Tag: flowers

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Lockdown Papercutting Project Day 9: Triangular Sprig

papercut 127 - watermarked - LaserSister - KayVincent

Triangular Sprig #127

This “Triangular Sprig” design is from Day 9 of my Covid19 Lockdown papercutting project.

…which is part of an even bigger papercutting project that I’ve been doing for the last couple of years. I’m trying to adapt 100 designs for papercutting, from the “922 Decorative Vector Ornaments” book by Dover Books. Then I’ll cut them with scissors and/or scalpel over 100 days.

This design is number #127 in the book.

papercut 127 pinterest vertical - LaserSister - KayVincent

Closer up:

papercut 127 - square watermarked - LaserSister - KayVincent

I’m really on a roll with this papercutting thing – I don’t think I’ve accidentally ripped any for ages! And either I’m getting much better at papercutting, or I’m getting better at forgiving myself for all of the tiny little errors that happen when you hand-cut paper designs. (Or maybe I’m getting better at both.)

It reminds me of a similar design that I cut/posted fairly recently, of a triangular flower and leaf sprig. And that one in turn reminded me of 1960s Chinese papercuts, that a Wikipedia page calls “chuāng huā (窗花), window flowers or window paper-cuts.”

Because it’s symmetrical, I’m thinking about creating a sort of Chinese and Mexican mash-up/fusion design, where I turn it into a ‘papel picado’ motif.

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

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Lockdown Papercutting Project Day 8: Bouquet

papercut 506 bouquet horizontal - watermarked - LaserSister - KayVincent

“Bouquet” papercut: #506

This “Bouquet” papercutting is yet another design from the “922 Decorative Vector Ornaments” book by Dover Books.

It continues the papercutting project that I’ve been doing. (Basically I’m trying to work my way through all of the designs in the book, but at the moment I’ve got the added challenge of trying to adapt/cut 100 designs in 100 days.)

This week’s design is number #506 in the book.

papercut 506 bouquet close up vertical - LaserSister - KayVincent

Closer up:

papercut 506 bouquet horizontal - watermarked - LaserSister - KayVincent

This was yet another really enjoyable papercut because of the challenge/difficulty element, combined with the overall look and the small size. It took just less than an hour to cut, and involved lots of tiny tiny shapes and curves. There’s one particular line that jumps out at me as being a bit wiggly wobbly, but I actually don’t mind it.

And because it’s another Art Nouveau-type design, that just immediately appeals to me anyway.

I can see this design being useful just by itself, for a Mother’s Day or birthday card, with its cute little bouquet of flowers and leaves. Or on a more ambitious scale, being joined by other similar designs so that they all form a great big filigree card full of flowers and leaves.

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

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Lockdown Papercutting Project Day 7: Roses

papercut 509 roses - watermarked - LaserSister - KayVincent

“Roses” papercut: #509

This “Roses” design is from the continuing papercutting project, where 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 #509 in the book.

papercut 509 roses - pinterest vertical - LaserSister - KayVincent

Closer up:

papercut 509 roses close up- square watermarked - LaserSister - KayVincent

I really enjoyed adapting and cutting this design. Because I used a new scalpel blade and was paying attention, I think it turned out quite well. I especially liked cutting the little veins in the leaves. I’m not quite as keen on the design of the actual flowers themselves, but I still liked adapting and cutting them.

I’m definitely planning on using this design motif in a future project. I can see them as the border for a bigger design, maybe. Ooh, or it could be part of a “Beauty and the Beast” design that I’ve been thinking about creating. (One of these days I’d like to create a series of papercutting designs based on fairytales.)

I can’t even remember what I was watching or listening to while I cut this one, I was so engrossed in it. I was probably listening to a writing-related podcast.

Any comments on the design, or have you tried to cut any of the decorative ornaments from the same book? You can chip in via the comments page, or Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn or Instagram.

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Lockdown Papercutting Project Day 6: Berries and Leaves

papercut 511 horizontal with scalpel - watermarked - LaserSister - KayVincent

Berries and Leaves Papercut #511

I’ve called today’s project “Berries and Leaves” papercut, for obvious reasons. It’s Day 6 of my Lockdown Project (which is a continuation of the ongoing papercutting project that I’ve been doing, for the last couple of years), but day 27(ish) of the actual UK lockdown.

The “922 Decorative Vector Ornaments” book doesn’t have titles for any of the designs (which is why I’ve come up with my own names for them) but in the book it’s number #511:

papercut 511 - pinterest vertical - LaserSister - KayVincent

Closer up:

This was a really challenging piece to cut. The tiny berries were particularly difficult, because they were too small to cut with scissors, but cutting curves with a scalpel was tricky:

papercut 511 horizontal close up - watermarked - LaserSister - KayVincent

This design ticks a lot of boxes for me – I like the Art Nouveau style and the mostly-symmetrical pattern, and the overall difficulty/challenge level of the cutting itself. I can definitely see myself using it in a ‘real’ project one day – even if it’s just part of a birthday card.

I was watching The Tick on Amazon Prime while I cut this one out. Why did they only make two seasons? Whyyyyyy? It was funny and clever, and watching it made a good antidote to the Coronavirus weirdness out in the ‘real’ world. Oh well, when everyone else runs out of stuff to watch on Netflix and Amazon maybe they’ll give the Tick a try and realise how good it was.

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

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Lockdown Papercutting Project Day 5: Cornucopia

papercut 519 horizontal cornucopia - watermarked - LaserSister - KayVincent

Cornucopia #519

This “Cornucopia” design is from my extended papercutting project, 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. This one is design #519 in the book.

papercut 519 vertical with scalpel - LaserSister - KayVincent

Closer up:

This is another one that I really like – even up close:

papercut 519 close up square watermarked - LaserSister - KayVincent

There are only a few shaky lines, and the rest seem fairly competently executed – even the really thin ones. And the outside edges don’t look too ‘lumpy’.

As with so many of these designs though, I’m not sure whether I’ll ever find a ‘real’ project to use it in. Especially since the current Covid19 lockdown period doesn’t really make me think of overflowing cornucopias or abundance at the moment…

While I was cutting it I was still listening to Mansfield Park by Jane Austen. Ugh. Thank goodness it was an audiobook borrowed free via the library, instead of using credits or actual money – that would have made it even more disappointing to listen to.

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

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Lockdown Papercutting Project Day 3: Art Nouveau Design Papercut

Papercut 530 square with scalpel - LaserSister - KayVincent

Art Nouveau Design #530

This ‘Art Nouveau Design’ papercut is part of my ongoing papercutting project, where I’m adapting designs from the book “922 Decorative Vector Ornaments” to turn them into papercutting designs. This one is design #530 from the book.

Papercut 530 square with scalpel - LaserSister - KayVincent

Closer up:

I love this one! For a start the design is right up my street; it reminds me of William Morris and Arts & Crafts Movement designs:

Papercut 530 square with scalpel - LaserSister - KayVincent

But for this one in particular the thin lines turned out really well. I don’t think I accidentally ripped any of them, for a change, and even close up they seem OK.

This is a design that I can definitely see myself using in a ‘real’ project, one day.

While I was cutting I was listening to Tim Ferriss’s “4-Hour Work Week” audiobook. The world has changed a lot since it was released in 2008! Off the top of my head I can think of three things that have become extinct since then: faxes, Blackberries, and MySpace. The advice was still interesting and useful, but hopefully the companion website keeps readers/listeners up to date with new developments.

Any comments or advice about the ‘Art Nouveau design papercut’ or the cutting? You can chip in via the comments page, or Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn or Instagram.

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Lockdown Papercutting Project Day 2: Oranges and Ribbon

papercut 651 with scalpel square watermarked - LaserSister - KayVincent

Oranges and ribbon #651

Day 2 of the continuing papercutting project, where I’m adapting designs from the book “922 Decorative Vector Ornaments” so they can be turned into papercuts via scissors and/or scalpel. (And so that my sanity will remain intact during the Covid-19 lockdown, because I find papercutting to be very relaxing and therapeutic.) This is design #651 from the book, and I’ve called it “Oranges and Ribbon” papercutting.

papercut 651 with scalpel square watermarked - LaserSister - KayVincent

Closer up:

Maybe they’re not oranges? But I don’t think they’re tomatoes, because the leaves look more citrus-y than tomato-y. And I didn’t know how else to describe the swirly thing, so that’s why I just called it a ribbon. I like that the papercutting is sort-of-but-not-exactly symmetrical.

papercut 651 close up square watermarked - LaserSister - KayVincent

To me the design looks half Art Nouveau and half Art Deco (ribbon and oranges, respectively). Close up some of the lines do look a bit ‘lumpy’ because I didn’t go back and tidy them up, but that was because I was fairly satisfied with it to begin with. Unlike yesterday’s design at least the lines are nice and thick, so I wasn’t afraid of stretching the paper and accidentally ripping it as I went along. To be honest I don’t think I’d make any changes if I had to cut it again.

I’m not sure I will ever be able to find a real-life project where I’ll be able to incorporate this design (unless I end up sending someone a card one day that says something like “Orange you glad it’s your birthday?”) but in the meantime I enjoyed cutting this one.

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

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Lockdown Papercutting Project: Day 1 – Tangly Rose

papercut 534 horizontal with scalpel - watermarked - LaserSister - KayVincent

Tangly rose papercutting design: #534

A couple of years ago I set myself a papercutting project, where I adapted 100 papercutting designs (from the book “922 Decorative Vector Ornaments“), and then cut them out with a scalpel and scissors over 100 days. Since then I’ve carried on with the project, cutting about one design per week, but since we’re currently in the “2020 Covid-19 Lockdown”, I need a bit of occupational therapy to keep me calm, so I’m starting another 100-day project. Today’s design #534 from the book, and I’ve called it “tangly rose”.

Papercut 534 with scalpel square watermarked - LaserSister - KayVincent

Closer up:

This design seems like a bit of a strange mixture, to me. Those definitely aren’t rose leaves that the rose is sitting in. They remind me of seaweed or snakes…

Papercut 534 close up square watermarked - LaserSister - KayVincent

But it was definitely a good exercise in terms of adapting and cutting the design. The rose was fairly straightforward to cut, but the tangly leaf/snake things were really tricky. The lines are very very fine. But my accidentally-bent scissors did a good job of helping me with a lot of the difficult bits.

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

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Papercutting project (continued): leafy corner sprig

papercut leafy corner sprig 686 square watermarked - LaserSister - KayVincent

Leafy corner sprig #686

This ‘leafy corner sprig’ papercut is part of my ongoing papercutting project, where I’m adapting lots of designs for papercutting from the book “922 Decorative Vector Ornaments“, and am then cutting them with a scalpel. This one is design #686 from the book.

(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…)

papercut leafy corner sprig 686 vertical with scalpel - LaserSister - KayVincent

Closer up:

Are they leaves, or are they flowers? I’m not sure. But I like the overall effect of the swirly vine-y pattern. I think it would look really nice as a repeated decoration in the four corners of a larger design:

papercut leafy corner sprig 686 watermarked vertical - LaserSister - KayVincent

Now that I’m a couple of years into this project, I can definitely see that my cutting skills have improved. The cuts seem to look a lot cleaner and more accurate than they used to.

However, I must admit that the reason is due to a bit of a cheat, really. I cut each piece out … but then leave it aside for a few days or weeks. Then when I come back to it again I ‘edit’ it by snipping at it a bit more and smoothing and neatening lines. Each piece usually only needs a few tweaks, but those little tweaks really do make a big difference, overall.

Before, I used to just keep cutting until I either ran out of leisure time, or my eyes got tired, or I got frustrated with all of the mistakes that I was making. But now I’ve realised that if I’m making mistakes and ripping the designs then it’s either because I’m tired, or because the scalpel blade is getting dull. Both of those causes are easy to fix – I either need to stop and have a rest, or to change the blade.

I can’t remember exactly where I bought my replacement scalpel blades the last time, but it must have been either Ebay or Amazon. I bought a pack of 100 and I’m still using them, over two years later. These are the sort of blades that I searched for when I was looking at buying the replacements.

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

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Papercutting project (continued): triangular flower and leaf sprig

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

Triangular flower and leaf sprig 722

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. This one is design #722 in the book, and I’ve called it “triangular flower and leaf sprig”.

You might think that if I’ve got to #722 out of 922 designs that I might ‘only’ have 200 designs to go before I finish the project. But I’m not cutting them in any particular order. Maybe I should check how many I have cut, so far. I don’t even know if I’m halfway yet!

(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…)

papercut triangular flower and leaf sprig 722 with scalpel - LaserSister - KayVincent

Closer up:

This design reminds me of 1960s Chinese papercuts. This Wikipedia page calls the style “chuāng huā (窗花), window flowers or window paper-cuts.”

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

I like the way the elements of this triangular flower and leaf sprig join together. I’ve tried to make the joins between the pieces flow into each other and look fairly natural.

And the actual cutting of the piece is fairly ‘clean’ as well, with only a few lumps and bumps in it when you look at it up close.

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.