Category: Laser cutting

General lasercutting news and information. Laser-cut products and projects.

Posted on by — Leave a comment

STEM PhD Research Project

jumping jack spider STEM project

Hi! I have recently started a PhD* course, and am hoping to carry out a STEM research project. My intended area of study is along the lines of “Encouraging more children – especially girls – to participate in STE(A)M subjects” (i.e. Science, Technology, Engineering, Maths…but via arts and creative media).

At the time of writing (March 2020) it looks like my PhD research project about STEM might be very relevant in the coming weeks. There are lots of children at home due to the Corona Virus school closures, and I suspect that they (and their parents) will be looking for tutorials and projects to keep their minds and hands active during the ‘lockdown’ period.

Over the next couple of years I’m hoping to:

  • Research and share a load of free STEM resources – especially for primary school teachers.
  • Gather information from UK primary school teachers about how they deliver the subject of Design & Technology.
  • Study existing links between primary schools and local ‘Maker Movement’ groups, museums, coding clubs etc…
  • Research and report ‘best practice’ models of delivering STE(A)M content via the current UK National Curriculum.

Go back

Your message has been sent

How can we help each other?

If you would be interested in being part of my study (and receiving /sharing information on STE(A)M delivery within primary schools – or even just to have a rant about STE(A)M and D&T in the UK National Curriculum) then please do get in touch via the brief form below, or via my Contact page:

I’m still putting together resources, but in the meantime, I recommend checking out websites such as RobIves.com (or my own PolymerKay.com for STEM and STEAM tutorials.

Thanks!

Kay

*It’s officially an EdD course (Doctorate in Educational Studies), but nobody has heard of those, so it’s easier to call it a PhD. I’ll still be “Dr Kay” at the end of it 🙂

Posted on by — Leave a comment

100+ Replacement scalpel blades for papercutting

papercut triangular flower and leaf sprig 722 - watermarked - LaserSister - KayVincent

Where can I buy replacement scalpel (x-acto) blades in the UK?

(Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. If you’d like to know more, please check out the small print page…)

My ongoing papercutting project continues, where I’m trying to adapt all 922 images from the book “922 Decorative Vector Ornaments“, to make them into papercutting designs, and then cut them out by hand. (Oh alright – for accuracy’s sake, I’m cutting them out with a scalpel, not my hand.) But in order to do that I need a constant supply of fresh, sharp scalpel blades. And if I’m going to cut 922 designs, then I will need 100+ replacement scalpel blades.

I haven’t found anywhere to buy them locally, so I need to buy them online. And it looks like the only way to buy blades economically is to order them in bulk. So I normally do a search on Amazon or Ebay.

But Amazon and Ebay sellers come and go all the time, and so do their products. Therefore I’ll try to keep updating this page whenever I find a supplier of 100+ replacement X-Acto / scalpel blades.

In the meantime, here are the latest links I’ve found:

As I mentioned above, suppliers keep changing, and so I don’t think these are the exact same replacement blades that I am currently using. But when I do run out of my current supply, this is the kind of search that I will be running, and these are the kind of blades that I will be buying.

Are you a supplier of replacement blades, or do you know of a good source? If so, please give me a shout! You can let me know via the comments section or Contact page, or Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Papercutting project (continued): convolvulus flower

Convolvulus flower #525

My ongoing papercutting project continues (where I’m trying to adapt 922 images from the book “922 Decorative Vector Ornaments“, to make them into papercutting designs, and then cut them out by hand). This one is design #525 in the book, and it looks like a convolvulus flower, so that’s what I’ve called it.

(Some of the links in this article might be ‘affiliate links’. If you’d like to know more, please check out the small print page…)

Closer up:

This design reminds me of 1960s Chinese papercuts. (Wikipedia calls the style “chuāng huā (窗花), window flowers or window paper-cuts“, because the finished papercuts were often displayed in windows.)

It appeals to me because it’s sort-of-symmetrical-but-also-not-symmetrical.

The design was a fairly ‘forgiving’ piece to cut, because the cuts are mostly angular and jagged. And the lines that are curved tend to make nice sweeping lines rather than fiddly little shapes. So yes, overall it was very satisfying to cut, and even close-up I’m pretty happy with it.

While I was cutting it I was listening to “Blood’s Pride”, by Evie Manieri:

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

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Latest laser cut family tree design

Laser cut family tree design

I’ve been a bit busy with my PhD recently, so have put all of my online shops into ‘holiday mode’ in order to devote more time to studying. But I do still accept occasional word-of-mouth orders from friends and family and existing customers. This week I made a laser cut family tree design for a friend:

This is one of my favourites – I particularly like the pattern of the woodgrain on this one.

And it’s always a good sign when you can read the names even as a tiny thumbnail-sized image. It usually means that in the real-life version, the design will be readable from across any room where the piece is hanging or standing. For the more recent designs I’ve been getting into the habit of leaving a lot more space around the letters than before, and the ‘less is more’ approach means that the names do seem to stand out a lot better.

Despite being raaaather busy (or maybe because of it?!) I also accidentally got sucked into dabbling with Instagram this week, so have now properly activated my account and have put this ‘Doreen’ family tree image on my account (@LaserSister). So if Instagram is your thing, please do have a poke around my images and say hi over there (once I upload some more content onto it!)

Right, must go and do some more studying. But in the meantime if you have urgent need of a unique personalised family tree, feel free to contact me or to check on the ‘Shop‘ tab at the top of this page to see if any of my online stores are up and running at the moment.

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Papercutting Project (Continued): Pomegranate and Leaves Papercut K708

Pomegranate and Leaves Papercut – From Decorative Vector Ornaments Book

The ‘Pomegranate and Leaves’ papercut design is from an ongoing papercutting project that I’ve been doing, for the last couple of years(!) I’m trying to adapt and cut all of the designs in the book “922 Decorative Vector Ornaments“. I’ve forgotten why I even wanted to do it, now, but I’ve got so far into it that I might as well continue 🙂

(Some of the links in this article are affiliate links. If you’d like to know more, please check out the small print page…)

The book doesn’t have titles for any of the designs, so I’ve called no# 708 “Pomegranate and Leaves”.

Closer up:

This design has got some extremely tiny shapes to cut out, and they were a real challenge. Some are only a little bit bigger than a pinprick:

I really do need to count up how many of these designs I’ve cut now, but I think it’s close to 400. And with each one I feel like I’m getting just a bit more confident and competent at cutting. I’m also getting better at adapting images so that I can make papercuttings from them.

I particularly enjoyed adapting and cutting this piece, because it’s got the traditional floral shapes of an Art Nouveau design. The curves of the leaves appeal to me, as well as the stylised pomegranates (at least, I think that’s what they are!) I can definitely see myself using some of the elements of this design in a future project.

While I was cutting it I was (half-)watching Cake Walk on Amazon Prime (Amazon Prime might still have a free 30-day trial if you haven’t tried it already).

Cake Walk really is a guilty pleasure for me – the finished cake designs don’t always look 100% professional, but I just enjoy watching the processes that the contestants go through. And I suppose I feel a bit of camaraderie with them as well, because when the Zombie Apocalypse inevitably comes, then it will turn out that cake designing and papercutting will both be among the least useful hobbies that people could have spent their time on…

Any comments about the design or the cutting (or my taste in TV shows)? You can chip in via the comments page, or Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn or Instagram.

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Papercutting Project (Continued): Standard Rosebush Papercut K122

Standard Rosebush Papercut from Decorative Vector Ornaments Book

This ‘standard rosebush’ papercut design is from an ongoing papercutting project that I’ve been doing. (I’m trying to cut my way through all of the designs in the “922 Decorative Vector Ornaments” book.)

(Some of the links in this article are ‘affiliate links’. If you’d like to know more, please check out the small print page…)

The design is number 122 in the book. (Because the designs don’t have names, I’ve come up with my own title of ‘standard rosebush’. (‘Standard’ = ‘tree-shaped rosebush on a long stem’ as opposed to ‘common/boring rosebush’).

I really like this design:

Closer up:

For once I don’t think I’ve got any really obvious ‘snags’ in it, that draw my eye away towards errors rather than towards the overall design. Instead I just enjoy looking at the shapes of the flowers and stem, and marvelling at how the heck I’d managed to cut such thin lines:

Closest up:

Even though I really like this design, I’m not sure I can think of an occasion when I might use it in future. However, I’m glad that this series of papercutting projects has caused me to cut it.

It took over two hours to cut, and I was listening to the audiobook version of Lucy Hounsom’s Starborn book at the time.

I’ve no idea how many of the designs I’ve managed to cut from the ‘922 Vector Ornaments’ book, yet. I’ll have to do a count-up soon, because I think I might be close to halfway…

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

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Nantwich Fridge Magnets

As mentioned in a previous post, when we visited the lovely English town of Nantwich, we couldn’t find any fridge magnets there. And as I also said last week, I think fridge magnets are a superior form of souvenir. (They take up less space than commemorative mugs, for a start). So I had a look back through the photos from our visit, and invented…a Nantwich fridge magnet design:

Below is one of my photos from our visit. Nantwich has such picturesque houses that I hardly needed to make any changes to the image. For the magnet’s design I added a heart for extra cuteness, but that was more or less it!

I was so pleased with the end result that I tried the design as a souvenir keyring as well…

So if you’re visiting Nantwich and also happen to be a fridge magnet fan (and depending on whether they still have any in stock), you should hopefully now be able to find one at Nantwich Museum. In fact I like the design so much I’m going to put one on my own fridge 🙂

The museum itself had some really unusual local history features – e.g. how Cheshire cheese was (and is) made. Plus, of course, the story behind those iconic black-and-white buildings around the town.

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Papercutting Project (Continued): Fleurs de Lys Border Papercut K126

Fleurs de Lys Border Papercut

This ‘Fleurs de Lys Border’ papercut is from the continuing papercutting project that I’ve been doing. (I’m trying to adapt and cut my way through all of the designs in the “922 Decorative Vector Ornaments” book by Dover Books, and so have got 922 little papercutting projects to work on.)

(Some of the links in this article are ‘affiliate links’. If you’d like to know more, please check out the small print page…)

The design is number 126 in the book.

It was relatively straightforward to cut, and would make a nice border for a project, or even a suitable crown for a king in a fantasy image.

Closer up:

Close up it’s a bit more obvious that the little shapes aren’t symmetrical, but as I go along with these projects they really are teaching me things. (Like how not to hate that I’ve cut imperfect shapes and then let other people see them.) Instead I’m getting much more relaxed about enjoying them for the cutting process in itself, and then the very fact that they are slightly wonky.

What I especially like about this design is that I could cut the pointy tops of the fleur-de-lys shapes in just a single snip, thanks to my fantastic accidentally-damaged scissors.

A few years ago I bought a pair of scissors, with the intention of using them especially for papercutting. I got them from Ernest Wright & Son Ltd, because I wanted really good quality, and the city of Sheffield has been associated with producing cutlery and scissors for centuries. The scissors came with a protective case and a little certificate:

They were brilliant. So sharp, so precise, so capable of cutting tiny detailed shapes.

…and then in the first week of owning them, I managed to drop them. Onto a concrete floor. Point-downward.

I said a very rude swearword.

My poor, expensive scissors (if that’s not an oxymoron) were irretrievably bent:

But then I tried to use them. And discovered that I had invented The Best Pair of Papercutting Scissors Ever. They cut tiny little curved shapes!

I have now had them for several years and they’re still really sharp. But I’ve got no idea if I’ll ever be able to get them sharpened. I might ask the makers, actually, to see if they’re up for a challenge. In the meantime, I can cut the little curved tops of the fleur de lys shapes above in just one snip.

Have you had any serendipitous disasters-that-turned-out-to-be-triumphs? You can chip in via the comments page, or Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn or Instagram.

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Laser-Cut Porto Fridge Magnet

Even on holiday I always have my eye out for laser-y items. And better still if they happen to come in the form of my favourite souvenir…which is a fridge magnet. I like laser-cut fridge magnets so much that I’ve created a special category for them here. So last week when we were on holiday in Porto I was very happy to find a laser-cut fridge magnet.

Laser-cut ‘Porto’ fridge magnet

I think this one shows the river and the Dom Luís I Bridge and the city very well. The typical rabelo boat (carrying its barrels down the Douro river) sort of gets lost in the background – but then compensates by physically standing out from the flat surface. (I’m not sure how the boat could be made to stand out better – maybe cut it from darker wood?) I couldn’t see any details of the artist or manufacturer, but if you know who it is, please let me know and I’ll credit them here.

Closer up:

Here’s the fridge magnet from a different angle – looking straight down at it:

The boat shows up a bit better in this one, but the Dom Luís I Bridge still looks like the star of the show. Mind you, it is a very impressive bridge! And it definitely does stand out in real life. Apparently it was designed by a student of Gustave Eiffel (as in the Eiffel Tower).

The picture is missing one of the key features of the bridge, though, because in real life it’s got two different levels for the different modes of transport across it. Top level: get a Metro tram-thing across the top of the bridge (or walk across as a pedestrian). Lower level: use the road for a car or bike (or walk across that one, as well).

Anyhoo – I like my new fridge magnet, even if it uses quite a bit of ‘artistic licence’. I like the way that they’ve made it into a serrated stamp-shape as well. It just screamed ‘souvenir!’ at me, so that’s another reason I chose it. And now I’ve got another laser-cut piece of artwork on my fridge door, plus some lovely memories of our holiday in Porto/Oporto.

In the meantime I’ve been having laser-cut-fridge-magnet adventures of my own, but more about that later…

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Papercutting Project (Continued) Flower and Fleur de Lys Papercut K703

Flower and Fleur de Lys Papercut Design

This design is from my ongoing papercutting project (where I’m trying to work my way through all of the designs in the “922 Decorative Vector Ornaments” book.) It’s a fairly simple flower-and-fleur-de-lys papercut design, and this one is number 703 in the book.

(Some of the links in this article are affiliate links. If you’d like to know more, please check out the small print page…)

I still need to cut the square edges more so it’s symmetrical, but on the whole I think I did an OK job:

Closer up:

Even close up I’m quite satisfied with the cutting of this one, for a change. The lines aren’t too jagged, the straight bits are straight, and the curved sections are curved.

It’s a nice simple design, and I like the heraldic-looking elements. I can see myself using parts of this design in future projects.

While I did the cutting I was listening to Sarah Pascoe’s Sex, Power, Money (as an audiobook). Very interesting book. It’s not actually the sort of book I would usually read or listen to, but I’ve been binge-listening to so many audiobooks recently that I’ve run out of my normal reading matter. It’s definitely opened my eyes (or ears, I suppose!) to a lot of issues…

So what started out as a therapeutic papercutting project, ended up including some interesting lessons in human nature as well.