This mini-tutorial explains how I made the fancy squares for this calendar:
You could, of course, use dies or punches that do the work for you, but I like to get multiple uses out of my tools, and fancy dies weren't around when I originally made these, so there you go!
I cut my squares 2", but found out (after the fact) that if I'd cut them 2 1/8" instead, the squares would have been even prettier. This is what I mean:
The one on the left is what you'll get if you do it right. It is what it is - cut yours 2 1/8", okay? Then, grab your border punch and go to town:
Center the square in the punch and punch it, then flip it around to the opposite side, center it, and punch it again. Then do the other two sides the same way:
You'll have some funky little raggedy things on the corners, so clip 'em off (if they were all consistent like this example, you could leave them if you wanted, but these things all come out slightly different):
Voila! You now have a bee-yoo-ti-ful square:
NOW COME THE WARNINGS!!! First, you will end up with a pile of "waste" that looks like this:
so if that will make you cry, or you are in any other way a "paper miser", don't even begin this project! Side note: You can get 36 2" squares out of one sheet of 12"x12" paper, so it's not as wasteful as it appears, but...
Also, there will be a little strip left in the punch, since you're not doing a continuous border. It looks like this and you will need to remove it EVERY TIME, or it will prevent you from putting the square fully into the punch:
Final tip to ensure success: MAKE SURE THE PAPER IS CENTERED EACH TIME YOU PUNCH! Good luck, and have fun!
Originally posted on March 1, 2008