This category seems a bit overwhelming. Some things they all
have in common is they are (usually) metal, decorative, and
they have to be applied. There are a lot of tools out there to
accomplish this. We'll take a look later, but first, what are they?
First up is Brads. These are metal closures with a decorative
head and two metal bars coming down. They are inserted
through a hole in the paper (in our case), and the metal bars are
separated on the backside to hold it in place. This is very like
the clasp closures on manila envelopes. Brads started out
simple, little round heads of looking of gold, silver or copper.
But some smart companies got the idea of painting them, and
letting the colors match some of their other products - keeping it
all coordinated! Then the companies went on to offer us
different shaped heads - flowers, stars, trees, hearts, etc - and in
different colors! So much to choose from. I use them, a lot, I
have noticed that there are times when the metal bars interfere
with the backside of my project. So there are eyelets, with less
sticking out on the backside.
Eyelets are not new. They have been in sewing forever. They
are small grommets, used to make a hole without ruining the
fabric. Chances are that your sneakers have eyelets for the
laces to go through. Eyelets in paper arts have come a long
way. I believe they started out in paper crafts by some crafty
seamstress who wondered if she could attach them to paper.
Sure enough, it worked, and they look adorable. Then the
embellishment companies took that to heart and started offering
us all kinds of eyelets. There are eyelets that are painted,
glittery metallic, shaped into hearts, flowers, starts, squares, etc
and they can be large and small. So many to choose from!
Eyelets have holes, brads do not. But what about a product that
went on like an eyelet - with little intrusion on the backside, but
had a decorative head on the front like a brad - Well, there's
Snaps. These are cute, decorative heads, but go on like an
eyelet, and are set the same way.
Which brings us to Charms. These are little hanging decorations
with a small hole. They can be hung from a brad, an eyelet, or a
snap - depending on the look you're going for. Personally, I like
snaps for this - a little colored circle to hang the charm from!
Now, let's get to applying them. For all of them, we need a small
hole - one that preferably didn't tear the paper. For this we find
a group of useful tools - take your pick - for punching out the
hole. We could use a paper punch - they work just fine. They
can only reach in so far, but if that's where you want the hole -
then it is ideal. But for those who want the hole somewhere
other than on the edge - there are hole punches - usually a tip
placed on a metal handle that you hit with a craft hammer.
Using a self-healing mat under your paper, you can make a hole
anywhere on the paper.
For the hole punch - simply choose the tip to make the size hole
you want and attach it to the handle, put your mat under your
paper- below the spot of the hole, put the tip of the hole punch
flat on your paper, hold tight - hit the top of the handle with one
smooth hit - square on - not at an angle. Lift your hole punch,
and the hole should be there. A few trouble shooting things:
you should see if the problem is that you just didn't hit it hard
enough, and then learn the necessary force needed. But I have
also seen it not work if the work surface is pliable. A plastic
folding table may not work, if it gives too much when the
hammer comes in to hit the handle. I use a wood table, and
haven't had trouble - but I know of plastic tables, especially if
they sit on carpet & padding - may not work. I'd recommend a
small wood bench to use for this, if you're having this trouble.
For brads - all we need is this hole. Push the metal ends
through the hole, and separate evenly on the backside - done!
For eyelets, we need to take one more step. We have our hole
where we want it, now we're going to need an eyelet setter.
These are little metal tips that fit on a handle - they usually come
in a few sizes - and this matters. You need to use the size that
fits that backside of your eyelet for it to set correctly. Look at
the eyelet setter - does your tip fit the back of the eyelet fully
within the ring? If it is too small it will bunch up the metal
'fingers' on the back, and not attach correctly. If it is too large, it
won't open the 'fingers' at all. If it is correct - it will open the
fingers to their full extent and hold the eyelet on to the paper
firmly.
We've attached the right size tip to our handle - we're ready to
set the eyelet in the hole we made. Turn your project upside
down. Place the mat under the hole we punched. Over the
mat, but under the paper, put your eyelet in upside-down -
where the decorative side is touching your mat, and the closure
end is sticking up through the hole. Put your eyelet setter over
eyelet back - holding it straight up-and-down - strike once,
squarely, downward. The eyelet back should have spread out
evenly, and is now attached to the paper.
Snaps go on exactly the same as eyelets - first punch the hole,
then measure the back, use the right sized setter, and strike!
Charms just add one more step - not difficult. You will want to
make sure that your eyelet shaft is large enough to
accommodate the paper thickness and the charm. This is not
usually a problem with brads, as you just open the stems and fit
to the paper thickness. But with eyelets you need to make sure
there is enough of the backside sticking through the paper "to
set". Here, as with eyelet setting, we have the paper hole
punched, turn the project upside down on the mat, and put the
eyelet through the charm, and then through the paper.
Remember, the eyelet head is on the mat - the side we're going
to set is sticking up through the backside of the paper. From
here, it's the same - just use the right sized setter for the eyelet,
and strike! Now turn your project over, and move your charm. I
should be repositionable. You may want it free floating, or if it
needs to remain in one spot - a little dab of glue will do you!
More new inventions in the category of setters are the silent, or
mechanical setters. They work on spring action, and do not
require a hammer. I have found them better for decorative
(flower, for example) eyelets - as I never can measure the exact
amount of force to use with a hammer - and I squish the flower
head. These setters let you set the force, by how many twists
of the spring you make. A little trial and error and you'll know
which eyelets use what force.
Another new invention is the Crop-A-Dile. This new tool will
make the holes and set the eyelets with a tiny squeeze of the
handles. It will cut through tin cans, and heavy chipboard. It is
probably ideal for making the holes in cardstock/chipboard tags.
It does have the drawback of only being able to reach in so far. I
usually do my eyelets farther in. The reviews aren't all in yet -
I'll keep you posted.
have in common is they are (usually) metal, decorative, and
they have to be applied. There are a lot of tools out there to
accomplish this. We'll take a look later, but first, what are they?
First up is Brads. These are metal closures with a decorative
head and two metal bars coming down. They are inserted
through a hole in the paper (in our case), and the metal bars are
separated on the backside to hold it in place. This is very like
the clasp closures on manila envelopes. Brads started out
simple, little round heads of looking of gold, silver or copper.
But some smart companies got the idea of painting them, and
letting the colors match some of their other products - keeping it
all coordinated! Then the companies went on to offer us
different shaped heads - flowers, stars, trees, hearts, etc - and in
different colors! So much to choose from. I use them, a lot, I
have noticed that there are times when the metal bars interfere
with the backside of my project. So there are eyelets, with less
sticking out on the backside.
Eyelets are not new. They have been in sewing forever. They
are small grommets, used to make a hole without ruining the
fabric. Chances are that your sneakers have eyelets for the
laces to go through. Eyelets in paper arts have come a long
way. I believe they started out in paper crafts by some crafty
seamstress who wondered if she could attach them to paper.
Sure enough, it worked, and they look adorable. Then the
embellishment companies took that to heart and started offering
us all kinds of eyelets. There are eyelets that are painted,
glittery metallic, shaped into hearts, flowers, starts, squares, etc
and they can be large and small. So many to choose from!
Eyelets have holes, brads do not. But what about a product that
went on like an eyelet - with little intrusion on the backside, but
had a decorative head on the front like a brad - Well, there's
Snaps. These are cute, decorative heads, but go on like an
eyelet, and are set the same way.
Which brings us to Charms. These are little hanging decorations
with a small hole. They can be hung from a brad, an eyelet, or a
snap - depending on the look you're going for. Personally, I like
snaps for this - a little colored circle to hang the charm from!
Now, let's get to applying them. For all of them, we need a small
hole - one that preferably didn't tear the paper. For this we find
a group of useful tools - take your pick - for punching out the
hole. We could use a paper punch - they work just fine. They
can only reach in so far, but if that's where you want the hole -
then it is ideal. But for those who want the hole somewhere
other than on the edge - there are hole punches - usually a tip
placed on a metal handle that you hit with a craft hammer.
Using a self-healing mat under your paper, you can make a hole
anywhere on the paper.
For the hole punch - simply choose the tip to make the size hole
you want and attach it to the handle, put your mat under your
paper- below the spot of the hole, put the tip of the hole punch
flat on your paper, hold tight - hit the top of the handle with one
smooth hit - square on - not at an angle. Lift your hole punch,
and the hole should be there. A few trouble shooting things:
you should see if the problem is that you just didn't hit it hard
enough, and then learn the necessary force needed. But I have
also seen it not work if the work surface is pliable. A plastic
folding table may not work, if it gives too much when the
hammer comes in to hit the handle. I use a wood table, and
haven't had trouble - but I know of plastic tables, especially if
they sit on carpet & padding - may not work. I'd recommend a
small wood bench to use for this, if you're having this trouble.
For brads - all we need is this hole. Push the metal ends
through the hole, and separate evenly on the backside - done!
For eyelets, we need to take one more step. We have our hole
where we want it, now we're going to need an eyelet setter.
These are little metal tips that fit on a handle - they usually come
in a few sizes - and this matters. You need to use the size that
fits that backside of your eyelet for it to set correctly. Look at
the eyelet setter - does your tip fit the back of the eyelet fully
within the ring? If it is too small it will bunch up the metal
'fingers' on the back, and not attach correctly. If it is too large, it
won't open the 'fingers' at all. If it is correct - it will open the
fingers to their full extent and hold the eyelet on to the paper
firmly.
We've attached the right size tip to our handle - we're ready to
set the eyelet in the hole we made. Turn your project upside
down. Place the mat under the hole we punched. Over the
mat, but under the paper, put your eyelet in upside-down -
where the decorative side is touching your mat, and the closure
end is sticking up through the hole. Put your eyelet setter over
eyelet back - holding it straight up-and-down - strike once,
squarely, downward. The eyelet back should have spread out
evenly, and is now attached to the paper.
Snaps go on exactly the same as eyelets - first punch the hole,
then measure the back, use the right sized setter, and strike!
Charms just add one more step - not difficult. You will want to
make sure that your eyelet shaft is large enough to
accommodate the paper thickness and the charm. This is not
usually a problem with brads, as you just open the stems and fit
to the paper thickness. But with eyelets you need to make sure
there is enough of the backside sticking through the paper "to
set". Here, as with eyelet setting, we have the paper hole
punched, turn the project upside down on the mat, and put the
eyelet through the charm, and then through the paper.
Remember, the eyelet head is on the mat - the side we're going
to set is sticking up through the backside of the paper. From
here, it's the same - just use the right sized setter for the eyelet,
and strike! Now turn your project over, and move your charm. I
should be repositionable. You may want it free floating, or if it
needs to remain in one spot - a little dab of glue will do you!
More new inventions in the category of setters are the silent, or
mechanical setters. They work on spring action, and do not
require a hammer. I have found them better for decorative
(flower, for example) eyelets - as I never can measure the exact
amount of force to use with a hammer - and I squish the flower
head. These setters let you set the force, by how many twists
of the spring you make. A little trial and error and you'll know
which eyelets use what force.
Another new invention is the Crop-A-Dile. This new tool will
make the holes and set the eyelets with a tiny squeeze of the
handles. It will cut through tin cans, and heavy chipboard. It is
probably ideal for making the holes in cardstock/chipboard tags.
It does have the drawback of only being able to reach in so far. I
usually do my eyelets farther in. The reviews aren't all in yet -
I'll keep you posted.
| Letter Brads |
| Flower Eyelets |
| Snaps |
| Charms |
Brads, Eyelets, Snaps & Charms
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