FROM EMILY | Festive Paper Cuts

We are really excited today to have the very clever Emily from Good Things* sharing a quick and easy tutorial for some festive paper cuts!

Emily is an Australia crafter, blogger and dachshund wrangler currently living in Seoul with my ace husband, two long dogs, occasional step-sons, many tea pots and possibly even more owls.  She also admits that she can’t see her desk for paper, photos, to do lists and travel plans…

Take it away Emily…..

Festive paper cuts.  No, no – not the kind of festive paper cut you get trying to pop a Christmas cracker, or open your lovely presents a bit too enthusiastically.  I’m talking about the kind you make when you fold some paper and chop into it.

I love paper cutting.  It’s a craft that gives immediate satisfaction plus there are endless variations.  And once you’ve cut your paper you can use it in so many ways – present toppers, cards and tags, garlands, tree ornaments…

I’m sure most of you have played around with paper cuts at some point in your life (I remember making snowflakes in primary school!), but
if you need a refresher or some inspiration, read on.

1) You’ll need to gather some materials – pretty paper (origami paper is the traditional choice, but really you can use anything), pencil, scissors, craft knife, cutting mat, and a stapler.  Plus, if your hand-eye coordination is as good as mine, a well stocked first aid kit.

2) Fold your paper!  If you want to make a snowflake/star design, start with a square and fold in to triangles.  The number of folds will equal the number of points on your final design – four folds will create a four pointed snowflake, eight folds will create an eight pointed snowflake, and so on.

If you want to get tricky with an odd number of points you can find directions for a five pointed snowflake in this gorgeous post from How
About Orange.

And here you’ll find instructions for a six pointed snowflake, as well as different design hints and ideas.

If you want to make a banner/horizontal type design, just fold your paper like an accordion.

3) You can either cut your paper randomly, or draw on a design.  For this banner style cut I drew some stylised xmas trees – easy!  Remember there needs to be a line through your design from one edge of the paper to the other, otherwise you’ll just end up with interestingly shaped
confetti.

Before you start cutting you may find it helpful to staple the folded paper together (just make sure you staple the bits that are going to be discarded).  This gives it more stability while you cut.

4) If necessary, carefully use your craft knife to cut out any ‘holes’ in the middle.

And voila!  You have a paper cut!  Time to get creative!  I like to use my paper cuts to pretty up gifts.  I also like the idea of using giant crepe paper to make a super sized banner paper cut – that’s on my holiday to do list.

Want more?

- This site might hurt your eyes, but if you explore the side bar on the far right you’ll find tons of free printables for making all
kinds of snowflakes: Paper Snowflakes.

- There are countless wonderful books on paper cutting.  My personal favourite is a Japanese one called Kawai Kirigami Recipe - it is bursting with wonderful designs and ideas on how to use them and, best of all, it comes with a CD that has all of the patterns ready to print and
use.

Thanks Emily!  The Christmas Trees are gorgeous and a simple way to jazz up a plain bag!