Cuttin It Up Amongst the Sagebrush

Another Bird

2012-01-28T18:04:00.005-07:00

A couple of years ago I cut a picture of a robin in a tree. My husband really liked that piece, and he was sad when I sold it. He has wanted me to do another one since then. This week I finally got around to it. This time I made it a close up of the robin. The robin was cut separately and then glued onto the branch. I made the bird gray so that I could enter it into a black and white art show. I really had fun with the bird. When I get the cut back, I am going to see how it will look in a floating frame.

Happy Couple

2012-01-10T10:34:00.002-07:00

My youngest brother-in-law was married last Thursday. I made this papercut for them based on the photo on their invitation. I had a hard time deciding whether to include facial features or not, but in the end I decided to keep it simple. It is a little creepy looking though.

Castle Cuts

2012-01-03T08:20:00.003-07:00

I cut this castle picture for my mother-in-law, who loves castles, for Christmas. I was just happy that I managed to find enough time to finish it before the holiday.

It Is the Time of the Year for Neules

2011-12-13T09:17:00.003-07:00

One of the funnest things that I have done this time of the year lately is cutting more neules to hang up in my living room.

I now have 18 dangling above my Christmas tree. These are this year's additions.

This last one is based on a papercut that I designed several years ago and used as a pattern for a Christmas card that I block printed. I think it makes a grand neule.

I hope that you are enjoying your December so far!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-23T13:10:00.004-07:00

Here are a couple of Pilgrims that I made for my ATC trading group. I hope that you enjoy them.

Have a happy Thanksgiving tomorrow!

Bowling Beauties

2011-10-28T09:33:00.003-06:00

I joined a bowling league a couple of months ago just because I needed something fun to do once a week. (I am a terrible bowler.) Our bowling team is named Bowling Beauties. The name inspired this little papercut. She must have a very strong arm to be able to hold that bowling ball in that classic beauty pose!

Loaves and Fishes

2011-10-11T09:58:00.004-06:00

I finally had enough free time to work on a cut that has been in my head for months. This is based on the story of the loaves and fishes in the New Testament. The basket is 15 in. x 15 in. This is probably the biggest piece I have done so far. I was really tired of cutting out fish scales by the time I was done.

It's in the Mail

2011-09-28T09:13:00.003-06:00

This month's ATC theme was mailboxes. Again, I waited until the last minute to put these together and then did not feel inspired by just cutting out mailboxes. I took a little different twist. The first design is of a woman waiting for the mail to come. Is she waiting for a letter or the mailman? I used watercolor to add some color to this piece.

My second design is of a mailman. Hmmm... looking at that strong chin, it could be the mailman that she is waiting for.

Pets

2011-08-30T10:13:00.006-06:00

This month's ATC trade was all about pets. This shouldn't have given as hard a time as it did, but I didn't think up an idea until the last minute. I decided to do unusual pets that belonged to U. S. presidents. The first pet was a squirrel named Pete that President Warren Harding claimed.

This one-legged rooster belonged to President Teddy Roosevelt's family. I couldn't find a name to go with this proud specimen of poultry.

President Calvin Coolidge's wife had a raccoon for a pet named Rebecca. That is Mrs. Coolidge's silhouette holding the raccoon.

The last image is of Whiskers the goat that belonged to President Benjamin Harrison.

With the kids finally off to school, I hope to be able to do some more papercutting in the next few months. It was a good thing that I had these trades this summer or I might not have taken my knife out at all these past few months.

Transcontinentalists

2011-07-21T13:58:00.002-06:00

This summer has been way too busy. It continues to be hard to find time to think. This month's ATC theme was Route 66, but I wasn't feeling very inspired. I decided to go a different route, but still keep to an automobile theme. I find the stories of the first automobilists interesting, so I based this month's ATCs on some of the first people to cross the U. S. in automobiles. Thus "transcontinentalists". I am not even sure that is a word. My husband came up with the term.

The first is a picture of A. L. Westgard. He was a pathfinder for the AAA for more than 15 years. He crossed the continent many times searching for the best routes for cars to travel. He was called the "Daniel Boone of the Gasoline Age". Just before he died in 1920, Westgard published a book called "Tales of a Pathfinder" that details some of his adventures during his path finding. His adventures make a very fun read.

My second transcontinentalist is George Schuster. He was the mechanic and one of the drivers of the Thomas Flyer which was the American entry in the New York to Paris Auto Race of 1908. Not only did he travel from New York to San Francisco, but also drove across Asia and Europe to Paris.

In 1909, Alice Ramsey became the first woman to drive across the continent form New York City to San Francisco. She was 22 years old and chaperoned by 2 older sisters-in-law and a friend. It took them 41 days. She wrote about her trip in a book called "Veil, Duster, and Tire Iron".

My last transcontinentalist should probably have been my first. Dr. Horatio Nelson Jackson was the first to drive a car coast to coast. On a fifty dollar bet, Jackson bought a car in San Francisco in 1903 and drove it all the way New York City. He was accompanied by a mechanic, Sewall Crocker and his dog, Bud. He had never driven a car before this. It took them 63 days.

Looking at Polliwogs

2011-06-22T10:52:00.003-06:00

It has been hard for me to find time to create any paper cuts lately. Maybe, it is because my kids are out of school. I did manage to squeeze in this cut last week. It has been awhile since I have tried anything this detailed. This is based on a photo I took of 2 of my kids looking at polliwogs in a puddle in Zion National Park last year. It was hard to glue down, and a few of the thinner lines broke, which was very frustrating.

Camping ATCs

2011-06-01T12:06:00.002-06:00

I am sorry that I haven't posted for a month. May's ATC theme was camping.

I made the moon extra big in this one for effect. Those trees were harder to cut than I thought they would be.

Anyone who knows me very well will understand this one. Bears and camping go together.

You can't go camping without roasting marshmallows. It is the only time I like to eat those big squishy cubes of sugar.

Domestic Goddess

2011-04-30T12:17:00.004-06:00

Here is another cut made from the decaying book pages. I wish I felt more like a goddess when I am in a domestic cleaning mode.

Bad Dog

2011-04-28T08:34:00.002-06:00

This week, I decided to play around with paper. I have an old Zane Grey book that is falling apart, so I thought I would put its decaying pages to good use. The paper was brittle which wasn't a big problem until I tried to glue it down. The glue pulled the tail right off the dog. I like the texture the words and the browning page gives to the papercut, but I think I'll have to keep the glue to a minimum.

Bunnies and Eggs

2011-04-18T10:34:00.002-06:00

For this month's ATCs, I had fun with white bunnies and Easter eggs. It just seemed the right season for it.

Just sit back and enjoy.

I hope Spring has finally come your way. I am not sure it really is here yet, but we keep getting hints of good weather.

Following in Grandma's Footsteps

2011-04-06T09:21:00.005-06:00

I have always admired my Grandma Fletcher and her endless creativity. I think that she was a great artist and would love to get up to her standards. This is one of my favorite pen and ink drawings that she did. I love all the character that she added to the trees, water and the boy's hair. Well, I thought that it would make a nice papercut, so this past weekend, I tried to do just that.

I tried to keep to her main design, but I did change a few things here and there to accommodate cutting it from one piece of paper. For instance, I had to make the boy's hair longer so that I could attach his left eye. I also added shoes. It was a challenge to translate the picture. It felt good to stretch some. Overall I was happy with the results.

Going Fishin'

2011-04-04T09:52:00.007-06:00

Okay, I am not the one going fishing. I don't think I have ever gone fishing, but when the weather turned nice for a day or two, I thought it might be a good day for someone to go fishing.
This boy looks like that is all he has on his mind. I had fun cutting this one. I was glad that I had sometime this weekend to work on it. I hope that there are more warm days coming soon.

More Hans Christian Andersen

2011-03-21T12:15:00.005-06:00

My ATC trade this month is based on the papercuts of Hans Christian Andersen.

These are not exact copies of his work, but they are bits and pieces that I put together in different ways.

I like how he kept his cuts so simple. It is hard for me to do that.

He often gave his cuts away. You can tell that he really liked dancers. I placed a cut rocking chair in each of these cards/envelopes for an extra bonus.

Small Paper Rocking Chair

2011-03-11T10:11:00.006-07:00

The last couple of weeks, I have been looking at the papercuts done by Hans Christian Andersen.
Amongst all the whimsical cuts I found this little chair. I knew I just had to try one of my own. I folded a paper in half and cut the above.

Once cut, it only took a few folds, and here is my own chair. It is only a few inches tall. It is always fun to find new ways of using paper.

February ATCs

2011-02-24T09:46:00.004-07:00

The theme for this month's ATCs is "everyday things that surround us". It took me awhile to come up with an idea, but in the end, I thought that I would challenge myself to cut something that would require lots of thin lines. Thus the wire whisk. Thin lines are not easy. I cut two of these, and I accidentally cut through one of the lines on the second one. Ooops!

Okay, maybe an antique phonograph is not a typical everyday item, but it is something that I see everyday and thought it could make a nice cut. I love the sound of these acoustic machines.

Something Funny Is Going On

2011-02-18T09:52:00.003-07:00

Here is the latest papercut. I just finished it, yesterday. It is based on another old photo that I dug up somewhere awhile back. It caught my eye because it just looked like something funny was going on between these two. Maybe, the guy just told a really bad joke, and now he is waiting for the girl to laugh. He maybe waiting for awhile. I loved the girl's dress with the tie. The color is just colored paper that I glued to the back of the main cut. I kept the colors simple and few in order to help retain the idea of an old photo.

A Lady with a Bag

2011-02-03T08:17:00.004-07:00

I found a copy of an interesting old photo in one of my file folders the other day that I thought would be a challenge to make into a papercut. I was drawn to this lady's great handbag. I was pleased with how it turned out. Sometimes when I try to use a photo for reference, I can't seem to make it work.

The papercut felt like it needed some color and a backdrop to finish it off, so I broke out my watercolors. After painting behind the cut, I must have been feeling really brave because I attempted to paint the rest of the photo for the background. I like how the lady with the bag stands out against the grays like she has a new hope for her future.

Roosters

2011-01-21T11:58:00.005-07:00

This is what I have been working on the last couple of weeks. I think it is the most complicated papercut that I have tried up to date. I like how it turned out. I don't like to cut through too many layers so I only folded the paper twice. I used tracing paper to create the design. My husband told me that it would have been easier to do in Photoshop, but I don't know Photoshop that well. I didn't want to wait for him to find some time to do the pattern for me, so I did it the hard way. It has a 12 inch diameter. Now I only have the scary part left (gluing it down). I will have to try something like this again.

The Last Nuele for This Year

2010-12-16T13:50:00.003-07:00

This is the last nuele for this year. I'll have to make more next Christmas. I was happy to find a free hour yesterday morning to hang up my nueles in the front room. They look great hanging from the ceiling.

Another Neule

2010-12-13T08:54:00.003-07:00

This neule is along a more traditional theme. I still haven't hung them yet. I wish things would slow down just a little bit more.

A Geometric Neule

2010-12-08T11:13:00.003-07:00

This neule is more simplistic in its design, but I thought that worked better with a star. Now I just have to find enough time to hang it. Things get too busy this time of the year.

It's the Time of Year for Nueles

2010-12-03T11:20:00.003-07:00

I have been thinking about nueles again. I decided that I wanted some more to hang in my front room this year. They are so fun to design, and I like the way they look while suspended in the air.
I have cut four different ones so far. This one of Mary and the baby Jesus is one of my favorites. I'm thinking that cutting neules will become one of my new Christmas traditions. If you don't know what a neule is, my explanation from last year is here.

Beautiful Black

2010-11-18T08:33:00.003-07:00

Here are the ATCs for this month. The theme was "beautiful black". I decided to do animals that are defined by their black markings. Of course, I had to start with a zebra. The hardest thing about cutting a zebra is keeping track of what is a black stripe and what is a white one.

My next animal was the skunk. This was a challenge because I cut a white piece of paper and then glued it onto a black background. It is not easy to think backwards.

This panda was my easiest cut this time. I tried to keep this one simple.

Alright, dalmatian puppies are not really black, but they do have black spots. This is another one where I cut white paper and put it on black. It was fun to keep the ATCs in monochromatic colors this time.

Dorothy Comes Home

2010-11-02T10:16:00.002-06:00

I just finished reading The Wizard of Oz for the first time. That was a fun quick read, and it inspired a new papercut. I loved how Kansas was described as gray, and I wanted to take advantage of that. This cut shows Dorothy and Toto excitedly returning home to the farm after their adventure. For this I cut two different layers and placed a sheet of tracing paper between to give the farm a gray look.

Halloween Isn't Too Far Away

2010-10-21T09:38:00.002-06:00

This is something I whipped up yesterday when I had a free hour. This is what a ghostrider would look like if it went trick-or-treating. If I can find the right frame, I'll hang it up somewhere for the next week.

Something Besides ATCs

2010-10-16T19:11:00.003-06:00

I am so glad to say that this is not an ATC. I finally got around to doing a bigger cut. This was inspired by the story of Anne Shirley walking the ridge pole in the story Anne of Green Gables. The border took awhile to cut, and my fingers were sore by the time I was done. I guess I need to cut more often and build up those calluses once more.

County Fair

2010-10-14T10:47:00.003-06:00

This month's ATC theme is the county fair. This first cut is of the dreaded judges who decide whether your work is worthy of that coveted blue ribbon.

Here is the winning jar of canned peaches. I love to look at the displays at the county fair, but it is hard to be excited about looking at jars of fruits and vegetables.

What is a fair without animals? Other than the rides, the animals are always the kids favorite thing to see. I personally don't care much about pigs, but they make interesting papercuts.

The last cut represents those big trailers that show up that claim to have the world's biggest something inside that will only cost you $5 to see. I wonder what is really in those mysterious boxes, but the ticket price always keeps me ignorance. Here is the world's biggest horse.

September ATCs

2010-09-17T16:22:00.002-06:00

It felt really good to sit down and do some cutting the other day. It has been too long. ATCs are a good way to get back into it. I decided not to go along with this month's trade theme. Sometimes it is fun to just cut whatever I want.

I based this cut on a child's back-to-school fashion spread in an old 50s magazine I had sitting around the house.

I thought this one worked out really well as a straight silhouette. Fingers are hard to cut that small.

I had lots of fun with this one. I had to search for a picture of a painting that would be small enough to fit on that little canvas.

How many times have you seen a child and a dog stare each other down while the child eats something sweet and sticky? Why does that sticky sweet almost always end up in the dog's mouth?

Yes, I am Still Here

2010-07-22T11:33:00.003-06:00

I am sorry that I haven't posted anything for awhile. I just can't believe how busy I have been with other things this summer. I'm glad that I have squeezed in some time for these monthly ATCs. They have kept me cutting.

The theme for this month's trade is national parks. Since I did rock formations in national parks last year, I wanted to do something a little bit different this time.

These are based on vintage "greetings from" postcards. It was a fun experience to just cut type this time.

The photos behind the letters were downloaded from the Internet. Crater Lake is the only one of these national parks that I haven't visited.

OWLS

2010-06-26T15:27:00.005-06:00

This month's ATC theme was owls. I used coffee filter paper that I painted with watercolor for the owls.

It is a good thing that I have had these trades because I have had a hard time the last couple of months getting to any other cutting. I'm still hoping that things will slow down a little in the next months. There is more paper out there to cut.

First Sign of Spring

2010-06-17T13:02:00.005-06:00

The weather is really springlike today. I'm not looking forward to the summer heat. I have been working on this cut for the last couple of weeks. It is the biggest cut that I have done so far. (15 in. x 19 in.) The blossom is made from coffee filter paper that I painted with watercolors. I like having that one splash of color. It is mounted on a piece of wood that I stained.

Spring City

2010-05-27T13:14:00.004-06:00

Here is what I have been working on all month when I had a spare moment. Every year on Memorial Day weekend, Spring City has their Heritage Days. As part of Heritage Days, they hold an art auction at the old school house. The proceeds go towards restoring the school. John, my husband, and I have participated the last two years, and this is this year's contribution. I decided to try something a little bit more traditional. All the buildings are based on actual buildings in the little town. The cut is 11 in. x 11 in.

For those of you who have been wondering, the ATC trading group that I am involved with is the yahoo group, Papercutterstrade. I have really enjoyed the monthly trades, and there is always room for more.

Going Green

2010-05-19T09:22:00.003-06:00

I haven't had as much time to cut this month, but I did manage to squeeze in enough time to put together my ATCs for this month.

This month's theme was "green". The first thing that came to my mind was frogs, but I had done frogs only a couple of months ago. My second thought was little green men from Mars. Here they are! They are happy little green aliens. I hope you enjoy them. I should have something else to post soon.

Waterbird ATCs

2010-04-20T07:46:00.004-06:00

This month's trade theme is water. I decided to make all the ATCs with birds that live near water. The first piece is a duck. I have done ducks before and enjoyed it.

The second bird is a pelican. I went simple with this one.

My third piece is a cormorant. I used magazine pages for the background color on the bird and wood.

The last bird is a snowy egret. This is based on the bigger papercut that I did in January. I still haven't cut that beak right. Maybe, I'll try again sometime.

I haven't been cutting as much the last couple of weeks because of this. I hope to get back to cutting more soon.

I Wish Spring Was Really Here

2010-04-07T08:55:00.005-06:00

After a mild winter, spring has been taking a turn for the worst. The past week has felt more like January. We received over a foot and a half of snow in the last week, and the wind yesterday was cold enough to drive me back indoors for another three months. I have been yearning for flowers and a warm breeze. My yearnings led me to create this cut of hollyhocks. Hollyhocks are some of my favorite flowers. I cut the black outline from black paper and painted the paper underneath. I only glued the very top of the paper cut to the background paper so that it would hang loosely over the watercolor and give it a slight three dimensional feel.

The Brave Little Taylor

2010-03-29T09:12:00.004-06:00

I have always enjoyed a fairy tale where the hero uses his brain instead of his brawn. The Brave Little Tailor is a good example of this. The only time he uses is muscles is in the beginning when he hits those seven annoying flies, and who could fault him for that? Flies can be very annoying, and they don't listen to reason. Our brave tailor uses his brains to outwit giants and bad kings and wins a kingdom and princess in the process. That's not to bad for a man who earns his living making clothes. In this cut our hero is heading off into the world to see what he can make of himself. He unconcerned that he is entering a giant infested wood.

Borders

2010-03-24T08:38:00.004-06:00

The last couple of days I have been playing around with borders. I have been intimidated by floral borders for awhile, so it was good for me to stretch a bit.

For the most part, I am satisfied with the results. These will make nice thank you notes sometime or maybe I can put a poem on them and place them in a frame. I haven't decided yet.

Weathervane ATCs

2010-03-17T10:27:00.005-06:00

I'm sorry that I haven't posted for a couple of weeks. Sometimes it is easy to become distracted by other things.

This month's theme for my ATC trade is weather vanes. I was surprised by the variety of weathervane designs that are out there. I picked some of my favorites to use as the basis of ATC papercuts. I found that the letters were the hardest part to cut. This first one is of a sun and moon.

I like the idea of a llama on top of a weathervane.

I think the mice on the directional letters on this one was a nice touch.

The crane on this one will always know what direction it is flying.

I'm So Glad That It Is March

2010-03-02T17:53:00.005-07:00

I'm very happy to be done with January and February. March is such a much more pleasant month. I love it when the promise of spring is in the air. I knew spring could not be very far away when I woke up with this cut in my head.

Whimsy ATCs

2010-02-19T12:47:00.005-07:00

This month's ATC trade theme was "whimsy". I decided that that was very broad once I started looking into it. I decided to base my cards on the idea of flying frogs. That is just what popped into my head first. How many ways could I come up with to make a frog fly? The hot air balloon was the first that I did.

This is how the frog would fly if he fell out of the balloon.

A frog flying with a hang glider could reach those tasty butterflies more easily.

However, here is a frog that bit off more than he could chew and is flying in a way that wouldn't be so much fun.

Finally, Another Fairy Tale

2010-02-12T17:02:00.005-07:00

It has been too long since I have posted a fairy tale. This one has been spinning around in my head for the past month. I'm glad that I finally got it cut.

This is a scene from the fairy tale, "The Donkey, the Table and the Stick". In this story, a son (or three sons in some versions) leaves home to prove to his father that he is good for something. He works for a year and receives a magic donkey as his wages. On his way home, he stops at an inn and shows the innkeeper his magic donkey. The innkeeper is so impressed that he switches the magic donkey for a normal one. Unknowingly, the son takes the wrong donkey home to show his father only to make a fool of himself when the donkey does not produce magic coins. Then the son works for another year and is paid with a magic table that food appears on when the right words are said. The same thing happens to the table that happened to the donkey at the inn, and again the son fails to impress his father with his business success. The third year of working is rewarded with a magic stick that will wack anyone that the son tells it to. He uses the stick on the innkeeper who gives the son back his magic donkey and table. The son comes home in triumph to finally prove to his father his worth.

The paper cut is illustrating the moment that the son is showing off his magic table that is supposed to be covered with food, only to find out that once again he has been tricked. His father isn't very impressed. The mice were hoping for a better performance, too.

Every Frog Needs a Princess

2010-02-06T10:58:00.002-07:00

A Dragon and his Boy

2010-02-01T08:06:00.002-07:00

Here is a quick cut that I did shortly after the last one. Dragons are fun to cut.

Picking Out a Dragon

2010-01-29T09:30:00.003-07:00

Sometimes when I read a paper cut idea will pop into my head that relates to the story I am reading. This especially happens when I am reading children's literature. I haven't ever followed through with those ideas until now. This past week I randomly pulled a book off the shelves at my local library and brought it home. It was "How to Train Your Dragon" by Cressida Cowell. It was a funny little book about Vikings and dragons. The above cut is what popped into my head at the beginning of the book as the young hero must crawl into a cave full of sleeping dragons, where he must snatch one and take it back his village to train. This was fun. I think the next time I feel inspired by a children's book, I'll follow thru.

Snowy Egret at Low Tide

2010-01-22T15:50:00.004-07:00

This cut is based on a photo I took at a California beach last November. We finally took our kids to Disneyland, and we spent one day playing at the beach. I liked the way the white plumage contrasted with the dark shadows on the rock. This cut is a little bit bigger than I usually cut at 10 x 13 inches.

January ATCs

2010-01-18T10:15:00.004-07:00

Yes, I have finally found some time to get back to cutting. It feels good to be back! These are this month's ATCs. The theme was botanicals. I found an illustration of sprouting beans in an old biology book and thought that they would be a good thing to base the cuttings on. Each cut is a different stage of bean sprouting.

I have posted them in order of growth.

The leaves took the longest to cut.

Are You Tired of Neules Yet?

2009-12-21T09:18:00.006-07:00

You may be tired of seeing neules, so I decided to post the rest of the neules that I have cut in the past month. This is a scene of Bethlehem. This is the one I used for my trade.

This is one that was fun to design and cut. I used the red paper as background to liven in up when I scanned it. I was tired of the gloomy black.

Here is the last one. I cut this just a few days ago for a gift for a friend. I hope that she likes it. My husband thinks that the sheep look like maggots.

These are a couple of pictures of the neules hanging in my front room. I strung a string from the curtain to the opposite side of the room. Then, I hung the neules from the string. I like the way they look like they are floating. I think I should have hung them just a little bit higher though because my seven year old already manged to take a swing at one and ripped it down. Fortunately, I was able to rehang it without too much damage. She promised not to do that again.

Here they are again at another angle. Merry Christmas!

More Neules

2009-12-16T10:11:00.003-07:00

Here are 2 more neules that I have cut in the last couple of weeks. Angels make good holiday decor.

Here are the three wisemen. After trying to figure out how to make a good looking camel, I just left the cantankerous beasts out.

Neules

2009-12-14T08:21:00.005-07:00

This year I was introduced to neules. Neules are delicately cut paper doilies that are hung in Mallorcan churches around Christmas. (Mallorca is an island off the coast of Spain.) They often depict biblical scenes or geometric designs. I found a few pictures of neules hanging in churches on the Internet, and they look beautiful hanging above the church altars. I was invited to be part of a nuele trade with my ATC group this month and thought it would be a challenge to try cutting one. I, of course, cut more than one because I couldn't decide what to send. So far I have cut five different designs, and I have more in my head that I would like to cut. Unfortunately, I have to fit them in between other Christmas projects that I HAVE to finish before Christmas. I plan to hang them all from a suspended string in my front room soon. This is a picture of the first neule I cut. I have been finding that the borders are the biggest challenge. I'll have more pictures in later posts.

December ATCs: Red is Beautiful

2009-12-04T10:51:00.003-07:00

December's ATC theme is "beautiful red". What could be redder than Rudolf's shiny nose? I adapted a woodcut that my grandfather did for his 1932 Christmas cards for this cut. He, however, used blue ink which made the piece feel colder, and the deer wasn't Rudolf. My dad had framed and hung that card for years in our house, and it was always one of my favorites.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2009-11-25T09:07:00.003-07:00

Here are my ATCs for November. I wanted to make something that went along with Thanksgiving.
It was good to do something with this wonderful holiday that is so often overshadowed by Christmas. I hope everyone has a wonderful day full of good food, family and friends!

I Want Candy for Lunch

2009-11-04T11:17:00.004-07:00

Have you ever had one of your children try to talk you into just letting them eat sweets for lunch? I have. There has been too much candy around my house this week. This paper cut was originally inspired by an ad in an old newspaper. I think it was advertising some kind of kitchen appliance. I started wondering what was really behind the reason that the woman was reclining against the table. I think that she wasn't day dreaming about a new stove but about a day when she could fix a meal without some disgusted protest from some child. I added a border to this one because I love all the decorative borders that newspaper artists threw into the newspaper a hundred years ago for no other reason than to liven it up.

All Ready for a Hoe Down

2009-11-03T09:01:00.004-07:00

Here is a quick snip that I did while helping my 7 year-old with her homework yesterday. I guess, neither one of us was ready to get back into school work after the long weekend.

Hiking ATCs

2009-10-23T22:30:00.003-06:00

This month's ATC theme is "A Hiking We Will Go". As usual, I had to ponder for weeks about what I wanted to do for this trade. I settled on cutting pictures of places that my family and I have gone hiking this summer. We spent a lot of time wandering the state and gazing at sandstone rock.

This first cut is of Goblin Valley State Park. This is my kids favorite place to hike around in. It feels like an alien landscape as you wander around the strangely formed rocks. The middle ground of the picture is a photo of Goblin Valley that I found in the park's brochure, I felt that it helped to give the feeling of the valley.

This second cut is of Hickman's Bridge in Capitol Reef National Park. This was the first year that we have taken the time to hike any of the trails in this national park.

The third cut is of the Delicate Arch in Arches National Park. The family hiked to the arch early in the morning in July. It was a relatively easy hike, but we were glad that we didn't try to hike over the slickrock in the heat of the middle of the day. We passed people starting out on the trail on our way back, and we could see them beginning to sweat. It wasn't even 10 o'clock in the morning yet.

Last of all is Angel's Landing in Zion National Park. As a family, we hike the easy trails in Zion, but there is no way that I am taking my young children on the hike up to the top of Angel's Landing. The thought of my kids near those 800 foot or more drops is enough to give me nightmares. Zion is one of our favorite national parks, and we try to get there every year.

Hansel and Gretel

2009-10-17T16:40:00.007-06:00

Here is this month's fairy tale. I wanted to cut a tale that could be related to Halloween. I always thought that Hansel and Gretel was a little creepy. What could be scarier than a witch that wants to fatten up a child in a cage in order to eat him for dinner? Here Hansel and Gretel are wandering in the dark woods after being left behind by their father and stepmother. I layered three different paper cuts and put tracing paper between each layer to give it a feeling of distance. That way I could make the woods feel more dense and menacing without losing the main figures in the foreground.

Things I Learned from Hansel and Gretel:

Don't ever use bread crumbs to mark a path.
Eating candy off someone's house can lead to bad things.
Don't accept hospitality from hungry witches.
If you are a witch, you should never trust children to tell you the truth.

A Border That Toots Its Own Horn

2009-10-15T11:05:00.003-06:00

Last month, I found a pair of printing blocks for newspapers with heralds on them at an antique shop. Each was facing a different direction so that they could frame type between them. I brought them home and used them to base this papercut frame on. I haven't decided what should go in the middle, so for right now I am leaving it by itself.

She Loved the Squirrel; He Loved the Acorns

2009-10-08T09:00:00.005-06:00

Here is an idea that popped into my head yesterday and wouldn't leave until I had cut it. I really like it when an idea works out as well on paper as it does in your head. I wish it happened more. Too often that idea remains just in your head because you can't seem to find a way to bring it to life to your satisfaction. The background paper I used is actually a pale green, but the scanner didn't seem to pick up on that.

My Witch

2009-10-07T08:56:00.004-06:00

Here is the witch that I cut for October. I used the same background paper that my daughter used for hers. I'm not sure what is in that pot, but I don't think that I want to try any. The cat looks like it might be interested though. Happy October!

My Kids Are at It Again

2009-09-29T11:27:00.004-06:00

My youngest daughter wanted to get into making Halloween decorations, too. Here is her witch papercut. She felt that she couldn't just leave it as a silhouette, so she added in details with pencil. I love the way that she solved the ever present question of how to mount a papercut. She loves to use tape.

Name in a Skirt?

2009-09-24T10:05:00.004-06:00

Last weekend I was looking through a box of old paper stuff that a friend had bought on Ebay. This advertisement for personalized note cards was in it. I was intrigued by the idea of using a name to form the skirt and decided to make my own version of the youthful maiden as a papercut.

Here is what I came up with. I changed the girl a little in the process in order to make it more friendly to a papercut. The advertisement had a list of over 100 names that you could order, but I had a hard time picturing a name as long as Jacqueline squeezed into that skirt. I didn't even want to try Melissa. So, I decided to use the nickname that I used when I was a little girl. I don't like that name, but it was a lot easier to fit in that skirt. Maybe I'll try squeezing in my real name sometime. I like the way it turned out over all. The elongated letters give it an interesting look.

What My 12 Year Old Is Up To

2009-09-23T09:08:00.003-06:00

My son is starting to feel autumn in the air. He loves to have the house decorated for the holidays, and sometimes he thinks that I am too slow to get started with the decorations. He decided to take matters into his own hands and start making decorations for Halloween. This is what he came up with: a ghostly diorama. I think that it is quite clever with its construction. He had no help from me. Isn't paper a lot of fun?!

Fall is Coming

2009-09-15T09:11:00.003-06:00

Fall is just around the corner. It is my favorite season of the year, and that is not because of Halloween. I love the color and temperate temperatures of Fall.

This is a simple cut of a circle of leaves, but I like that it also looks like a flower. I hope that you enjoy it.

September ATCs

2009-09-11T09:37:00.005-06:00

Yesterday, I was so excited that I had a free couple of hours to do some papercutting. It has been too long. It was relaxing to hear that knife cut through the black paper. I have been too busy lately with other things.

This month's ATC theme is an open one. I have been on a fairy tale kick lately so I thought it would be fun to tell a fairy tale with my cards. I chose Cinderella just because it seemed the easiest at the time. The first scene is Cinderella receiving the invitation to the ball.

This is Cinderella's fairy godmother transforming a pumpkin into a coach. I thought it was fun that the background paper could be used to enhance the magic.

What is the Cinderella story without a depiction of the ball?

Lastly, the stepsister looks on in disbelief as Cinderella's dainty foot slips into the slipper. These were a lot of fun to do.

Maid Maleen

2009-08-26T09:12:00.004-06:00

Here it is the last week in August, and I almost forgot to post a fairy tale papercut. This is from the Grimm's tale of Maid Maleen. The princess, Maid Maleen, and her servant were walled up in a tower by themselves for seven years by her father, the king, because she refused to marry the prince the king had chosen for her. Maid Maleen had, of course, fallen in love with another prince. After seven years, the women emerged from their tower only to discover that the kingdom had been laid waste. They then wandered around until they came to another kingdom where they become scullery maids at the castle. Because this is a fairy tale, Maid Maleen found that this castle belongs to the prince that she fell in love with seven years before, and he was about to marry another princess. You can guess how the rest of the story goes. The cut depicts the women as they finally chip their way out of the tower only to discover that everything that they had known was destroyed. I hope they had a lot of good reading material in that tower. How could you not go a little nuts after seven years?

Aspens

2009-08-18T12:04:00.003-06:00

I'm sorry that I haven't posted anything for weeks. I found myself suddenly swamped with trips in these last few weeks before school starts again. I'm just starting to find time to cut again. Until I have some new cuts to show, I thought I would post this cutting of aspen trees that I did last year. The white bark of these trees make them fun to cut.

Buried in the Sand

2009-07-22T08:26:00.003-06:00

It has been a couple of months since I have done an ATC. Last month, I was busy helping my husband get our book ready to give to our publisher so I elected to skip that month's trade. This month's theme is "At the Seashore". I decided that I wanted to cut something with a little humor. I hope it makes the other ladies chuckle.

I Want to Live in Sherwood Forest

2009-07-20T06:30:00.003-06:00

When I was a kid, I wanted to live in Sherwood Forest or in a castle nearby. Robin Hood was one of my heroes. The Adventures of Robin Hood starring Errol Flynn was my all time favorite movie. I could watch it over and over again. I had a record with the soundtrack, and while my friends hung posters of hairy rock stars on their wall, I hung a big black and white poster of Robin Hood. It was cool! Last week, I watched again The Adventures of Robin Hood with my husband, and it inspired me to create this cut of Robin meeting Little John on the log bridge. According to Howard Pyle, Little John was over 7 feet tall. He makes Robin Hood look like a little punk.

Parents at the Park

2009-07-15T10:05:00.005-06:00

This cut is based on a photo that I took at Murray City park a couple of weeks ago. It is interesting to think that we all move to the sidelines of the playground eventually. How long has it been since these people were the ones excited to try out the slides and swings? When did the benches have more appeal than the monkey bars? I know it has been awhile for me. Give me a book and a bench anytime.

Western Hoe-Down

2009-07-10T08:24:00.005-06:00

This has been my project the last couple of weeks. Wednesday night was the annual Achievement Days daddy-daughter dinner/date at our church. This is for the 8 to 11 year old girls and their dads. It was a western hoe-down theme. I created wanted posters with a silhouette for each of the girls to hang on the wall as decoration. They also made a fun game as the girls tried to guess who was who.
I made 17 of these. I was getting pretty good at cutting that cowboy hat by the end. The girls had fun guessing, and when the night was over, they all had a souvenir to take home with them. It was well worth my time and effort.

No Luck With Men

2009-07-06T07:38:00.003-06:00

July's fairy tale is about a girl who didn't have any real luck with the men in her life. I'm talking about the miller's daughter in Rumplestiltskin. First, her father practically sells her off to the first king who rides by with a false promise of magical accomplishments. Then, that said greedy king threatens her nightly to perform an impossible feat or "off with your head" never thinking about the fact that the miller didn't have piles of golden straw at his mill. The little man who magically appears to help her doesn't do it out of the goodness of his heart but is only looking for a way to weasel a child out of her. Sure, the girl does get to keep her head and marry a king, but is she really happy with the arrangement? Notice that she doesn't turn to her husband to help solve the mystery of Rumplstiltskin's name. What is she afraid of? I don't think she trusts any man at this point. I don't know that I would either.

Happy 4th of July!

2009-07-03T09:01:00.001-06:00

Have a great weekend full of fireworks and parades!

The Frog Watches

2009-06-22T12:38:00.004-06:00

Here is June's fairytale. The Frog Prince watches as the princess despairs of retrieving her golden ball from the bottomless pool. It looks like a good opportunity for the frog. If I did this one again, I would make the bushes a little less odd in shape.

Purple Grapes

2009-06-19T08:58:00.003-06:00

Here is the one paper cut that I have managed to cut in the last two weeks. My husband has been keeping me busy helping with our book project on the first official tourists to Zion National Park. We are almost done, so I hope to get back to cutting soon.

Kelton Grave

2009-06-08T08:50:00.007-06:00

This is a bigger paper cut that I have been working on the past few weeks. It is 10 x 13 inches. This is a picture of a headstone in a lonely cemetery out in the desert north of the Great Salt Lake. Kelton was once a town along the Union Pacific railroad. It was a thriving little community until the railroad built a new route across the lake and bypassed all the towns along the original route. This eventually killed all those communities. There isn't much left of the towns. Even the foundations are almost gone. The cemetery is still at Kelton, but it is neglected. In twenty or thirty years, it might be gone as well. The wire fence around it is the only thing that keeps the atvs out of it. You can't read anything on the wooden headstones that are left. I tried to capture the feeling of neglect in that dry landscape.

Last Summer's Experiment

2009-06-02T09:08:00.003-06:00

Last summer, I saw an artist at the Salt Lake Art Festival use linocut block prints and watercolors to create some beautiful small botanical art. I decided to try a similar thing but with paper cuts. Here are some samples of what I came up with. I first cut the paper cut then I painted the watercolor underneath. The cut is glued just at the top so when it is hanging, the paper is slightly raised above the watercolor. That gives it a three dimensional look. These are some of my husband's favorite cuts.
I hung these two up at an art show over Memorial Day weekend and sold them both. I guess that means that other people like them too. The last two weeks, I have been working on a couple more of cuts like these. I will post them soon.

Henry Hudson Sails Again

2009-05-20T09:43:00.004-06:00

Okay, this is not exactly a paper cut, but I did cut paper to make it. My daughter had to impersonate an explorer in her third grade class last Friday. They had the option of wearing a costume, and that got my creative juices flowing. It is a challenge to think in more three dimensional terms. The hat, beard and collar are all made with paper. I like how they turned out. She ended up being the only student in her class to wear a costume. She was very brave to put it on anyway. She was the best looking Henry Hudson there. It is to bad that the photo ended up so blurry.

Mother and Daughter

2009-05-13T09:09:00.003-06:00

Sometimes it is fun to cut just a plain silhouette. I should have cut this last week and used it for Mother's day.

May ATCs

2009-05-11T09:14:00.005-06:00

This month's ATC theme is "Asian Things". I thought that bonsai trees would make fun papercuts.

I cut the outline of the trees out of the top black paper, and then placed the color paper behind the open cuts. Being the organic things that they are, I used pictures out of some of my seed and garden catalogues for the color. The bowl on the second tree is a picture of asparagus spears.

A Robin

2009-05-04T08:51:00.005-06:00

I have seen several papercutters who have done cuts of tree branches, and I have really enjoyed the results. I wanted to try it too. Last January, I saw four robins perched in the trees to the side of my house. They had their feathers puffed up against the cold. I liked the way those red feathers contrasted against the bare branches of the trees. "Ah hah!", I thought. "There is a subject for a future papercut." I took a picture and tucked it away for a future project. Last friday was that day. The cut above was the result.
When I was done, I placed the cut in a frame pressed between to pieces of glass. I really am pleased with how it looks in this kind of framing. It is hard to see it in this picture, but the shadows cast by the cut onto the wall add an extra dimension to the cut and makes it look like there are more tree branches. It is a nice effect.

Cinderella

2009-05-01T09:04:00.004-06:00

What better way to start a new month then with another fairytale papercut? I cut this one just yesterday. This time I did not try to take a new look at the fairytale but went straight to one the most illustrated scenes of the story. It was still a bundle of fun to do, even so. I have to admit that I would have left out the shoe if I thought I could get away with it. I don't like doing shoes.

Here is Cinderella's fairy godmother. I cut her last year. I tried to be a little more creative with this one.

It Must Be Spring

2009-04-27T09:07:00.005-06:00

Spring is in the air! It makes one think of flowers and gardens, and what goes better with a garden than those ever present garden gnomes? They pop up everywhere once the snow melts. Here are a couple that have popped up in my papercutting lately.
I used watercolors for the color on these. I think the soft tones of the watercolors go well with the bold black lines of the papercut.

April ATC

2009-04-15T11:26:00.003-06:00

This month's ATC theme is windows. It took me a while to come up with something for this one. While looking around on the internet for ideas, I saw a picture of a town as seen thru an old glass window. I cut my ATC to look like one of those old windows that you expect to see on a Tudor style house in England. Behind the cut I placed a photo that I took on my trip to England a year and a half ago. I made five with a different English photo with each. This one has a picture of Big Ben on it.

A Fairy Tale for April

2009-04-02T09:13:00.004-06:00

In my quest to make illustrations of fairy tales that give a slightly look at the familiar stories, I came up with to go along with the story of Snow White. Here is the wicked queen contemplating how to get rid of Snow White for good. It looks like she has just grabbed an apple out of the bowl of fruit on the table. What can she be thinking?

Steppin' On Cracks

2009-03-20T14:35:00.004-06:00

I just finished this a few days ago. It is based on a picture that I took of my two girls walking home from school a couple of months ago. I found the background paper with cracked concrete on it at a scrapbook store and thought it would work well. My youngest has been trying hard the last couple of weeks not to step on any cracks and seams on the sidewalks on the way home. My husband came up with the title.

I Shear Sheep

2009-03-18T09:47:00.004-06:00

Okay, I didn't shear them, But I did cut them from a piece of brown paper. There are some papercutters out there in the wide world who cut their art with sheep shears. I am in awe of them. I was looking at a painting that my grandfather painted of some sheep grazing in the red rocks of Southern Utah the other week, and I challenged myself to create a papercut based on that painting. Here is the result. Overall, I am liking it. Some of the rocks leave me scratching my head. Rocks can be hard to cut and still have them look like rocks. I like how the sheep blend into their surroundings and make you really look for them. I may not be the artist my grandfather was, but I like tho think I am getting better. I wish I could have taken some lessons from him.

March's ATC

2009-03-11T10:04:00.003-06:00

"When the Rabbit actually took a watch out of its waistcoat-pocket, and looked at it, and then hurried on, Alice started to her feet, for it flashed across her mind that she had never before seen a rabbit with either a waistcoat-pocket, or a watch to take out of it, and burning with curiosity, she ran across the field after it." Lewis Carroll
This month's ATC theme is "My Favorite Clock". I don't know that I have a favorite clock. How many people out there have a favorite clock? " Alice in Wonderland" isn't my favorite book either, but I thought the pocket watch the White Rabbit carries with him would make an interesting subject for my ATCs. So here you go.

Are You Real?

2009-03-02T08:17:00.004-07:00

How would you react to the sudden appearance of a troll on your pleasant morning stroll? I don't think that this would be mine. There are some things that you probably should think twice about touching.

HUZZAH!

2009-02-25T09:12:00.008-07:00

Yesterday, I received a notice from the Church History and Art Museum that my papercut, The Beginning of Enlightenment, had been accepted into their Eighth International Art Competition. I was thrilled to say the least. This papercut depicts the story of Alma and the sons of King Mosiah when the angel stops them on their way to pursecute the church in the Book of Mormon. I came up with this one in the middle of sacrament meeting last year. I was happy with the way it turned out. I guess someone else was too. I'm glad that they will have a papercut in it this year. They had one in the last competition, too. (not one of mine) The exhibit will be on display at the Conference Center in Salt Lake March 20, 2009 through October 11, 2009.

Faces Are Scary

2009-02-23T09:10:00.004-07:00

Faces are scary things to cut. You may have noticed that most of my papercut figures are seen from behind or the faces are full silhouettes. That is because I am intimidated by all the little details that come with a face. If you don't get them right it ruins the look of the whole piece. It so much easier to just avoid it all together. However, some days I tell myself that I shouldn't give into my fears but should take a leap and try it. This is my latest attempt. I don't think it is too bad , but I should keep working on it. It helps to have some strong shadows on the face otherwise, it gets sticky deciding what shadows to leave on and what to take off to get the results that I want. Like I said before, it is SCARY.

Dwarf Versus Fish

2009-02-18T14:41:00.004-07:00

Here is another fairytale for you. I find it fun to try to find a different way to illustrate the stories. Tales are easier than others. This from the tale "Snow White and Rose Red" by the Brothers Grimm. In the story, Snow White and Rose Red, two sisters, befriend an enchanted bear who is looking for the enemy who changed him into a bear and took his family's fortune. While helping the bear, the girls keep running into a dwarf in the woods who needs their help to get out of sticky situations such as the one above. He is never grateful for their help, of course, and yells at them for stepping on his bag of jewels. In the end, the bear kills the dwarf who was the one who enchanted him in the first place. The moral of this story could be that you should be careful who you help because they might just get eaten by a bear anyway.

Four-Footed Friends

2009-02-17T08:41:00.005-07:00

This month's theme for ATCs is 'four-footed friends'. Since my four-footed friends have always been cats, that's what I put on them. The first one is based on my cat, Zoinks. She contorts herself into the most uncomfortable positions and still looks relaxed. How does she do that?
My second cut is based on a bigger cut that I did last year where I placed several cats on a stone wall. In this one I felt like I needed to give that cat something to look at. It looks like trouble.
This last one was inspired by another incident perpetrated by Zoinks. One day she came to the back door wanting to be let in. Just as I opened the door, I noticed that she had a mouse wriggling in her mouth. It was too late to keep her out. She promptly took that mouse down into the basement and dumped it into her food dish as if to tell that rodent exactly what she thought of it.

Happy Valentine's Day

2009-02-14T07:46:00.003-07:00

Valentine's Day is One Day Closer

2009-02-09T09:16:00.004-07:00

Valentine's Day is getting closer, so I thought I would post another related papercut. This one is much simpler than I usually try to do. I find that simple is sometimes harder for me to do. Did you ever wonder whether mice smooch on little benches in the park when you are not looking? Well, I didn't either until I cut this. I am calling this "Rodent Romance". Now all it needs is a cat in the background licking its chops.

I Love Fairy Tales

2009-02-04T09:26:00.002-07:00

Have I said that I love fairy tales? When I was little, I would go to sleep listening to records with dramatized fairy tales on them. We had 25 different records each with 2 stories on them. For years, we kids could expect to receive a new one on birthdays and Christmas. As we grew older, I continued to listen to them especially when I was having a hard time getting to sleep. I recorded some on tapes and took them with me to college. I could always count on them to help me relax if only because they reminded me of simpler times in my life. Now my two daughters listen to them every night as they go to sleep.

This papercut is from the story of Rapunzel. I always wondered why she asked the prince to bring her skeins of silk to weave a ladder from. Wouldn't it have been a lot easier to just cut her braid and use that as a ladder to escape the tower just like everyone else? Perhaps Rapunzel had a little too much pride in her long tresses. Well, I guess she paid the price for her pride.

Romeo and Juliet

2009-01-26T16:18:00.005-07:00

In honor of the upcoming valentines day. I cut my own version of the balcony scene of Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet". I really enjoy Shakespeare and love to see stage productions of his plays. "Romeo and Juliet", however, is not one of my favorites, but it does make a good romantic subject for a papercut.