Bunny Paper Cut

Looking for more Easter decor to put up around the house, I decided to design another paper cut for the season. You might remember that I designed this paper cut for Valentine's. I've mentioned before that I'm definitely an amateur when it comes to the art of paper cutting, but I still enjoy it. The bunny design I put together has a couple of flaws, but I still like the way it turned out.

The above shows my cutting process. There are more detailed photos of the process on my Valentine's paper cut post. The pattern needs a little tweaking and I modified it a little as I went along, but I still thought I'd provide my sketch in case you'd like to try it out yourself.

Download the Bunny Paper Cut PDF here:

Bunny Paper Cut

Easter is coming up so quickly and I feel very unprepared. Jellybean's birthday is in a week and I keep forgetting that I need to get our Easter plans figured out for just another week after that. Then, of course, there's the whole birth of our third child looming. I still have about 6 weeks to go. I told D today that I need a baby-cation. I'm thinking that involves me, a hotel room, room service, movies and some serious alone time. I doubt that's possible, but it's nice to dream about. 

Have a Happy Day!

~MJ

Paper Cut Valentine

I absolutely love the art of paper cutting (Scherenschnitte). There are many true artists out there that create amazing, intricate work. I took a class on that topic a couple of years ago and have been trying my hand at it now and again ever since.

Because I'm not much of an artist and because I'm such an amateur at paper cutting, I shamelessly stole a beautiful paper cut pattern from the internet (here. Wish I had a true photo credit for it.) and then simplified it a little so that I could actually make it work for me. I added some of my own touches as well.

Here's a few tips I picked up in my class if you'd like to dabble a little in paper cutting yourself.
First, you'll need a pattern to work from. (at least I do) I sketched my pattern onto a piece of printer paper. Then you'll need a nice sheet of paper to cut the pattern onto. I decided to go with a sheet of red vellum. I figured that it isn't the easiest to tear, but it is still relatively thin. Whatever paper you choose, make sure that it is the same color all the way through.

Next, you'll want a few tools: A nice craft knife, (this one from Martha Stewart is awesome), a new sharp blade, and a self healing mat to cut on. (A smaller mat than mine is preferable so that you can turn it this way and that with more ease.)

Start cutting the small details on the interior of your pattern. You'll want the excess paper, it makes everything more stable. Go slowly and make small cuts. Once you are done with the small details, move onto the bigger details and then cut the main outline.

As you can see, my cuts are far from perfect, but oh is it satisfying seeing the end result of your hard work. It's almost magical when you carefully separate the paper cut from the outside paper. One last note: Remember to cut the paper and not yourself. That's always good advice.

Have a Happy Day!

~MJ

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