Creative Ways to Use Eyelets in Scrapbooking and Other Crafts

Eyelets are very common in scrapbooking and card making. They are metal rings that are used to reinforce holes in papers or fabrics. I was never much of a fan of eyelets for the first couple of years I started to scrapbook. I thought the only good thing about them was that they were a rather inexpensive embellishment. They were kind of a boring embellishment to me, not to mention a hassle trying to set them in paper. However, more recently I have found more creative ways to use them that I would like to share. Also with the invention of the Crop-A-Dile punching and setting tools in more recent years, using eyelets on scrapbook pages have been taken to a whole new level.

The eyelets main purpose is to reinforce holes in paper. It also adds color and texture to your layout. It can also be used to attach things to our page such as tags, photos, photo mats, notes, ribbon and other embellishments.

Why use eyelets:

- Reinforce holes in your scrapbook page, card, tag or ribbon

- Add color to your work

- Add texture to your work

How to use eyelets on paper:

- Use them like bullet points in text

- Use them in the hole of your tag

- Use them to attach tags, ribbon, etc to your page

- Use them to thread ribbon through

- Use them in corners of photos

- Use them as centers of flowers

Misc:

Eyelets can also be used on fabrics. You can use them to make decorative bracelets and belts as well as accents on clothing. I have used them to reinforce the holes in my kids' belts and to make extra holes in the belts to accommodate smaller or bigger kids. You can also get creative and make handbags and headbands with eyelets as decoration. Decorate your clipboards and other desk accessories. You can decorate tin containers such as buckets, band-aid tins, etc. An eyelet can be used much like a paper clip to hold several pages together. You can put eyelets down the sides of a manila folder to make it a pocket folder.

I like to make paper bag, chipboard and acrylic scrapbook albums. I usually punch anywhere from three to five holes on the left side of the pages that make up the album and thread ribbon through them or use binder rings to keep my pages together. I have used eyelets to reinforce those holes to keep them from getting damaged or to prevent wear and tear.

To insert an eyelet, you will need:

- An anywhere hole-punch, an eyelet setter, a hammer and a mat.

- A Crop-A-Dile

- Or a Crop-A-Dile Big Bite

How to set an eyelet using an anywhere hole punch?

You can set an eyelet by using an anywhere hole punch/eyelet setter. To use an anywhere hole punch you will need a mat, hammer and anywhere hole punch/eyelet setter. You can purchase these items separately or in a kit. First you will need to place your mat on a hard flat surface like your craft table or kitchen table. Then lay your paper on top of the mat and place the hole punch on the spot where you want to put you eyelet. Now hit the top of the hole punch with the hammer and it will put a hole in the paper.

Now put the eyelet in the hole in the paper. Turn the paper over and place it back on the mat. Place the eyelet setter on top of the eyelet and hit the top of the setter with the hammer to flatten out the back of the eyelet.

A Crop-A-Dile is my favorite tool to use to set an eyelet. It is fast and easy. You can punch a hole and set the eyelet with a simple squeeze of your hand. I would highly recommend investing in a Crop-A-Dile.