Category: Projects

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Lockdown Papercutting Project Day 47: Spiky Flower

papercut 691 spiky flower - horizontal - LaserSister - KayVincent

Spiky Flower #691

“Spiky Flower” 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 691 in the book. As always I’ve had to come up with a name for it myself (because in the book the motifs just have numbers and not names), but as so many of the designs involve flowers, I couldn’t just call it “Flower” because that wouldn’t differentiate it from all of the other flowers. This particular flower has got jagged, spiky lines in it. Hence the name.

papercut 691 spiky flower - vertical pinterest - LaserSister - KayVincent

Closer up:

papercut 691 spiky flower - square close up - LaserSister - KayVincent

I especially enjoyed cutting the extremely thin middle section of the flower – that was a real challenge. Looking at it again now, I’m not even sure how I managed it!

Although I like the overall look of this motif, a couple of elements don’t really seem to match the rest of it. It’s those very thin lines that don’t fit (according to my eyes, anyway). On the other hand, if the lines were made thicker then they would mess up the look of the design and make it hard to tell what they were. As the moment it’s obvious that they are the edges of leaves, but if they were thicker then they might look like side shoots or something.

So I almost definitely won’t be using this design again ‘as is’.

Never mind though – it wasn’t a wasted exercise. I’ve gained more experience in cutting, and I’ve got another design to put in my papercutting sketchbook.

On a completely different note: Oh goody. Look what Rob’s brought home from the supermarket because they had a ‘reduced’ sticker on them:

red mullet fish ready for preparation - KayVincent

Now I get to hoik their guts out and descale them. Yay. Oh well, at least the meal should hopefully be better than last week’s effort.

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Lockdown Papercutting Project Day 46: Tri-Leaf Trio

papercut 707 tri-leaf trio - horizontal scalpel - LaserSister - KayVincent

Tri-Leaf Trio #707

This “Tri-Leaf Trio” is from the ongoing papercutting project that I’ve been working on for ages. (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 707 in the book. It’s a bit of a tonguetwister – a trio of three leaves:

papercut 707 tri-leaf trio - vertical pinterest - LaserSister - KayVincent

Closer up:

papercut 707 tri-leaf trio - square close up - LaserSister - KayVincent

I enjoyed cutting this one. Thin tendrils combined in filigree-type elements. It makes for a delicate-looking design that looks a bit more complicated than it actually is.

When I first cut it I really liked it. But then I encountered a problem. The problem is that with a lot of floral or leafy designs, quite often my eyes spot little faces in the pattern that aren’t supposed to be there. In this case, the ivy-leaf designs look like Venetian carnival masks. The kind that just cover your eyes and nose. To me they always look a bit creepy – but the ones in this design look especially mean, with their slitty eyes and cruel leafy beaks.

papercut 707 tri-leaf trio - square close up - LaserSister - KayVincent

Is it just me, or does anyone else see creepy faces in wallpaper designs etc?!

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Lockdown Papercutting Project Day 45: Art Nouveau Corner Swag

papercut 720 art nouveau corner swag - square - LaserSister - KayVincent

Art Nouveau Corner Swag #720

“Art Nouveau Corner Swag” is from the ongoing papercutting challenge that I’ve been continuing during the 2020 Lockdown(s). 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 720 in the book. As always I had to come up with my own name/description for this design, but I didn’t know what the flowers were. (Are they forget-me-nots??) So “Art Nouveau Corner Swag” is what I ended up with:

papercut 720 art nouveau corner swag - vertical pinterest - LaserSister - KayVincent

Closer up:

papercut 720 art nouveau corner swag - square - LaserSister - KayVincent

It’s a fairly simple design, but that’s one of the reasons I like it. It also had some very satisfying curves to cut, as well. I can see this design on a birthday card, or as part of a backdrop for another more complex project. This one is obviously for the top right corner of a design, so the image can be flipped to create the corresponding top left corner of the design, and that will nicely frame a message or another motif.

As usual I’m particularly drawn to this one anyway because it’s got the Art Nouveau-type curves and swirls in it.

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Lockdown Papercutting Project Day 44: Moustache Heart Filigree

papercut 711 moustache heart filigree - horizontal - LaserSister - KayVincent

Moustache Heart Filigree #711

“Moustache Heart Filigree” is the latest design from 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.)

This design is number 711 in the book. It’s ended up with one of the more unusual names for a design (and blog post title), because I couldn’t think how else to describe it. But as I write this post (as opposed to when I originally cut the piece) it is now November, which in recent years has become “Movember“. (Movember’s aim is to raise awareness about men’s health issues, including mental health issues.)

…and this design just happens to have what looks like a big Victorian-type waxed moustache in the middle of a heart. So why not just “say what I see”, and call the design “Moustache Heart Filigree”? Plus for all I know, those three words have never been put together in that order in the history of the English Language, so I feel like quite the pioneer 🙂

papercut 711 moustache heart filigree - vertical pinterest - LaserSister - KayVincent

Closer up:

papercut 711 moustache heart filigree - horizontal - LaserSister - KayVincent

This was a challenging design to cut, and so I really enjoyed it.

I can’t immediately think of an occasion when I might use this particular design in a project. But never mind – it can still go into my sketchbook for me to look at later.

I’m still listening to the Servant of the Crown audiobook that I mentioned yesterday. I’m always on the hunt for great fantasy novels (or even good ones), but so far this one isn’t even a fantasy book. It’s mentioned a mage a couple of times, but that’s as close as it’s got to any magic. Remind me to put some magic in my fantasy book when I eventually get round to writing it…

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Lockdown Papercutting Project Day 43: Climbing Leaves

papercut 715 climbing leaves - square - LaserSister - KayVincent

Climbing Leaves papercut #715

“Climbing Leaves” design is from the ongoing papercutting project I’ve been doing (where I’m trying to adapt all of the images in the “922 Decorative Vector Ornaments” book, and turn them into papercuts.)

Today’s design is number 715 in the book.

papercut 715 climbing leaves - vertical pinterest - LaserSister - KayVincent

Closer up:

papercut 715 climbing leaves - square - LaserSister - KayVincent

This was a really delicate design, but was surprisingly quick to cut. I would love to use it in a future project, like a very special birthday card or thank-you card or wedding invitation etc.

While cutting it I was listening to an audiobook from the library, Servant of the Crown by Paul J. Bennett. I’m at Chapter 14 so far, and am hoping for an ‘inciting incident’ to happen soon. It reminds me that I’ve got my own half-finished fantasy novel languishing somewhere. Mind you, I should really use my writing time to do my PhD, rather than writing my fantasy novel.

At least all of the above took my mind off bloody Covid19 bloody lockdown bloody measures for a while. I would never have imagined that I would live in a country where the Government banned going to work, going to school, smiling at people, singing, or people hugging their grandchildren or going to their family’s weddings or funerals. This is like some kind of sick nightmare.

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Lockdown Papercutting Project Day 42: Knotwork Railing

papercut 706 knotwork railing - horizontal - LaserSister - KayVincent

Knotwork Railing #706

This “Knotwork Railing” design is from the ongoing papercutting challenge 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 706 in the book. What the heck would you call that style of design? In the end I decided that it reminded me of a cross between Celtic knotwork and lovely iron gates and railings. So that’s how I ended up with the title “Knotwork Railing”:

papercut 706 knotwork railing - vertical pinterest - LaserSister - KayVincent

Closer up:

papercut 706 knotwork railing - horizontal - LaserSister - KayVincent

I’m really pleased with the way this one turned out. For a start I love the design anyway, but I also managed to cut it so that the lines were quite thin and even, and so that it was pretty symmetrical. And yet (to me, anyway) it still looks hand-cut and not like a machine has just cranked it out.

It’s another design that would probably look really good in a fancy wedding invitation or congratulations card. And the bonus is that it doesn’t take a very long time to cut. Yet another reason to love this design.

The reason I love this design is that it combines three of my favourite things. Celtic knotwork, and fancy ironwork. Years ago I got a book out of the library on how to draw Celtic knotwork, and I loved it so much that I then went and bought it.

And whenever I’m out anywhere my attention is always caught by swirly ironwork designs wherever I am. In the case below, I was in Copenhagen:

copenhagen ironwork

…and the third of my favourite things is papercutting. So that’s why I liked this particular design so much.

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Lockdown Papercutting Project Day 41: Curly Leaf

papercut 702 curly leaf - horizontal - LaserSister - KayVincent

Curly Leaf #702

This “Curly Leaf” papercut is yet another design from 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.)

This week’s design is number 702 in the book. I’m seriously running out of titles I can give these 922 designs! Yet another leaf design, and so how do I differentiate it from all of the other leaf designs? Welllll, it’s got a lot of curlicues in the vines, plus the leaf elements are rather curly. So “Curly Leaf” it is:

papercut 702 curly leaf - vertical pinterest - LaserSister - KayVincent

Closer up:

papercut 702 curly leaf - square - LaserSister - KayVincent

This is one of my favourites so far. A small, delicate design that presented a real challenge to cut accurately, and very satisfying to look at once it was finished.

I’m already trying to find ways to incorporate this one into a future design. Maybe a fancy wedding invitation card.

I’m still marvelling at how much better my cutting is, now that I’m a few hundred designs into this papercutting challenge. In fact, I’ve just realised that I’ve picked up so many little tips along the way that I’ve compiled a “Top 10 list of papercutting tips“.

In the meantime, while putting together this blog post I’ve been ignoring the ‘real world’ as usual, and have instead been listening to my favourite podcast, “No Such Thing As A Fish“.

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Lockdown Papercutting Project Day 40: Flower Posy

papercut 701 flower posy - horizontal - LaserSister - KayVincent

Flower Posy #701

This “Flower Posy” papercut is from an ongoing project where I’ve been trying to work adapt and cut all of the designs in the “922 Decorative Vector Ornaments” book by Dover Books.

Today’s design is number 701 in the book.

papercut 701 flower posy - vertical pinterest pin - LaserSister - KayVincent

As usual I’ve got no idea what kind of flowers are depicted (although some of them remind me of a stylised version of freesias), so to come up with a title I’ve had to describe them in another way. In this case it’s a mini bunch of flowers, so I’m going “flower posy”.

Closer up:

papercut 701 flower posy - square - LaserSister - KayVincent

I particularly enjoy the swirling long leaves in this design, but also the flowing simplicity of the whole thing. Very Art Nouveau. I will almost definitely use this scene again in a papercutting one day. It might make a very nice part of a birthday card design.

(Ha – since I noticed a string of consecutive consonants in a word the other day, I am seeing loads more words with four consonants. Like “biRTHDay”.)

While scheduling this post today I have been watching a programme about the Savoy hotel on catch-up TV.

In the meantime in ‘real life’ the world is going down the toilet, so I’ll continue to hide myself away and hope everyone gets sane again, soon.

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Lockdown Papercutting Project Day 39: Spear Flower

papercut 699 spear flower - horizontal - LaserSister - KayVincent

Spear Flower #699

“Spear Flower” 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 699 in the book. As usual I’ve had some difficulty coming up with a descriptive-but-unique name for the design. Again, I couldn’t just call it “Flower” because there are a lot of flower designs in the book that I’m working from. And I don’t recognise the flower itself. So I’ve named it after the things that look like spears that are shooting out from it.

papercut 699 spear flower - vertical - LaserSister - KayVincent

Closer up:

papercut 699 spear flower - square - LaserSister - KayVincent

I enjoyed cutting this particular design. It might look simple but it was really tricky to keep very thin lines of the ‘spears’, and to cut the curved shapes of the petals. I doubt I’ll be using this design in any further projects, but as always I will keep it in my sketchbook as a record of my papercutting progress.

While updating this post I’ve been listening to The Bestseller Experiment podcast. Wow – they have achieved a LOT in four years. I wonder if I’ll have finished my papercutting project in four years from now?!

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Lockdown Papercutting Project Day 38: Leaf Papercut

papercut 698 leaf - horizontal - LaserSister - KayVincent

Leaf Papercut #698

This leaf papercut 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 698 in the book. You would think this would be a very easy design to choose a name for, but there are so many variations of leaves in the book and I can’t call them all “Leaf” because that would get confusing! But as far as I know I haven’t actually called any of them “Leaf Papercut” yet. So this one wins.

papercut 698 leaf - vertical - LaserSister - KayVincent

And a very nice leaf it is, too. I enjoyed cutting this one. It was quite straightforward and yet provided some challenges in terms of cutting the fine veins.

Closer up:

papercut 698 leaf - square - LaserSister - KayVincent

Therefore this design falls into the 5-ish percent of designs in the book that I can immediately see myself using again in future projects.

Normally I would note here what audiobook or podcast I’ve been listening to today, but today’s background soundtrack has been Rob preparing a meal that may or may not turn out to be fatal when eaten. So this might be my epitaph. Good luck, future me!

He bought four reduced-price red mullet fish a couple of weeks ago on a whim, and put them straight in the freezer (they had already reached their sell-by date). And today he’s defrosted them only to discover that red mullet are usually sold whole, so they still had their guts inside them (I’ve been doing a bit of research here and here, just to double-check whether I’m likely to die of fish poisoning. Just in case you’re wondering, the very clear advice is that whole fish should NOT be frozen without gutting and cleaning them first.)

*** UPDATE ***

I’m not dead. The fish was OK, in the end. But it still doesn’t get past my long-held theory that “fish equals faff” (what with all of the gutting and de-scaling and then picking bones out while eating it). It was accompanied by shallots and bacon-that-Rob-had-accidentally-dropped-on-the-floor-while-it-was-raw, and he washed the meal down with a bottle of wine that we’ve had for at least eight years and neither of us knew where it came from. It was officially “white” wine but was actually browny-yellow. Yuuuum. Still, it made the perfect accompaniment to the equally dodgy food.

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