The Martha Stewart Crafts Collection debuted last year and brought Martha's creative, distinct style to hundreds of Michaels retailers across North America. One of my favorite products to hit the shelves was the Martha Stewart Edge Punch.The Edge Punch comes in several different styles and is used to create a beautiful die-cut border design for cards and other paper crafts. Some of the punches are designed to even emboss and cut simultaneously. Guides printed on the tool ensure perfect alignment so that you get a neat, continuous pattern.
I've purchased several of these punches and really am impressed with the design. I've always had good results and get crisp, clean cuts every time. The lever is comfortable to use, but sometimes requires a little extra pressure when punching heavy card stock. Over time, the company recommends punching through several layers of aluminum foil to sharpen the punch. After sharpening, it's best to punch through wax paper to condition the die.
I most commonly use this punch to create added visual interest or layers to my hand-made cards, but it's also perfect for other projects as well. I made a quick stationary kit for my son's first grade teacher and this Edge Punch cut my time in half!
One thing I love to do with my Edge Punch is to create "paper ribbon". In the project above, I punched one edge of my patterned paper and then flipped the paper and punched the other edge. This created a decorative paper strip that I could adhere to the top of my stationary box. This technique would be perfect for holiday gift wrapping!
I wanted to show you how crisp this die cut looks after punching through multiple layers. For the card above, I was able to easily punch through both sides of my note card and patterned paper all at once. I love how this punch can quickly turn plain note cards into matching stationary.
Pros:
- This product comes in a variety of designs and styles.
- The quality of the design produces clean crisp cuts, even through heavy card stock.
- Punches can be used universally for multiple paper crafting projects.
- Product can be purchased locally or online.
- Printed guides & raised "bumper" make it easy to get a neat, continuous pattern.
Cons:
- Punching through heavy card stock might be difficult for those with arthritis or other similar medical conditions.
- Punch may need sharpening/conditioning after continued use.
- Punches are approximately 6" wide and require adequate storage space.
I purchase my Martha Stewart Edge Punches from my local Michaels craft store. The punches retail for $14.99, but customers are now allowed to use Michaels coupons for Martha Stewart Craft products, making this punch very affordable. If you do not have a Michaels store in your area, this punch can also be purchased at the same retail price at Martha Stewart Crafts as well as some local scrapbooking stores.
Overall, I would give this punch a rating of 9 out of 10. I feel like it's a high quality product and adds a lot to my paper crafting projects.
If you own this product or find this review helpful, please leave a comment below. I would love to hear your opinions!
9 Comments:
I was so thrilled when I first bought one of the MS border embossing punches. The effect was fantastic, loved creating paper lace. But I was very disappointed in the way the punch held up. It did not punch paper other than the very thinnest type which was rather limiting. I also felt the embossing aspect was very ineffective and inconsistent. Overall, not very happy with the product at all.
Great to see the review of this after seeing it in Hobby Lobby and being unsure if it would work well. Great to know it's a good thing!
I was just eying these punches yesterday. I will eventually get one. Thanks for the tips. Nice review and nice projects too.
I have recently purchased couple of the border punches from MS... I do love the designs... and over all I am happy with the punches... altough it feels a bit light weight and I keep thinking that the handle is going to break when I push down... Thanks for the review!
I have 2 of those (that make a lovely lace pattern) and I LOVE them. My only problem with them is that they take a lot of room and I wouldn't dare punching through something thick, I would expect it to break. But they are easy to use and make a beautiful edge! :-)
I got a beautiful lace edge punch. It was so difficult to punch through both Stampin' Up and DCWV cardstock that I thought I was going to break the punch.
I returned it. Thankfully Michaels would take it back with the package opened.
A punch that only punches paper is useless, IMO.
I saw these in the store yesterday after reading this review - they look really nice but I wonder too about the SU card stock thickness? What about Bazzill?
Just to comment on Mary's post:
I've punched SU and Prism CS with this punch with no problem. However, it sounds like some of the other readers didn't have such good luck. ??? I'm not sure why mine seem to cut better than other people's -- but personally speaking -- I think they punch though really well. I wouldn't punch through more than one layer of heavy CS at a time though.
Edge punches are ok. Fiskers are better. MS punches wear out quickly. Must punch foil and wax paper too often to keep them from "sticking".
I've spent hours trying to use MS edge border punches to punch a border on all 3 edges of a card front. Finally worked it out so that the scalloped edge was acceptable. Too much work to make it go "around" the corner. These punches are fine if you only want to punch a border on the outside edge of a card. Anything more is near impossible. I will buy other punches instead.
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