Tips for better punching.
Lubricate a sticking punch by punching through wax paper several times. Place a sticking punch in the freezer for 20mins to contract and shrink the metal parts. New punches will loosen up with continued use. Tap a sticking punch on the table top to release the mechanism. Stand up when punching to gain more leverage, and always punch down on a hard surface rather than 'in the air'. Use the punch upside down for more precise placement and for even more added leverage.

Stenciling
Use vellum for an elegant delicate look. Paper embossing on vellum causes it to stretch resulting in a pearly whit-on white effect. The design can be left this way or colour added with ink pads chalks etc...

When using a light box.
Some light boxes only have a small area of light for you to see your work and you may need to move your work around over the light box so that you have enough light to see through to emboss. If you place a piece of white paper underneath the light box whilst you have it switched on there will be light reflected back up onto the light box so making it easier to see your work.

Removing Stencils/ templates from Packaging.
Sometime when you buy stencils, they are stuck to packaging with glue dots or Double sided tape. It is easy to bend your stencil when removing this packaging. I have found that if you lay your stencil face down onto a hard surface with the packaging uppermost and peel back the packaging you are less likely to damage the stencil. Nail varnish remover will remove the glue or tape.

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