EASY DOES IT: FANCY EDGE CIRCLES

Here's what you need: air erasable marking pen; small spacer bead; Quilter's Wonder Wheel; 2 MM Foamies (a craft foam) and/or Scratch Art Scratch Foam; circle die for a die cutting machine and/or circle hand punch; decorative edge scissors; repositionable glue or tape.

The aqua Air Erasable Fabric Marking Pen (thin point) is from Collins, Inc., as is the Quilter's Wonder Wheel; the pink Air Erasable/Eraser Pen is from Clover Needlecraft, Inc. You don't need both pens; I included two in case you had problems finding one. Both Collins and Clover products are found in the quilting departments in crafts and fabric stores. Spacer beads are in the bead department of a crafts stores. And you know where all the other stuff is (in that pile under your desk).

The red circle was cut from Foamies with a Sizzix die; the white circle was punched from Scratch Foam with a hand punch. A light coating of repositionable glue was added around the edge of the circle and allowed to dry to a tacky state. It's not a problem if you don't have a die cut machine, circle punches are avaible in a variety of sizes.

Position the circle on the paper and burnish lightly to secure the bond; it's important that the edge of the circle is secure on the paper so that the Wheel or spacer does not slide under it when tracing. A Wonder Wheel tracing will be 1/4" from the edge of a circle; a spacer tracing will be 1/8" from the edge of a circle.

Place the marking pen so that is perfectly upright in the center hole of the Wheel or spacer. With the edge of the Wheel or spacer flush against the edge of the circle, move the Wheel (spacer) around the edge. Pick up the circle and set it aside.


Sitting is recommended when cutting out the circle. Cut away excess paper from the traced circle. Hold the scissors with the points straight out in front of you as you cut; remember to rotate the paper, not the scissors, when cutting. Cut small sections at a time to maintain the pattern of the decorative edge.


There's a lot of ways this technique can be used, but probably the one that is most obvious is the 'scallop edge circle inside a circle' design that seems to be every one's favorite right now. Course, you could alter it slightly and use another design for the edge...no rules says you can't!
Just in case you wondered...air erasable marking pens are the ticket when you need a mark or two on a layout or card front or collage. The markings disappear within 72 hours. However, PRE-TEST before you start. I have yet to have a mark linger, but there's always a first time.
And yep...the spacer bead and the air erasable marking pen is the perfect tracing combination when you aren't cutting out an image directly on the stamped line.