Making a Handmade Greeting Card With Punches – But Not Punch Art

Today's card is all about using your punches on your handmade greeting cards, but not necessarily making punch art.  I am a punch addict – I'll be the first to admit it.  ESPECIALLY when it comes to circles.

The idea of hand cutting out a circle makes me an anxious wreck.  They never turn out even, never perfect – just not good.  My first purchase with paper crafting over 15 years ago had circles punches.  Two of them.  The 1-1/4″ and the 1-3/8″ circle punches.  And through the 15 years of not just me, but also my stampers using them, I have replaced them.

They are the two punches I use more than any other still to this day.  And these two were used on today's card too.

Let's chat about the color combination.  There is nothing as classic as black and white.  Think about when you look at a picture.  And then you see it in black and white.  It totally changes you on the inside right?   We are surrounded by 1080, HD, megapixels in our color filled world and yet black and white images create a deeper connection.

I will always be the first to say that bright colors rock, but I am so in love with the simple black and white – funny that I often forget to use just those colors.  Every time I make a black and white card I love it, I have got to remember to do it more often.

The stamps I used for this card are a mix of old and new.  It pairs Everything Eleanor with Something to Say.  On page 69 of the new catalog, it shows the same image that I used with just a 2-1/2″ circle punch, but also remember that it pairs great with the 2-3/8″ Scallop Circle Punch.

That punched piece layers most fabulously on a 2-1/2″ Circle – and on this card I did it in Basic Black.

The sentiment was stamped in the same black ink onto Whisper White and punched out with the first of my favorite punches – the 1-1/4″ Circle Punch.  That was layered onto a piece of Basic Black card stock that was punched using my second favorite punch- the 1-3/8″ Circle Punch.

So the sentiment layer has four layers to it.  That makes it very eye catching by defining each of the layers with a stark color contrast – which makes it sound very sophisticated – but at the end of the day, all it is is one ink pad, two stamps, 4 punches and it was done.  Punches make such quick work of our paper crafting!  They are faster than dies, work with a great variety of stamps – what could be better than that!

Still going with the picture above, this is the new Back to Black patterned paper that is in the new catalog as well.  Last catalog had the Modern Medley paper, but it was black and vanilla where this one is Black and White.  I have both, I love both!

So a little 2″ x 5″ strip of it was used along the bottom of the card.  A 3/8″ strip of Basic Black card stock was added to the left side of the patterned paper to really make those rhinestones pop.

To help balance out the card, I added some of the Organza White ribbon.  First a strip going up on an angle across the patterned paper.  Then a bow tied in the same ribbon using the 10 Second Bow Maker was added on top.

All this stamping goodness was layered onto a piece of Whisper White that is 4″ x 5-1/4″.  And then it all went onto a Basic Black card base that is 5-1/2″ x 8-1/2″.

Add another piece of Whisper White to the inside and this card is done!

To make it easy for you to see what I have used and also easy to order what I have used so you can recreate this card, simply click on the images below.

Something To Say Wood Stamp Set [134177]	Something To Say Clear Stamp Set [134180]	Everything Eleanor [131987]	Everything Eleanor Clear-Mount Stamp Set [124164]	Whisper White 8-1/2X11 Card Stock [100730]
Basic Black 8-1/2X11 Card Stock [121045]	Back To Black Designer Series Paper [133700]	2-1/2 Inch Circle Punch [120906]	2-3/8 Inch Scallop Circle Punch [118874]	1-1/4 Inch Circle Punch [119861]
1-3/8 Inch Circle Punch [119860]	Basic Rhinestones Jewel Accents [119246]	Whisper White 5/8 Inch Organza Ribbon [114319]

Thanks for joining me today for this Black and White card using your punches to really make it an easy greeting card to make.  It is not punch art, but it is using your punches to create art!