marks on the top side of the punch to line up your remaining strip with the already punched holes and punch away! When one side is done,flip it around and do it with the other side.

TA-DA! A cool strip. Using that same double scallop, if you line it up just off center you get a different, cool design. (See the off center half circle on the extra samples?). And some samples of the designs on different border punches.

DISCLAIMER: it does take a little practice to get it lined up and punches just right. I'd highly encourage you to try on scrap paper first, especially if you've only got a bit of the cardstock you want to use for the card or page left.

Happy punching!