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Of all the things I got in my goodie bag from EK Success at the Craft Gossip Fork & Talk meetup, one of the ones I was most excited to try was a large flower punch (it’s the EK Tools Scallop Frame Large Punch, to be exact, and retails for $16.49). The shape is really awesome and I had lots of ideas for how I could use it in various craft projects.
So I pulled out the stamp and a piece of card stock that happened to be sitting around. And I punched. And nothing happened.
Well, nothing isn’t exactly accurate. But almost.
So I tried regular paper. And newsprint. And slickish advertising paper. And paper that had watercolor painton it. And index cards. None of them made a clean cut.
Some of the pieces came out enough that I could tear or cut them apart. And once I got a new X-ACTO knife, I could easily slice away the stuck parts.
The ironic thing is that I decided I could use the flower still attached to the paper as a cutout on a card (like the cutout Valentine’s cards I did for the Bit’s teachers), but the first card I punched was the first (and, so far, only) time it cut perfectly cleanly.
And it is really pretty when it works. I wanted to say here that my punch must be defective, but then I read the reviews on the EK website (which is linked at the top of this review) and every person said it didn’t punch evenly, so I guess it’s not just me. I do not know that I would buy this punch knowing that, but because I already have it I’ll probably still use it and just take the effort to cut out the pieces that don’t punch evenly.
So here’s a preview of the cards, but with and without the interior flower bit. I like both of them, but the one with the detail is a little more dramatic. The paper behind is random watercolors from the Bit left over from my wall art project. What do you think?
4 Comments
I had that problem the first few times I tried to punch with it, too. But then I realized that I needed to be pushing straight down, pushing it down until I heard the “whunk”. If my arm is angled any, I’ll get a mis-punch like the ones you show here. But if my arm is straight up and down when I punch, I get a good clean cut. I think it might be because it’s such a detailed punch that pushing down at an angle, even a slight one, will push the pieces into each other instead of down past each other.
I had the same issue until I figured out the right angle. With detailed punches or large shapes, I find I usually get the best clean cuts when I stand and press straight down instead of sitting at my workbench. Two cents!
I agree with you 100%! I was so excited about this gorgeous punch. It was sold out at my LSS, and I anxiously awaited the call that they were back in. I rushed to get it, couldn’t wait to use it, and … yup … same as yours. I was so disappointed. Shouldn’t they quality test these things before they put them on the market?
Thanks, ladies! I actually tried stepping on it so I would punch straight, and that didn’t help, either. But I’ll keep trying!