Cut it out!
It’s not really Spring yet, but it’s Spring-ish here in Michigan, and I’ve got cabin fever. Cabin fever always makes me want to try something new, and somehow I stumbled upon the art of paper cutting, and I’m smitten. (Obsessed might be a better word.)
So obsessed was I that I hadn’t even done a single paper cut before I started making all these plans for a big, elaborate, layered paper cut. I had to put on the brakes. Surely it would be wise to try it out first to see if I like it? Yes, my rational self says. That would be wise.
There’s a buttload of inspiration out there, especially these by Helen Musselwhite:
I LOVE the diorama effect. Dioramas. are. so. cool. They’re always one of my favorite parts of natural history museums. I used to spend hours on dioramas for school. Plus, it’s fun to say. DIE OH RAMAAAAAA!!!!
In a cloche! AWESOME!
I really SQUEE’ed when I saw the owls because the design I’m planning is a mirror image like that. I initially started it a few months ago thinking it would be an embroidery project, but now I’m in the midst of paper cut fever, so paper beats thread in this battle!
Here is my very first paper cut (unless you count snowflakes and paper doll chains I made as a kid):
Free squirrel Valentine template from Little Acorn.
I love the way you can bend the little branches and bits to make them stand away from the background more.
I used a piece of regular old printer paper as my test, as I didn’t really have anything better at the time. (Though I’m now armed with 200 pieces of pretty colored paper from the craft store, mwahaha.) I used a standard Xacto knife with a #2 blade.
I chose the squirrel design as my test because it’s symmetrical and cute. Since the design is symmetrical, you can fold it in half and cut through two layers at once. I wasn’t sure I wanted to do that with my design, thus the test. I actually wound up cutting the whole thing out flat. I tried doing it the folded way, but I couldn’t tell when I was cutting through both layers of paper, and I gave up. That’s okay, I like doing things the long, hard way (that’s what she said!).
The verdict is: paper cutting RULES! It’s the perfect thing to do in front of the TV, which is what I’m always looking for, since sewing in front of the TV doesn’t work so well. I love my Boob Tube, but I get antsy sometimes just sitting there like a po-tah-to. Now I shall be a knife wielding potato.
