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Lockdown Papercutting Project Day 25: Flower Border

papercut 540 flower border horizontal - LaserSister - KayVincent

Flower Border

This is from an ongoing papercutting project that I’ve been doing (trying to work my way through all of the designs in the “922 Decorative Vector Ornaments” book, by Dover Books.)

I’m quarter of the way through the 100-day challenge!! Today’s design is number #540 in the book. I couldn’t think of anything particularly imaginative to call it, so this one is “Flower Border”:

papercut 540 flower border vertical - LaserSister - KayVincent

Closer up:

papercut 540 flower border top square - LaserSister - KayVincent

…and the middle…

papercut 540 flower border middle square - LaserSister - KayVincent

…and the bottom:

papercut 540 flower border bottom square - LaserSister - KayVincent

It reminds me of an ornate piece of decorative ironwork, or a piece of a gate or something. I might be able to use this for a wedding invitation or similar.

And I think I’ve done an OK job of the cutting. Maybe the bottom section is the dodgiest part, but because the design has a lot of flowers and leaves in it, it just seems like the wobbly lines are part of the natural design.

It was a nice big piece to cut, and took well over an hour, and I didn’t accidentally stretch the paper or rip any of the design. So on the whole I’m pretty pleased with it. Yeah – I reckon it’s one of my favourites so far in this project.

Any comments? You can chip in via the comments page, or Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn or Instagram.

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Lockdown Papercutting Project Day 24: Broken Papercut

papercut 527 broken papercut - horizontal - LaserSister - KayVincent

Broken Papercut #527

This “Broken Papercut” is from an ongoing papercutting project (where I’m trying to adapt and cut my way through all of the designs in the “922 Decorative Vector Ornaments” book by Dover Books.)

This is design number #527 in the book. I’m not cutting them in any particular order, but I think I’m getting fairly close to having actually cut 527 of the designs over the last three or four years.

This one is a very sad-looking papercut. My cat jumped onto the cutting mat and the papercut stuck to her paw. Then when she jumped back down off the cutting mat she just left a crumpled, twisted piece of black paper on the carpet – with a crucial piece missing! Once I’d straightened out the papercut and neatened it up a bit where the piece had been torn off, I decided I’d spent enough time on it and didn’t want to start the whole thing again. So here it is:

papercut 527 broken papercut pinterest vertical - LaserSister - KayVincent

Closer up:

papercut 527 broken papercut - close up - LaserSister - KayVincent

Any comments? You can chip in via the comments page, or Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn or Instagram.

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Lockdown Papercutting Project Day 23: Olive Leaves

papercut 121 olive leaves - horizontal - LaserSister - KayVincent

Olive Leaves Papercut #121

This “Olive Leaves” design is from an ongoing papercutting project that I’ve been doing, where I’m adapting and cutting designs from the “922 Decorative Vector Ornaments” book by Dover Books. But because of the 2020 Covid19 lockdown, I’ve put my project into overdrive and am attempting 100 designs in 100 days.

Today’s design is number #121 in the book.

papercut 121 olive leaves with scalpel - LaserSister - KayVincent

Closer up:

papercut 121 olive leaves close up - LaserSister - KayVincent

Oops, spot the obvious mistake. I accidentally chopped one of the olives off. But the rest of the design is so pleasing to me that I think I’ll forgive myself and just promise to do better next time. And what the heck – sometimes nature isn’t symmetrical anyway. Or maybe somebody just picked it off and ate it 🙂

I really do like this design – it’s one of my favourites so far. Very simple but very elegant. It was enjoyable to cut, too. Therapeutic.

I fancy using it in a ‘real’ project, one day. Maybe with some other plants that do well in hot climates. Oh dear – that’s reminded me that I was supposed to be on holiday in Italy, this week.

Any comments? You can chip in via the comments page, or Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn or Instagram.

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Lockdown Papercutting Project Day 22: Ivy Leaf Border

papercut 512 ivy leaf border - horizontal - LaserSister - KayVincent

Ivy Leaf Border #512

This is from an ongoing papercutting project that I’ve been doing. (Basically I’m trying to work my way through all of the designs in the “922 Decorative Vector Ornaments” book by Dover Books.) Today’s design is number #512 in the book, and for obvious reasons I’ve decided that its title should be “Ivy Leaf Border”.

papercut 512 ivy leaf border with scalpel - LaserSister - KayVincent

Closer up:

papercut 512 ivy leaf border close up - LaserSister - KayVincent

I’m not really sure why, but these leaves look happy and cheerful to me, somehow. Maybe it’s because they (especially that one furthest left) look like they’ve got little mouths that are open and smiling. Or maybe it’s because they’re all lined up like dancers in a row doing the can-can or something.

They’re definitely not all identical, but that’s another reason why I like this papercutting – it just shows that they were cut by hand (or scalpel and scissors, to be exact) and not with my laser cutter.

I might even be able to use this design in another project one day. The line of leaves will make a very nice border.

While I cut them out I was listening to Caroline Criado Perez’s audiobook “Do it like a woman”. I was hoping that the book would be full of inspiring and uplifting tales, but actually it’s a bit grim. So it’s just as well the little leaves look like they’re smiling and dancing – that cheered me up a bit.

Do the leaves look happy to you, or is it really just me? Feel free to let me know via the comments page, or Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn or Instagram.

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Lockdown Papercutting Project Day 21: Fire Flower Frame

papercut 510 fire flower frame - square horizontal - LaserSister - KayVincent

Fire Flower Frame #510

“Fire Flower Frame” design is from an ongoing papercutting project that I’ve been doing (where I’m trying to work my way through designs from the “922 Decorative Vector Ornaments” book by Dover Books). I’ve accelerated the project during the 2020 Covid19 Lockdown though, and am now attempting 100 cuts in 100 days.

This design is number #510 in the book. The designs don’t have official names, but I’m better at remembering them by name than by number, so I keep coming up with my own titles for each project. Today’s design looks like it is meant to be a frame that goes round the outside of other images. I’ve adapted it so that it’s a much shorter version, but have obviously kept the embellishments at the ends, because they’re the most interesting part of the design. To me they look like a cross between a flower and a mini fire. (I suppose I could have called the design “flame flower frame”, but that’s a bit of a tongue-twister.):

papercut 510 fire flower frame vertical with scalpel - LaserSister - KayVincent

Closer up:

papercut k510 fire flower frame closeup - LaserSister - Kay Vincent

I’m even pleased with this one when I look at it up close. It might look like a simple design, but the long straight thin lines are quite difficult to cut, and are very easy to stretch or rip while cutting.

I might even use the design as a frame for a future papercut, one day.

Any comments? Please feel free to comment via the comments section, or Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn or Instagram.

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Lockdown Papercutting Project Day 20: Flower Arrangement

papercut 515 flower arrangement horizontal- LaserSister - KayVincent

Flower Arrangement #515

“Flower Arrangement” continues with my ongoing papercutting project (trying to adapt and cut designs from the “922 Decorative Vector Ornaments” book by Dover Books.)

Today’s design is number #515 in the book.

papercut 515 flower arrangement with scalpel - LaserSister - KayVincent

Closer up:

papercut 515 flower arrangement square - LaserSister - KayVincent

On the whole I’m quite pleased with this one. I’m definitely getting better at cutting out those tiny grapes and berries (or whatever those round things are). Also improving the cutting of the tiny thin lines, and not ripping the paper or stretching it.

Having said that, for some reason I’m not a giant fan of this design overall, but I can’t really put my finger on why. After all, it’s a bit Art Nouveau-y, and so it should be right up my street.

So I probably wouldn’t use the entire design in a future project, but I might use elements from it in another papercutting. Especially that middle flower – I do like that bit.

I must be at least halfway through the 922 designs, now. I’ll have to have a count-up, soon. And it’s amazing how quickly these last 20 days have gone. I’m already a fifth of the way through my 100-day mission to adapt and cut one design per day.

Any comments about the cutting? You can chip in via the comments page, or Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn or Instagram.

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Lockdown Papercutting Project Day 19: Swirly Flower

papercut 539 swirly flower with leaves horizontal - LaserSister - KayVincent

Swirly Flower #539

This is from an ongoing papercutting project that I’ve been doing for the last couple of years, trying to work my way through all of the designs in the “922 Decorative Vector Ornaments” book by Dover Books. But for the 2020 Covid19 Lockdown, I’ve turned it into a ‘100 cuts in 100 days’ project…

Today’s design is number #539 in the book.

papercut 539 swirly flower with leaves vertical - LaserSister - KayVincent

Closer up:

papercut 539 swirly flower with leaves square - LaserSister - KayVincent

Any comments? You can chip in via the comments page, or Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn or Instagram.

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Lockdown Papercutting Project Day 18: Egyptian with Snake

papercut 538 egyptian with snake horizontal - LaserSister - KayVincent

Egyptian with Snake #538

This is from an ongoing papercutting project that I’ve been doing (trying to work my way through all of the designs in the “922 Decorative Vector Ornaments” book by Dover Books.) For want of a better name I’ve called it “Egyptian with Snake”.

papercut 538 egyptian with snake vertical - LaserSister - KayVincent

Closer up:

papercut 538 egyptian with snake square - LaserSister - KayVincent

This is a bit of a strange design, to my eyes. Why is the person coming out of a bowl? Is the snake meant to look like it’s a sock puppet?

Er, I’m not sure what I might use the design for in future, but at least it was a very quick one to cut.

Does the snake look like a sock puppet on a third hand to you as well? You can chip in via the comments page, or Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn or Instagram.

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Lockdown Papercutting Project Day 17: Tall Fruit Basket

papercut 507 tall fruit basket horizontal - LaserSister - KayVincent

Tall Fruit Basket #517

This is from an ongoing papercutting project that I’ve been doing. (Basically I’m trying to work my way through all of the designs in the “922 Decorative Vector Ornaments” book by Dover Books.) The book only has numbers next to the designs and doesn’t have names or titles for them, so I usually call them whatever they look like. Hence “Tall Fruit Basket”…

papercut 507 tall fruit basket vertical - LaserSister - KayVincent

Closer up:

papercut 507 tall fruit basket square - LaserSister - KayVincent

Although I think a tall fruit basket would actually be rather impractical in real life (What are those fruits? How the heck do you reach the fruit at the bottom? How do you clean it if a kiwi fruit goes all mushy? If it’s not hollow all the way down to the bottom, then why does it need to be such a tall plinth to just hold fruit? If you did stretch your hand down to the bottom and grab a big grapefruit, is the middle section too narrow to let you pull the grapefruit back up? etc…), I like the overall lines of the design.

But I’m guessing I won’t be using the design again in a hurry.

Any comments? You can chip in via the comments page, or Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn or Instagram.

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Lockdown Papercutting Project Day 16: Woman Reading

papercut 531 reading woman horizontal - LaserSister - KayVincent

Woman Reading #531

Woman Reading…is me, at the moment! She looks very scholarly, and that reflects my current PhD-student status.

This is the latest design in the ongoing papercutting project that I’ve been doing. (Basically I’m trying to work my way through all of the designs in the “922 Decorative Vector Ornaments” book by Dover Books.) Today’s design is number #531 in the book. (They don’t have names – just numbers – so I have to come up with titles for the designs.)

papercut 531 reading woman vertical - LaserSister - KayVincent

Closer up:

papercut 531 reading woman square - LaserSister - KayVincent

I originally thought that she was a bit of a funny shape, but now that I look at the design again, I realise that she is sitting down and the giant book is resting on her knees.

Her face was the trickiest thing to adapt for papercutting, because I needed a way to attach the eyes and mouth to the side of the face without the links looking too obvious. I think if I cut this design again then I’d tweak the design of the hands. They look a bit claw-like and grabby.

That reminds me – I’ve just rejoined GAP (the Guild of American Papercutters (not that I’m American, but I don’t think there’s a UK version (?GUKP?!))) and there’s still time to enter their “Ex Libris” call for artwork. I’ve got at least another four months to go until the deadline, so I might come up with my own design for a bookplate.

Any comments? You can chip in via the comments page, or Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn or Instagram.