Punch Art Blog Hop

Welcome to my first ever Blog Hop...the inaugural South Pacific punch art blog hop!!! If you are coming from Tia's blog, I hope you are enjoying the blog hop so far and getting lots of inspiration. If you are just starting out at my blog then WELCOME and grab a cuppa so you can sit back and be inspired by all the wonderful creations on the different blogs.

A bunch of us Stampin Up demonstrators from NZ and Australia have got together to put this blog hop together. We all love our Stampin Up punches. We have gotten together to showcase a selection of the punches you can purchasae from Stampin Up. Please leave a comment and let us know what you think to go in the draw to win some yummy scrummy punch art blog candy (offer not available to su demos). Comments are open till Friday 5th Nov at 10am.

So the way it works is that each of us demonstrators have been assigned a punch/s to showcase. You start at one blog (doesn't matter which one) and then you follow through the links. So at the end of my post will be the link to the next blog in the blog hop and so on. I've also included the full list of blogs just in case you have any trouble! 

So I am doing the 6 x Circle punches and I would have to say without a doubt these are my most used and most versatile punches. They have so many uses. I use them alot on Scrapbooking Layouts, but also on cards.

Before I go any further, I have to apologise for my photos...I did leave things till the last minute and took all these photos last night so the lighting is a bit dodgy and they are quite crooked as I was trying to get it all finished. Anyway, moving on...

I have heaps of picutres to show you...it really is the best way to showcase how versatile these punches are.

Firstly, Circles are wonderful for use as general embellishments on scrapbook pages...

Some of you may have seen this one before, but I thought I'd use it again as it is a good example of using patterned paper with the circle punches.

Whether you use one, three, six or more circles, you really can't go wrong. They really add some interest to scrapbook layouts.

Then you can add layers to your circles. Whether you use a few different size punches or combine a circle with another punched shape such as the scallop circle or a square, it will always give a great effect.

Another great use for one of the larger circle punches is to punch out a photo. This can really draw attention to an expression on the face of someone if you crop in close and punch out your circle...

This one below may be a little hard to see, but if you take several punched circle shapes (in this case white circles) and put them together they give a flower like effect. You could also place half circles on a page to give a large scallop like effect.

I love using half circles as well. All I do to create this effect is punch out the circle then cut it in half using my trimmer. This layout was done a few years ago and I loved it so much that I recently created a card using the same effect and similar colours! 

Circles come in handy for a place to add a date to a scrapbook layout as well...

My last example of the circle punch is to not only punch out a circle but to punch out a half circle to use as a frame of sorts. Its hard to explain, but you can see what I mean in the two layouts below.

I highly recommend all sizes of the circle punch (there are 6 available through Stampin' Up!). However, I have to say my most used sizes are the 1 3/4"; the 1 1/4" and the 1" punches. They can be found on pages 146-147 of the IB&C and they range in price from $11.50 through to $33.95.

So now you can move onto the next blog in the blog hop which is the very talented Angie Jones and she is showcasing the Ornament punch. Check out her blog at http://angiescraftfusion.blogspot.com/

Don't forget to leave me a comment and you will go in the draw to win some blog candy prizes from all of us demonstrators! Below is the list of all the demonstrators that are participating in the blog hop.

Thanks for stopping by.

1. Karen Southwell - http://www.kareniescrafts.blogspot.com/
2. Carol-Ann Torrie http://queen-of-scraps.blogspot.com/
3 Sally Williams http://www.sallycancraft.com/
4 Julia Leece - http://www.juliascards.blogspot.com/
5 Amy http://ladybugsanddaisychains.blogspot.com/
6 Melissa Davies http://beedevinedesigns.blogspot.com/
7 Michelle Dyson http://www.stampinkpaper.blogspot.com/
8 Clare Mcilhatton http://craftycowcreations.blogspot.com/
9 Lisa Bullock http://daffyscrapper.wordpress.com/
10 Pauline Bennetts - http://paulinebennetts.com/stampede/
11 Tia Routledge http://craftingwithtia.weebly.com/my-blog.html
12 Emma Kirton http://www.emmakirton.blogspot.com/
13 Angie Jones http://angiescraftfusion.blogspot.com/
14 Andrea Buckland http://creatingcardswithandrea.blogspot.com/
15 Steph Gray http://stampinsteph.wordpress.com/