Happy Thanksgiving!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.