Purple Cows really went all the way with it’s Craft Geek line of texturizers, trimmers, wire jigs, and heat tools. Now, I’m here to kick the tires on the Punch It tool- a craft punch that has alignment guides to make all kinds of filigree designs. Let’s dive in!
The tool consists of a punch that is attached to a long, hinged arm. This allows you to punch in the interior of a sheet of paper, creating multiple designs.
Here’s how it’s described on the website:
Features |
|
---|
Wanna see the video?
So, of course, I had to do a little swatch test of my own to see how it works on different materials.
Now let’s take a closer look at how to make some of the designs. The registration marks on the inside make it easy to line it up to make squares, borders, “pennants” and frames.
My only moment of “what the heck” came when the packaging suggests that the perfect size paper to use is 4.4 inches. Um, what?? I know about Four and a half inches, four and a quarter inches, but I have no idea how to measure a four-and-four-tenths square. Inches don’t come in tenths, they come in 8ths or 16ths. So I’m stumped on that one. I decided to try a 4.5 piece of paper, and just trim off the excess if I could.
I found that while I was punching, the paper had a tendency to scootch around. (There aren’t any magnets locking the punch down on the paper, as one might expect.) So I used a bit of paper tape to help secure it.
I have to say I was pleasantly surprised at the little embossed detail. Very nice!
I found that even with lining up the registration marks, my filigree ended up a up a little wonky. See where the line isn’t straight and the paper cut through?
I tried again with black cardstock. Again, something wasn’t lined up straight. Not sure where my error is, but like quilting, if you are off just a bit at one point, you end up waaaaaaay off at the end.
I feel like making frames was the most successful part for me. Here I made a frame and added some quilling in the middle, and made the whole she-bang into a card.
And all was not lost with the filigree paper. I put some brightly-colored dyed paper behind it to draw the eye away from the mistakes.
There are 5 different styles of the Punch it, and there are tons of ways to use it…. I’m most excited about punching craft metal. I can’t wait to play with it a bit more!
The punch retails for $14.95, and since it’s pretty flexible I’d say it was well worth that. I’m going to have to practice more and take my time lining up the markings to be 100% successful, though.
What would YOU make with the Punch it?
Disclosure: sample provided for review
If you are considering purchasing the CraftGeek Punch It, I hope you’ll use CTD affiliate links:
- Spooky Spider Halloween Bookmark Craft - October 24, 2018
- Review and Demo of LDRS Hybrid Ink Pads - October 15, 2018
- Review and Demo of Nuvo Hybrid Inks - October 1, 2018
- Craft Studio Tour and Organization Ideas - September 20, 2018
- Wax Paper Resist Background Technique - March 20, 2018
- Comparison of Liquid Watercolor Markers/Pens - March 16, 2018
- SAI Japanese Traditional Watercolor Brush Markers- Review & Demo - February 23, 2018
- Rinea Metallic Foil Paper & Ghost Ink Review - February 21, 2018
- Jane Davenport debuts at Creativation 2018 & Watercolor Card - February 13, 2018
- Creativation 2018: New Product Showcase - January 20, 2018
Nancy Martel says
This looks like lots of fun! I always get frustrated because my punches won’t reach the center of the paper. Looks like this will do the trick. Thanks for the info., as always, Jenny!
Caryn S. says
I am glad you reviewed these. I was just looking at them online over the weekend and wondered if there were any drawbacks to them. Evidently alignment is an issue and I am not as talented as some.
Lynda says
Fantastic review…putting these on my wish list…thank you for the review!