These
days papercutting too often conjures up images of mass-produced
die cuts produced by machines. I’m no Luddite so can
certainly see the appeal, particularly if you have to produce
a lot of one image, but this is only one type of papercutting.
The other is the ancient craft of doing it by hand, which
suits anybody who only wants one or a few of an image and
eliminates the need for expensive equipment. All you need
to do it is paper, scissors and a craft knife, plus perhaps
this book!
This
is a reprint of a much-loved classic produced back in 2012.
Since then it has been reprinted five times, and it is easy
to see why. I have been a fan of this craft from an early
age and these days it has the appeal of not only being cheap
to do but also giving the opportunity for using up leftovers
from other crafts and recycling. Paper cutting by hand has
lately been neglected in favor of the type of papercrafts
that involve die-cutting machines. This book shows you how
to be your own die cutter, starting with a short chapter on
its history around the world and what you need to get started.
This is not much, and it includes tips on handling your tools
and the best way to begin, including choosing papers, using
templates, finishing off your work, etc. This is followed
by the projects, which constitute most of this book, but with
a difference. Instead of tracing, photocopying or scanning
and printing (although you can also do all of this) this is
a book with the actual printed sheets at the back, ready to
use. There are fifty sheets of good quality card to cut out
and use, complete with colored fronts and backs (some of them
patterned) and ranging from simple beginners’ pieces
to the more complex. The projects tell you what you need to
obtain and include some illustrated stages as well as a photo
of the finished piece. I particularly liked the way it highlighted
the most difficult places to cut and why; this is so useful
and not always obvious at first glance. There are cards, a
shadow puppet theater, mobile, cupcake cases, bunting, window
decorations, silhouettes and more. Most are general purpose,
but a couple are for Christmas, although sadly none of those
are cards. Styles vary to the layered variety reminiscent
of Poland to the Swiss and German types associated with the
Pennsylvania Dutch traditions and classic silhouettes. This
is the sort of book that is a lot of fun and takes some time
to get through so an excellent value for your money, especially
as the end results are creations that are inexpensive to make
but show off your skill. May it be reprinted many more times!
If
you cannot find a good range of papercutting materials locally
try www.searchpress.com for a list of suppliers.
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