Punches

Punches are becoming more and more popular with a great selection on the market. They can also be used to create some fab stencils to use on your cards and pages. I like to have a border of some description around most of my layouts to hold your focus on the page. I usually draw around the edge or add my journaling but using punched stencils works really well.

Using your cropadile or hole punch create your desired pattern along the edge of a 12x12 scrap piece of paper.
Place your holey stencil over the paper you want to stencil onto and using an inkpad carefully go over your punched area. Rotate it so that all edges are stenciled.

Try using a variety of punches to create a background for your page. This Martha Stewart punch makes an excellent stencil.