Try It Out Thursday

I was talking to one of my customers yesterday, thinking out loud about the new product I would use for today's Try It Out. She said that even though eyelets weren't new, she had tried to use them with a friend of hers the week before and they couldn't figure out why they weren't working. Would I do a lesson on those?

I thought it was a great idea, so even though these aren't new to me, I'm betting they are new to some of you. I hope you find this valuable!

I don't usually mark where I 'm going to place my eyelets; I just do it by "eyeballing" it. But this time I'm doing an arc, so I want it to be even. I used a coaster, but any round object will work to give you the placement of the eyelets. I must admit, though, that marking them with a pen wasn't the best choice. I just got lucky that my first placement worked out - whew!

You will need a paper punch to make holes where you marked your placement. I couldn't find the measurement for the hole punch that is part of the CTMH eyelet setting kit, but I believe it is 1/8 inch, and the most-used eyelets are, although they also come in 1/16 inch and 3/8 inch sizes. If you have the CTMH set, it is the middle interchangeable head that you will need to use.

Once the holes have been made, turn your project upside down and slide your open eyelets into the holes. The flat, wider side should be under your paper (on the right side) while the smaller, cylindrical part sticks up through the hole.

The next step requires the tool that has a raised star on one end of it. This star will break through the shaft of the eyelet as you hammer it down. Place it over the eyelet so that the star is directly in the middle of the shaft. Hammer it 2 or 3 times, until the tool is flush against the safety board.

Once you hammer each of the shafts until they have divided, set the tool aside and use the hammer to pop the back of each eyelet one more time to flatten it completely.

A look at the back side of the finished arc.

A look a the front side of the finished arc.

My finished layouts with the arcs in each of the upper outside corners. I'm contemplating threading them with ribbon. Maybe Garden Green organdy? Would that be overkill?