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Paper Crafts magazine Presents: Cool Tools Blog Hop

  
     Hey there everyone! Today's a great day for a blog hop! I am so happy to be joining nine other fabulous ladies as we celebrate Paper Crafts newest special issue Cool Tools for Paper Crafters
     I loved designing for this issue and looking at my tools in different and new ways. Lots of experimentation, lots of botched ideas, but from that you find fresh and creative ways to STRETCH your tools. I think this was one of my favorite calls ever because even though at first, I was like, "uh....what can I do that hasn't been done?" the ideas eventually started flowing and I tried them out!
     In fact, I had my issue of Cool Tools for Paper Crafters in my car and was driving around with some friends. One of my friends whose pretty new to paper-crafting saw it, started looking through it and  was super excited to see all that she could do with tools she didn't even know how to use!
     So, I took a look at my shape punches and thought about banners, or creating a background, maybe adding embellies or something simple like layering them, and here's what I came up with-pathchwork stars. Danielle Flanders offers another fun way to make these as well, so check out her ideas here! They're fabulous!


I wanted to create patchwork stars using my star punch 

then add a cute little scalloped border using my starburst circle punch

So, here's the technique for a patchwork star
1. Punch your stars

 2. Trim stars into smaller sections

3. Take pieces and adhere together.

Super easy peasy! Just the way I like.

Leave a comment before Sunday, January 15th at midnight telling me what your favorite tool is and why you love it, and I will pick a winner to take home their own copy of Cool Tools for Paper Crafters.  Make sure to also visit the other wonderful designers while your hopping and leave a comment on their blogs for extra chances to win a copy of this AMAZING issue!
Emily Branch <--that's me!

And, don't forget to stop by Paper Crafts Connection and leave a comment there! They're giving away an amazing prize package of tools that you can play with!




materials:



227 comments:

  1. I adore your patchwork stars...what a wonderful way to combine patterns...absolutely fabulous.

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  2. o wow..the patchwork look so brilliant and I am thinking of so many ways to use this technique !

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  3. OMG - what a BRILLIANT idea - I'm going to go patchwork crazy!!!

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  4. Such a great idea! I love the look of quilting! Can't wait to try this. Thanks for the super idea.

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  5. What a fun and clever card! Thanks for the inspiration!

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  6. what an absolutely fun idea to combine the patches of stars...your card looks amazing thanks for the inspiration.

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  7. who knew a star could look so elegant....lovely!

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  8. I love the patchwork idea! Beautiful card.

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  9. An interesting idea to use the punch... Great card!

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  10. Fantastic idea - I would have never have thought of paper piecing/ patchworking a star... great idea. Love it.

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  11. Love your patchwork stars! Wonderful way to make use of scraps!

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  12. Very beautiful card and loved the idea of patchworking star.

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  13. Wow, amazing card (and idea)!
    My favourite tool is the die. I love all the different shapes and sizes and the fact that you can create that raised edge (with the Spellbinders dies). And I find them more affordable compared to punches. I do have some punches that I love to use, though. :)

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  14. I love the patchwork stars!! adorable!

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  15. Wow! very pretty card. Great idea patching the stars. Love them!

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  16. Fun! love the idea on bringing more color and patterns into one little shape.

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  17. I am a star junkie and these patchwork ones are SO COOL! Must try them...

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  18. Love the card and the cool paper pieceing idea, they look amazing.

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  19. Love those patchwork scrappy stars! thanks!

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  20. My favorite tool would have to be punches! I love them! They are so much fun.

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  21. oh WOW! this is just so adorable! love how you mixed up the papers on the stars and the twine is just too sweet! thanks for sharing!

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  22. Very cute stars...thanks for the inspiration and the chance to win.

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  23. Love your patchwork stars, great idea, why didn't I think of that? Would be great for 4th of July card, don't you think?

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  24. Patchwork Stars! Wow, I never would have thought of that~Great, Emily, thanks for this fun idea :o)

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  25. This is just DARLING!!! What a fabulous idea!!!

    housesbuiltofcards@gmail.com
    www.housesbuiltofcards.blogspot.com

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  26. Loved this feature. Thanks for the tip. Your card is so sweet and has a new and different twist to it. I think it's the combo of the patchwork and those little half starbursts. Darling.

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  27. Punched Patchwork - How fabulously clever! I HAVE to try this!

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  28. Great use of your punches. Thanks for the inspiration. Margaret K

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  29. What a fun idea! I am loving these patchwork stars. My favorite tool is my Spellbinders Grand Calibur and the fabulous dies that can be used with it. My newest addiction to dies is with the MFT dies. I just can't get enough products from MFT! Thanks for the opportunity to win this magazine!

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  30. Love the stars...so cute. My fav is my crop-a-dile. I love how it punches through EVERYTHING!!!

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  31. great card...love all these fun stars...thanks for sharing..

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  32. Very cute patchwork stars! I love my Big Shot. There is so much I can do with it!

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  33. punches. I love punches, and the way you used the star one was fabulous!! Thanks for the great ideas.

    Anne

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  34. TFS for the idea. Love the way you presented the stars this way.

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  35. Thanks for the ideas on using up scraps I have a ton!

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  36. The patchy stars are really cute.

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  37. What a great idea to make patchwork stars....I'm thinking through my punches and coming up with ideas now. Thanks!

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  38. Love this idea! Thank you so much for sharing! Great card!!!!

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  39. Pieced together like a quilt! Such a great idea. ;)

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  40. Absolutely love this card!

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  41. Looks so easy, but such a great way to liven up a typical star punch! Will definitely be giving this technique a try. Fun blog-hopping with you, enjoy your day! ~Stephanie Halinski (P.S. Make sure you don't pick me to win the issue :)

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  42. Great way to use a punch! I love the quilted look!

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  43. I am loving your great ideas! I have never thought about doing this with my punches! Thanks for the inspiration!

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  44. What a great idea...reminds me of a quilt!

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  45. Oh the star idea is awesome!!! thank you for the inspiration

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  46. Fun card and techniques! My favourite tool is my electronic die-cutter because I can cut any shape I want with it, at any size!

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  47. oh how cool! i never thought of doing that! thanks for the great tip!!

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  48. This is fabulous! I think my favorite too right now is the iRock--it's the one I use the most. Next used would be my border punches--love those!!

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  49. I love your stars. Very creative. TFS.

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  50. So simple, yet so great!

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  51. I can see using my heart or tag punch with this idea, both would do up really cute also!

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  52. I love it! I love learning how to make embellies from scratch! My husband recently took a look in my scrap book room and decided that I needed more of a budget on my scrapbooking (blah!) so the more I can make myself at the moment the better!

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  53. a clever use for any punch. thanks for sharing.

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  54. Yay, Emily! So exciting to see you on this hop. I love what you've done with the stars. Very creative!

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  55. I'm in love with your patchwork stars! This card just makes me smile..thanks!!!

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  56. simple & clean, yet clever. You rock!

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  57. Love this card, great idea with the patchwork star. Thank you! janiceaeschliman.blogspot.com

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  58. How cute is that!!!!! This would be a cute card to send to a quilting friend! Thanks for sharing!

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  59. really cute idea with the patchwork stars. adorable!

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  60. Love your patchwork stars. My favorite tool would have to be my Tim Holtz scissors.

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  61. Your patchwork stars are wonderful! What a great card and a great idea!

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  62. awesome stars! love the patchwork idea - have tried it with a die in my cuttlebug, but have never thought to use it with punches.

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  63. Very nice layout, and a clever way of using stars. Thanks. :)

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  64. This is a cute way to spice up the star punches.

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  65. I love your great stars. My favorite tool is the corner rounder by We are Memory Keepers becasue I think it makes everything look more professional!!

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  66. hi emily! ooo you used twine! i really need to find some of this and try it out! thank you for sharing how you designed your very pretty card!
    marie

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  67. OH- My-Heavens! You rocked this fabulous idea!! LOVE LOVE LOVE your card- and you are BRILLIANT!!!!!!! I would have never thought to do that!! <3

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  68. Delightful! I love how you used a Valentine's themed paper for an every day card.

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  69. Never thought of quilted stars.
    Great idea. Good way to use up scraps and to give your card some extra zing.

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  70. Great card and patchwork stars! Thanks for the ideas & inspiration! ;-)

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  71. Your patch work stars are so cute and cozy looking. I love the embossing and the pretty drooping twine trimmed with the pearls.
    Thanks for sharing! :)

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  72. I love the patch work stars super cute. Thanks for sharing
    keaunalynn@msn.com

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  73. wowserss...what a great card...love start

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  74. Those stars are really yummy! This is one of those cards that makes me happy to llok at. Thanks for the chance to win a copy of this great issue!

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  75. Great Idea, I will definitely be using that on my next project!

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  76. What a super creative way to use an 'old standby'! Love your card! My favorite tool, for now is probably my cricut to make all sorts of die cuts! I think just because it's so versatile! But I'm lovin' that you ladies are inspiring me to use my punches again! Thanks!

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  77. great idea. very cool way to modify the stars.

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  78. Love the Patchwork stars!! Great idea!!

    Ashlee
    ashlee@musemyworld.com

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  79. And to think that I have those punches in my drawer that i've never used! OMG, thks for the inspiration.

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  80. Wow You sure have some great ideas. Love the stars!!!

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  81. Such a fun look with those patchwork stars! TFS =)

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  82. Super cute! Love this idea. Thanks also for chance to win.

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  83. Pretty card and a great way to use up scraps.

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  84. Wow, I would have never thought of using this tool in this manner. I'm excited because I own this punch and am going to try it right away. Thank you.

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  85. Love the patchwork stars, thanks for sharing!

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  86. Beautiful! Love the patchwork stars.
    Thanks for the ideas and for the chance to win!

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  87. Those patchwork stars are amazing! Thank you for the tutorial!

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  88. Love your patchwork stars!

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  89. Very clever! Thank you so much for sharing..I need a star punch!

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  90. how fun, love this! I feel so bad for neglecting my punches, thanks so much for the much needed inspiration!

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  91. I love the idea of the patchwork stars and maybe circles would work too...thank you for the inspiration.

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  92. Paper piecing with punch! Brilliant idea! Usually we paper piece stamp images but this time paper piecing punch design! So fresh!

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  93. Those stars look so complicated that I never would've thought of making them. Thanks to your simple directions, they'll be add to my list of great embellishments to make!

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  94. You are all sooo very KIND and PRECIOUS!! Just for this! I will be giving out an additional prize from my stash, so there will be TWO WINNERS!!


    FEEL FREE TO USE whatever you find on my blog to inspre you! That's why it's here!!!!!!!!!

    HUGS and <3

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  95. Awesome! Love those stars. So warm and cozy looking.

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  96. I adore patchwork, and here I have all I need to make some delightful stars - really great idea!! Thanks for sharing!

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  97. Lovely card. Love the idea that you can do patchwork with paper

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  98. Great idea.
    Blessings,
    Peggy Allen

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  99. Patchwork and polka dots - very cozy!

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  100. I've never tried this technique so thanks for the idea!

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  101. Great idea! My favorite tools are my basic shape punches because they are so versatile.
    slrdowney at hotmail dot com

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  102. I never thought of doing patch work with the punches. Thanks so much for sharing.

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  103. How fun are those patchwork stars!

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  104. Love the whole card, but your idea for the stars is really a pretty cool way to change things up! Great card! Thanks for sharing.

    Katie B.

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  105. This is a great idea! And great for those scraps. I already have a star punch too, so even better.

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  106. love the design of this card.

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  107. Love the patchwork idea...and I love stars!!

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  108. The pathchwork stars design looks easy and everyone has a star punch. It's a great way to use those scraps. Thanks for the idea!

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  109. Great project!

    goodjessie at hotmail.com

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  110. How fun! Love love love the patchwork stars!

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  111. I like the quilted look of the stars!

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  112. NancyS (momsnack)13 January, 2012

    Love your "patchwork" stars - how original!

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  113. Cool! What a great idea. Love your card!

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  114. Love your patchwork stars...reminds me of quilting. Great job!

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  115. Great patchwork idea! Thanks for the inspiration!

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  116. love the patchwork stars!

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  117. SUPER SUPER cute! I love those stars!!! SO CLEVER:) You are AMAZING! You always inspire me:) I wanna be like you!!!!!!!!!!! <3

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  118. This is a wonderful idea! :D

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  119. cute cute cute! Thanks for sharing! I love it!

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  120. Awesome idea, your card is gorgeous! My fave tool is my Martha Stewart Scoreboard because now I can make my own envelopes, and it's so much easier to make special non-traditional cards.

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  121. Hmmm - I think my punches are going to be revived and become a favourite after this blog hop!!
    Blessings
    Maxine

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  122. Patchwork stars....who would've thought they could be so darned cute!! LOVE this card!!

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  123. I LOVE patchwork anything and these stars are awesome!

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  124. Brilliant! Love your patchwork stars! Thanks for the chance to win!

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  125. How Nifty! What a great idea with the patchwork stars. :) Simply awesome!

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  126. What a great idea! Love your patchwork stars. Thanks for the inspiration. :D

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  127. Wow, what a fun and fantastic idea! That's one of those, why didn't I think of that idea?! hehehe! I love it, thank you so very much!
    Lisa
    lisascreativeniche at gmail.com

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  128. Wow, what a fun and fantastic idea! That's one of those, why didn't I think of that idea?! hehehe! I love it, thank you so very much!
    Lisa
    lisascreativeniche at gmail.com

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  129. Love those stars, and the way you list your supplies on the blog!!

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  130. Oh that is so neat!! Great, I Love it!!

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  131. What a fun way to use a punch!

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  132. Great way to add extra interest to your punched shapes!

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  133. So cute. can't wait to try this.

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  134. Love the patchwork! Never would have thought of it ;)

    Love also the bunting banner!

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  135. Your cards are amazing!!

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  136. Love the little quilted stars. Makes me want to try that technique with other punches.

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  137. Cute patchwork stars and banner. I love punches and all these great ideas for using them.

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  138. THAT is an AWESOME idea! Thanks for the inspiration!

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  139. Ha! I love the quilting idea!! patchwork stars are awesome looking! Your card looks great! Thanks for sharing the visuals of materials you used and the how-to photos!

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  140. Fabulous idea! Love your patchwork stars!

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  141. I loved using stars before, but now that you have introduced me to patchwork stars - watch out friends, because my next few cards are going to be patchwork star induced. Your card is so cool! Thank you sharing it with us.

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  142. That's so cute and clever! I love it!

    Kris in Alaska
    funamom at yahoo dot com

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  143. great idea, you could do that with lots of different punches, a heart one would look cool too.

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  144. Love the patchwork stars!

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  145. I don't have many tools (would love a die-cutting maching from the sounds of it!) but I like my guillotine to help cut cards to size.

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  146. Your card is lovely...what a great idea and you could really apply it to so many punches. Thanks for the inspiration

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  147. Oh so cute! Such creativity, you did an amazing job! Thank a lot for a chance to win!

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  148. Fantastic idea of a great way to use a punch!

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  149. Love the card and how you made the stars. Great job.

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  150. What a fun way to use those punches! Thanks for the great idea!

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  151. I adore your patchwork stars. I've said this before but I have to say it again. Why didn't I think of some of this stuff. Thanks for all the great inspiration. Love it!

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  152. What a clean and simple card. Never thought of paper piecing stars to give them that one of a kind look. My favorite punch is my scallop border punch from Fiskars and I like how it seems to finish off a card with a pop of color. Thanks for sharing.

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  153. So cool! I love the look.

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  154. great idea with the stars. Thanks for sharing
    Kisha

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  155. THANKS for sharing!! I LOVE the fun idea and your card is AWESOME!!
    Have a FABULOUS WEEKEND!! =)

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  156. I love those patchwork stars, too cute! Great idea with the starburst punch for a border.

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  157. Smart-that's what you are! Love the stars being mixed like that. Card turned out super!

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  158. Cool stars, I love the idea :)

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  159. Using up my scraps is my goal for January. what a great idea to make stars, have not seen that done before--love it!

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  160. Those stars are awesome. I will make some for sure.
    Thanks for sharing this great idea

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  161. I love patchwork so these are too cool.
    Love my spellbinder dies, love all the shapes!

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  162. love the color blocking. thank you for sharing.

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  163. Wow! Some awesome paper piecing happening here! Great ideas! Thanks for sharing your creativity with us.

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  164. your patch stars are very nice :-)

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  165. What an awesome unique idea!! I love the patchwork look--I'll definitely be trying this soon!

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  166. Your card is so cool! I love the way you did the patchwork stars. I am going to give those a try. My favourite tool is my Big Shot. I put it to use every time I papercraft.

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  167. I am in love with your patchwork stars! Wow!

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  168. Great card! I really like the patchwork stars.

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  169. The patchwork stars are really cute. I would like to try it sometime. Thanks for a chance to win. Ann O.

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  170. Those quilted stars are really neat! Great card, thanks for sharing.

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  171. VERY cool idea! I am going to do that with other shapes, too.

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  172. What a great idea. It looks like a quilt.

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  173. I absolutely love this card. The stars are beautiful and I like the way you cut some of them and pieced them together to make it different. Thabnks for sharing.

    Linda D.

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  174. I love the patchwork look on the stars. Very nice card

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  175. What a great and creative idea! I will definitely have to try this one! Your card is adorable!

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  176. Great quilting concept! Love the idea for Fourth of July, too. Thanks for the inspiration!!

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  177. Cool card, I love your patchwork stars!

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  178. What a great idea! I think my most used and most loved tool is my Grand Caliber. I love my dies! Thanks for the inspiration and the chance to win!

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  179. Those stars look fab. Thanks for the idea.

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  180. Such a great idea patchworking pieces of the same shaped punch.

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  181. My favorite tool is my embossing gun because I love the way my creations look when they have that clean shiny embossed look!

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  182. Those stars are adorable!
    I couldn't live without my paper trimmer!

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  183. Absolutely love this!! I love every detail! TFS! thanks for a chance to win! And, have a GREAT day!
    kmassmanATgmailDOTcom

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  184. Love the patchwork stars idea! Love all my punches!
    DeniseB

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  185. cute card. Love the colors!!! Love how you made the stars! So clever to cut them and piece them with other papers!!

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  186. So much fun how you created those patchwork stars!

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  187. Very cute idea for your stars. Love the little banner too!

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  188. Cute card - thanks for sharing.

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