Making Martha Work For YOU

So I've had a few e-mails recently asking me how I design my Martha Stewart corner/border punchwork. I almost never use the measurements given in the directions, mostly because I don't want to be pigeon-holed into only making certain size panels all the time. I like to outline the perimeter of my cards with punchwork, I think it adds some 'notched up' interest to them. In particular, I had a question about this card here and how I was able to make this perimeter panel 4 3/4" X 6":

I'm going to post a series of pictures showing you exactly how I achieved this look.

(And by the way, you can do this with almost any Martha Stewart border punch.):

First of all, I don't cut the paper down to the measurements that the directions suggest. I get a feel for things as I go along. I always practice on computer paper (or scrap paper) initially before moving onto the good stuff. Start with an 8 1/2" X 11" sheet of paper and make your first corner punch. (I always start on the left side):

On this particular design, I have 6 flowers going across the top of the card. (I'm counting only those flowers between the corner punches.) If you look at the border punch, that is two whole punches (3 flowers per cut X 2 cuts = 6 flowers.):

Now, this is where you need to make some modifications. What I do at this point is after I make my second corner punch, I cut the paper in my paper trimmer down the length where the corner punch ended:

Now I will make my border cuts going down the right side. There are 8 flowers in between the corner punches. Since there are 3 flowers per full punch, the 3rd punch will overlap one flower. You want to make sure your punch is aligned well, or that one flower will get mangled:

Ok, time to round the corner. Make your third corner punch. We are going to repeat the previous step of cutting the paper with the trimmer where the corner punch ended the length of the paper:

Punch two full borders along the bottom and then punch the fourth and final corner:

Lastly we are going to punch the left side, working from the bottom up...2 full punches and one 2/3 punch, overlapping just one of the flowers:

And voila! You have your perimeter base. Now work in the middle panels based on the outer panel measurements. Easy peasy?

This ends up being a 4 3/4" X 6" panel. Don't worry about those mismatched edges, you're going to cover them up with a mat panel. You want the floral perimeter to look like it's just floating around the outside of your card:

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Have a great day and let me know how this works for you!

Stamps: HCPC 3390 Bella Rose Leaves PreCut Set, HCPC 3320 Vintage Word Background PreCut Set, HCPC 3401 Bella Rose Scroll PreCut Set (Heartfelt Creations)
Paper: Rustic White, Black (PTI), Always Artichoke, Barely Banana (SU!)
Ink: Always Artichoke, Versafine Onyx Black, Pumice Stone & Walnut Stain distress inks (Ranger)
Accessories: HCD 712 Bella Rose die cut, HCD703 Daisy Patch die cut (Hearfelt Creations), Vintage Floral corner/border punch, gems (Martha Stewart), black pearls, dauber, dimensionals, Crystal Stickles,  Decorative Label punch (SU!), paper piercer

Card Instructions:
Corner & border punch a 4 3/4" X 6" Rustic White card stock panel. Mat on top of that a 4" X 5 1/4" black panel. On a 3 7/8" X 5 1/8" panel of Rustic White card stock, stamp Vintage Word Background stamp and sponge edges. Stamp Bella Rose Leaves in Artichoke ink onto Artichoke paper. Cut out with Belle Rose die cut. Die cut 12 of the second smallest flower in the Daisy Patch set (this makes 3 full sets of flowers total). Gently curl the edges of each petal with a paper piercer and glue four flowers on top of each other in a staggered fashion. Cut out 9 of the smallest flower in the same set, repeat the curling method and staggering with 3 flower shapes per finished flower. Glue a gem in the middle of each flower. Adhere the 3 flowers to the Belle Rose cut out and glue that to the stamped background panel. Stamp sentiment onto Rustic White card stock, punch out panel, distress edges and adorn with pearls. Attach to bottom of face of card with dimensionals. Adhere card face to black panel and add black pearls to outside border punch. Lightly dab each flower with Crystal Stickles.