Papercut Tutorial

INTRODUCING 

MY FIRST PAPERCUT PATTERNS 

ON ETSY

Dear friend,

Since I started this blog last year I have gotten several requests about offering papercut patterns on my Etsy store and today I am so excited to announce that I after many tests I finally put together the first four patterns for you to cut with your very own hands! Yay!!!! You can click on all the pictures bellow to see the larger versions.

This first series of 4 patterns includes:1 Red Riding Hood, 1 Alice in Wonderland, 1 Peter Rabbit and 1 Pinocchio. When finished, they will beautifully fit into 5"x7" frames or larger. You don't need to transfer or draw these patterns on any surface or anything like that because they are already printed on the exact professional paper that I use for my papercut pieces. This is a beautiful archival paper, 100% cotton, acid-free and the color is ivory. The pink color that you see in the pictures is the part that has been printed on the paper and that's exactly the part that we will need to cut out from the design. It couldn't get any easier :)

All you will need is a knife (I recommend an X-Acto knife with the #11 blade because they're the sharpest ones) and a self-healing cutting mat (they come in different colors and sizes). This is a great opportunity for you to give papercutting a try and right here I am going to guide you through the process of how you can cut these pieces all by yourself. These four pieces won't only make great gifts but they will also be a therapeutic activity for you. From my personal experience I can say that papercutting is one of the most relaxing things that I have done in my 38 years of life (and many more to come!)

Let's  start by taking a look at this pattern featuring Peter Rabbit, this piece will be our example. Do you see the little numbers on it? Each number is a little "island" within the general design and we are basically going to cut out these little islands one at a time, following the numerical order. The little black broken lines that you notice here are just a way to turn large spaces into islands.

Before you start working on your first pattern I HIGHLY RECOMMEND to take a piece of paper and make some cuts on it, just to let your hand "warm up" a little bit. Hold the knife in the position that is most comfortable for you. I do it in the same way that I hold a pen. Below you will find a practice sheet that I designed specially for you to exercise a little bit your hand before you start cutting your actual pieces. You can download this sheet, and print it out on regular office paper: 

Download Practice Sheet in JPG format

Download Practice Sheet in PDF format

 

Here you can see how I just cut out the island #1. You will be doing this with your knife and my number one advice is: enjoy the process and relax. Imagine that you're a surgeon and you are doing an exciting "operation" in order to bring your pattern to life :) While making the cuts, hold the paper with your other hand for more control and rotate it whenever is needed.

Here I just cut island #2, one cut at a time.

And so on...The key is to relax and enjoy the process :) 

After all the islands have been cut we will have some smaller details to work on, I didn't number them, we just need to cut them out after you're done with the islands. Here I want to tell you a little secret about how to cut the eye: instead of doing a circular cut make short straight cuts, one next to the other around the edge of the circle. In this picture you can see how I did it.

 

When you look at the piece your eye will see a nice little circle :) The little straight cuts won't be visible. You see them in this picture because this is a close up.

 

So, after the inner part of the design has been cut out we are now ready to cut the outer silhouette of the apple. And this is very easy too.

An in order to do that I illustrated another little secret for you: how to cut curves. In order to cut curved lines without accidents all you need is to do it gradually, don't try to cut a looooong line because it is very possible to go wrong and ruin the design. See the example above and notice how I made my first little cut. 

 

Then I looked through the window to see the flowers :) I took a nice breath and then I made the second little cut. Oh, I am so relaxed!

Then the third cut (I looked at the flowers again...) And before I realized I was already done cutting my Petter Rabbit piece. Yay!!!

It feels great when you see your little piece in front of you ready to frame :) You feel proud of yourself for having done the whole thing from the beginning to the end and then you feel that you can go out there in real life and do all the things that you need to do in the same way: one "cut" at a time, enjoying the process.

 

Now you understand why I haven't been able to stop making papercuts. Once you make one with the right state of mind then you will want to make more complicated ones. Stay tuned because I will be designing new ones. I am going from basic to advanced level. Yay!!!!

I wish you all my best in your papercutting adventure!!

Elsita :)

*****************************************************************************

note: If you have any question, any recommendation about what other patterns I should design...just leave me a comment here in this post :)

Comments

[Snippety Gibbet]

What a lovely tutorial, Elsa. As much paper snipping as I do, I still learned some good tips from your instructions. jan

[Elsita :)]

Thank you Snippety Gibbet!
:)

[Julie]

You are fabulous, Elsita! I might just have to try this. :)

[johnny]

smart idea!! Soon you will have hooked thousands of paper cutting jumkies all over the world....

[rachael]

what a great idea. i think i just might have to buy one of these! :)

[colleen (bcharmer)]

Oh my GOODNESS! I just purchased the four patterns, and I've downloaded my practice sheet; I can't wait to make some artwork with you!

[Debbie]

I can't thank you enough for this tutorial. I found a pattern in an old BHG Christmas book of Noah's Ark which I wanted to try, but just didn't know where to start. I would appreciate knowing what type of paper you recommend. The piece I want to do is on black paper, but am really unsure what the best type would be.

I'm definitely going to download the practice sheet and give this a whirl.

[Elsita :)]

Hi Debbie!
Here is my answer:

For papercutting almost any paper is good as long as it is acid free because that way you can preserve it forever. The weight of the paper is a more personal choice, some artists prefer thin paper, some prefer thick paper. I like both and I decide which one to use depending on the kind of piece that I want to create. Some pieces (in my opinion) look better in a thin paper while others call for thick paper. Again, this is always a personal choice.

There are soooo many options out there, online and at art stores. For black in particular I love the Canson paper for pastel. But it doesn't only come in black, here is a link to lots of other colors, including black:
http://www.in2art.com/art-supplies/canson-miteintes-pastelpaper

For thinner paper I prefer SOUTHWORTH: http://shop.southworth.com/groups.php?cat=2&group=11

But in the end, when you start out it is always better to go to your local art store and check the papers out in person. I only order from the internet after I have had the original paper in my hands.

I hope that this helps!
Elsita :)

[Johanna]

Good for you! What a great way to introduce papercutting to the crafty public. I hope you do great.

I'm off to "heart" your shop for the future. A set of these would make a great gift for a crafty friend.

[Fog and Thistle]

Elista, I love that you are sharing your patterns and educating people on your techniques. Fabulous! Wishing you much success with it.

[Lorrie (Illusio)]

Thank you Elsita..

I really enjoyed your tutorial, and even more impressed by the artistry utterly. However, I am not tempted to try yet. I am a little afraid of Acto knives, always have been since college, and only use when I have to, e.g. for cropping work and mounting, and then it's undertaken with a certain amount of trepidation and a great deal of caution.

Well done and thank you...
xx

[kirsten]

Elsita,

You are brilliant and I adore you.

xoxo

[Lisa]

Oh this is wonderful, Elsa! So nice to see someone else loving paper as much as I do (though your work is beyond belief! Far superior!!!) Very exciting...

[ArtSnark]

wonderful! great tutorial

[Anna Lloyd]

Thank you so much! I can't wait to try paper cutting with my own designs too!

[Tracey]

Thanks for such a great tutorial! I hope I can find some time to give it a try! Making snowflakes are the closest thing I've done to paper cutting!! lol!

[Cleona Lucey]

Hi Elsita!
What a great idea to pass on the love of papercutting! I used to do a bit of decoupage and I really enjoyed it, so I think i'll try and hopefully I can become confident enough to create my own designs too.
Yours is the first blog I subscribed to and still my favourite(s). You probably know this person but I saw this link today when reading about Chinese papercutting and it reminded me of you
http://www.toxel.com/inspiration/2009/03/22/beautiful-and-creative-art-of-paper-cutting/

Have a lovely weekend! Cleona

[Alessandra Fusi]

Hallo dear!
♥ You've just received a blog award!! ♥

Come and get it on my blog ;)
http://alessandrafusi.blogspot.com/2009/06/one-lovely-blog-award.html

With love,

Ale*

[Samantha]

I just tried drawing my own "paper lace" for a card I'm making... and these tips are helpful, since I drew a lot of curves. But the best tip you gave - RELAX. I'm not doing that! Hahaha.

I love your happy, peaceful tutorial. I'll happily spread this around when showing off my finished product!

[Flash]

Thank you for this tutorial. I tend to use manicure scissors to do paper cutting because I always tear the paper when using an exacto knife. I even bought a special Fiskars cutter and still was unsuccessful.

[Elsita :)]

Dear Flash,

The reason why you tear the paper when using an X-Acto knife could be that you're not using the right blade (#11) which is extremely sharp, it is impossible to tear the paper when the blade is super sharp. But if you're already using this kind of blade, then maybe your blade is it not "fresh" I replace the blades all the time. They are good as long as you don't have to make any effort to cut the paper, after a number of cuts you always need to replace them.

The other reason could be that the paper you're using is too thin, for thin papers it is better to use scissors. I love scissors too, specially because it is very easy to cut curved lines with them.

I hope that this helps!
Elsita :)

[Elsita :)]

Thank you so much Cleona for the wonderful link!

Thank you Ale for the blog award!

[SuzK]

thank you so much for sharing the tutorial and putting patterns together. I love your work and to have an opportunity to try this is wonderful!

[Linda]

Hello, i referred your tutorial on my blog. you can see them on: http://paneamoreecreativita.blogspot.com/2009/06/come-si-crea-un-papercut.html
I hope you like it.
Hello, linda

[cheryl]

Thanks, I just received my patterns and I'm excited to try them! A few questions:

1) What's the best way to mount the finished papercut, once I'm ready to frame it? Do you glue it to a background piece? If so, what glue do you recommend?

2) How do you safely dispose of the blades? I was thinking a small plastic bottle or something?

3) If I want to cut down a larger piece of paper to make my own designs on small pieces, what's the best way to cut it so it's nice and straight? Do you use a paper cutter, or an Xacto blade with ruler, or...?

Thanks very much!
Cheryl

[Claire Winlo]

Thank you, Elsita! I'm going to try papercutting now! :)

[Elsita :)]

Hi Cheryl!
Here are my answers:

1.1) What's the best way to mount the finished papercut, once I'm ready to frame it? Do you glue it to a background piece? If so, what glue do you recommend?

Yes, the best thing is to glue the papercut to a background piece, just make sure that that background piece it is acid-free. There are lots of nice acid-free papers out there. And also the glue should be acid-free, here is one that I like: http://www.pfile.com/product/v-s-200b/s

2) How do you safely dispose of the blades? I was thinking a small plastic bottle or something?

When you buy these blades: http://www.dickblick.com/products/x-acto-blade-safety-dispenser/ The little box contains many replacement blades but also, there is a space inside, like an empty box where you discard the used blades safely. There is a little hole for it.

3) If I want to cut down a larger piece of paper to make my own designs on small pieces, what's the best way to cut it so it's nice and straight? Do you use a paper cutter, or an Xacto blade with ruler, or...?

I use both of them, depending on how large the paper is. They both work fine.

I hope that this helps!!
Happy Paper cutting!!!!

Elsita :)

[Meg]

Thank you for the tutorial, I can't wait to try it!

[Sara]

Hi Elsita! I ordered your pattern kit and loved it so much that I'm going to package them up and give them as a gift. I think they'll make a sweet present for a mom-to-be. I left a note at etsy, but I just wanted to reiterate that I think it's really amazing that you're encouraging other people to take a try at your art specialty. I am inspired, truly. Thank you! I can't wait for the next set! I'd love the shoemaker's elves!

[Hani]

I love the art of paper cutting too esp. kiri-e so it's just wonderful when I find such artist like you who took the time to give tutorials as well.

Luv your works.

[susanintexas]

Elsita,
I just received my lovely paper cut "cheatsheets" and I can't wait for the weekend to do them. They are so beautiful. I love the paper and I really can't wait to get more of these from you...what wonderful and classy looking gifts to make with a simple frame. plus I love nice paper too.

I'd love to have more nursery rhyme characters as you have already done, but also some of your more interesting artwork would be wonderful--just imagine your work populating all over the world from budding paper cut artists like me!
thank you so much and I can't wait for my son to be old enough to do this as he loves to make snowflakes with scissors...he's 7 now, so I'm thinking 8 or 9?
take care!

[Nicholas]

What an excellent blog you have here. Finally, someone else that I have discovered that enjoys papercut art as much as me. I can't wait to finish my site and start blogging about this art medium. Thank you for sharing.

[Rachel]

awesome!!! I wonder, how you cut it all out perfectly, flawless... cause I think I might easily broke it..
it looks gorgeous..

[Maria Sanchez]

I've always been afraid of cutting things with sharp objects, but this makes me want to try. Great tutorital thank you for sharing your art.

[Denise]

Oh. My. God. I am infatuated with all of the work you do. Your papercuts are amazing. I got 3 of them a few months ago & just want more and more. Thank you for putting out the patterns that we can cut out ourselves. One of my best friends if finally pregnant for the first time & i'm going to get them for her baby's room. I can't wait to see what's next.

[global city condo]

Your tutorial is great, i think i can make my own patter at home as well..

Your designs are lovely. When i was in high school i remember my 1st paper pattern and it was a simple flower. and i got an 80% of it. Fair enough for my one sleepless night.

[RIKE]

i just stumbled about your blog ... right after i made my first own papercut (http://bastisrike.blogspot.com/2009/08/blog-post_15.html)

after this tutorial with those great "little secrets" i know, the next one will even get better ...

thanks a lot!

[Leia Lima]

Wow, I'm so glad I stumbled onto this site! Your artwork is absolutely delightful. I'm attempting my first piece of paper art tonight, and your tutorial will be key. Thanks!!!

[Carin Bertelle]

I love everything that has already been said and agree with all of it. I'm waiting for my patterns to come in the mail.

Patterns I'd like to see:
Charlotte's Web characters and Charlotte's Web with her adjectives of Wilbur. This is such a beautiful love story about friendship!

I love your site and especially "The Hidden Seed" site which initially I didn't like but only becuse I didn't really like myself and I was jealous to see somone else liking herself. The more you shared your journey, the more I could relate and was encouraged to be more brave in liking myself.
Love you!

[Beth]

Oh Elsita!!!
Su trabajo es muy estupendo, realmente increible, felicitaciones, es usted magnifica !♥