Papercutting

Today I'm attending an art group where I will be tutoring adults on various arts and crafts.  Interestingly, the classes are to be themed around Commonwealth countries, thus making the choice of crafts a little more challenging!

I figured, seeing as I've never tutored an art class before, that I should start with something I know, so I decided to wade in with papercutting.

Papercuts are an older form of art and can be found in various interpretations all over the world, from China, to India, to England.  The oldest surviving paper cut is from 6th century China, and look a bit like this:

The ready availability of materials needed to papercut is probably the things which has made it so successful as a craft.  Almost anyone can pick up a scalpel, or other papercutting tool (they can be very fancy these days), and a piece of paper and get cutting.

It's very therapeutic too.

I began papercutting after stumbling across a very talented papercutter in one of my craft magazines one day. Paper Panda (or Louise Firchau) is a papercutter based in England who has created her own franchise of papercutting designs based on her own drawings and characters.

The work she does varies from lettering (a favourite of hers), to intricate work detailing houses (including ALL the rooms!), story pieces featuring her now famous bunny and bird characters, as well as some rather cheeky sweary word work.  I don't want to pinch any of her photos to stick up to show you (although I wish I could) because that's a bit naughty, so I'll leave this LINK here instead for you to look at.  You won't be disappointed!

Although, here's a papercut I did all by myself from one of her Paper Panda  template packs which is downloadable and you can keep forever! Great for practicing and making birthday cards out of!

Not bad for a first try, huh?

After reading her blog and having a nosey through the photos on her facebook page, I decided I would give papercutting a try - after all, all I needed was a knife, a cutting mat, some paper and some patience.

I've really enjoyed papercutting - it's a great wee craft which you can be as good at or as bad at as you like!  For those who are not so confident at it, there are various templates which you can download for free and print off, or if you're looking for some more intricate projects, some even sell their own designs for you to try.  Take a look on Pinterest, Etsy etc for inspiration.

One of my freehand papercuts

If you like drawing , you can even draw your own designs - but beware!  You have to think and draw back to front so that when you cut around the lines, you can flip it over to hide the pencil marks.  This is admittedly quite tricky to do! Alternatively, you can scan any front-facing drawing and, provided you have the correct software on your computer, you can easily flip the image and then print it out.

My favourite thing to do is a bit of freehand with a bit of light pencil thrown in.  I've done more than a few papercuts this way and quite enjoy it because it means I can change the image as I go (I am such a butterfly when it comes to these things.  I can never stick with a plan!




Here are a few tips for successful papercutting

Freehand xmas design

1. Don't panic if you can't get it right first time. It can be really hard to get the hang of tension, pressure and the actual cutting blade.  Try sitting with different kinds of card or paper and cutting out freehand shapes for practice.
2. Start with something easy. It might be something that looks so simple that it almost looks too easy, but you need to build up to cutting out tiny detailed shapes. You'll get much more gratification from it if you start slowly.
3. Change your blade often.  The sharper the blade, the better and smoother the cut - and the more likely you'll be able to cut the tiny details
4. Take it slowly. There's no rush! Papercutting should be something you can concentrate on but enjoy. If you are getting frustrated, stop.
5. Cut away from your hand! These are sharp, sharp scalpel blades and it's very easy to accidentally stab a finger - and whatever you do, watch your face! You have no idea how many times I've gone to itch my face or my nose with the scalpel in my hand!

It's great fun - why not give it a try? What's your favourite found craft?

What The Blethering Boys Are Playing Today:Lollipop Stick Aliens!

Today is a crafty kind of day, and we have a load of craft materials that we never know what to do with.  So a quick don of the thinking cap, and some googly eyes...repeat after me: EVERYTHING LOOKS BETTER WITH GOOGLY EYES.

And we have come up with some pretty cool Lollipop Stick Alien Wall Decorations.

You will need:

Lollipop Sticks (lots - once you make one, you'll be making more!)
Googly Eyes
Glue
String
Any other craft Material and your imagination.  We had feathers and felt tip pens.

First, lay out the lollipop sticks on a flat surface, side by side.  Glue two lollipop sticks and stick them across the back of the others, like so:

Hold it down and turn it over, pressing it against a hard surface until dry enough to work with.

Now it's time to decorate!

As you can see, Ethan enjoyed penning a nose onto his alien!  Hee hee!

I had fun making one too!

Ethan got loads out of this

• Choice and Decision Making - he chose the colours and what we used for the face and hair
• Fine motor skills (glueing small bits)
• Patience (waiting for glue to dry)
• Storytelling (there was a whole massive story accompanying our aliens!)
• Sense of achievement
• Mum time

Why not a have a go with your wee ones?  Don't just stick with aliens or feathers - why not try scarecrows with paper hats, dried macaroni for hair or ribbon for a tongue?

Dirty, Awesome, Dippy, Sexy, Moreish, Chocolate Sauce

Looking for that perfect chocolate dip to accompany you at a BBQ?

Tired of unsatisfying chocolate sauces that leave you sad and unfulfilled?

Look no further.

This Dirty, Awesome, Dippy, Sexy Chocolate Dipping Sauce is set to get you searching for a spoon so you can not only drizzle it over marshmallows and strawberries, but guzzle it up like the stressed-out, chocolate craving individual you are.

Steady on, soldier.  You are but three steps away from creating perfection.

You need:

1 Large(ish) bar of chocolate (light, dark, milk, white, it's up to you; whatever floats your boat)
A  teaspoon of butter
A splash of full-fat milk
A drip of single cream

Method:

Set up a bain-marie with a pan and a Pyrex bowl.  Fill pan with water, letting it boil, then cool to a simmer.  Place bowl on top and melt chocolate.  When chocolate has melted, add a splash of milk, a drip of single cream and a good teaspoon of butter. Stir like the chocolate-gorging demon you are.  Watch for the mixture to become glossy and smooth in consistency.

Pour into a bowl and serve straight away before you guzzle it all, you naughty person, you!

Serve with fruit - sumptious strawberries, randy raspberries and brazen blueberries.

Or crisps.  Ready salted.

Alright - come on!  I'm no that classy!  I would be scooping this up with ready salted! Yum!