FIND OUT FRIDAY TUTORIAL: Crop-a-Dile

Last week, we made the cover for this little notebook and it looks sweet.  But the whole composition needed a little accent.  Why not eyelets?

Well, I'll tell you why not.  They can be a pain to use.  The traditional methods are noisy and take some muscle.  No one wants to wake up their family in the middle of the night banging away at an eyelet.  Noisy eyelet setters are often banished to dark lonely hallways at overnight crops to keep from jostling and startling the other drowsy scrappers.

UNTIL NOW!

Allow me to introduce our hero--the Crop-a-Dile.  This scary looking but versatile tool does several jobs--and it does them all well.  Just be sure to hide it from the tool fanatic in your life--they will try to steal it.

.

.

TOOLS:

The Crop-a-Dile (of course)

eyelets

template from the tool kit

.

.

.

For this project, I assembled all the layers before adding the eyelets.  The Crop-a-Dile will punch through many layers of cardstock cleanly, so it is possible to do this even if you are going through more than one layer.  In this case, I am only going through one layer, but I wanted the other layers as a reference so I knew where my eyelets should go.

In order to get the holes in a nice, straight line, I used the positioning template from my tool kit.  Line up the project with the template so that there is adequate space between your proposed line of holes and the edges of the layer you are punching.

Use a pencil to lightly draw in your reference marks. (does this happen to you?  See that pencil?  I bought a six pack of those and they are all gone.  It has only been about three weeks.  I think that when all the tools are packed up from the bathroom remodel that my dear Husband has just done, they will be found rattling around in there.  I hope so.  Where do pencils go, anyway?)

.

.

.

This is what the Crop-a-Dile looks like.  The slots to the left and right are for punching two different sized holes.  The size of the hole is etched right onto the tool.  You can punch through metal, leather, denim, chipboard or even just cardstock with this tool.  There are adjustable guides at the bases of the punch slots to help you set a standard depth for your punches.  This can help you line up the holes.

The center part is the setter.  The black squares are actually cubes that turn, allowing you to access four setters and four platforms to accommodate all kinds of eyelets.  The setting information comes on the packaging, so be sure not to throw it away.  Us the A and 1 settings together for 1/8" eyelets, the B and 2 settings together for 3/16 (larger) eyelets.  For flat embellishments, use the D side on the top.

To set a standard small eyelet:  punch a 1/8" hole in your paper by placing your paper in the slot marked 1/8" on the outside of the machine.  Gently squeeze until you can see the punch descending toward the paper and use it to line up your mark to punch your hole.  When you have it where you want it, squeeze all the way to punch the hole.  It doesn't take much pressure to achieve this.

.

.

Place your eyelet in the hole with the good side of the eyelet on the good side of your project. 

.

.

.

.

.

Hold the paper flat and let gravity hold your eyelet in place while you are working.  For some reason, the impulse for most people seems to be to put the thing in and then flip it over and try to hold it in place while wrangling the Crop-a-Dile.  This will not work (well).  So trust me.  Hold the paper with the rounded part of the eyelet up.

.

.

.

Slip the eyelet setting tube (the pointy-out part) into the eyelet and squeeze gently to hold it in place.  I may help to hold the project up to eye level.  I have seen stampers contort themselves into all sorts of amazing shapes trying to see what their tool is doing.  Just lift your hands and do your eyes and your back a favor.

.

.

.

When you are ready, just squeeze gently to set the eyelet.  It takes very little effort (look, Ma, one hand).  That's it.  Repeat it as often as you need to for your project.  Trust me.  You are going to look for excuses to set eyelets!

.

.

.

.

Again, here is the finished project.  To learn to do the heat embossing in the design, be sure to check out that tutorial.  If you would like to see the package instructions, click the link below.  Happy stamping.

Click Here to see the Package Instructions for the Crop-a-Dile

Comments

[dasimonds]

I LOVE my crop-a-dile..
and use it all the time !!

[VickiW]

thanks, I have been eyeing these for awhile but with limited resources, I really have to prioritize my purchases. This was very helpful and I can see that it would be worth the money to "update" to something quieter and simpler. :D I will be back to check more on your sight. keep the tutorials coming.......
vickiw