creative paper cutting - book review

creative paper cutting

I'm always on the lookout for new paper craft books. I like to see what new ideas are out there. So, when I got Creative Paper Cutting (part of the Make Good Books series), for review, it was a pleasant surprise and exciting to dive into.

What I really like about the Make Good books is that they have beautiful photographs and very easy to follow instructions. There's also a light and airy feel about how everything is laid out in the spreads. Creative Paper Cutting is no different.

creative paper cutting 2

The books is divided into three main sections that describe basic techniques and tips, projects to make with the cutouts and a final section that features creations from six different designers.

One way in which I consider this book different from the rest of the collection is that the projects are very simple—the level of difficulty is not very high. I think this book would be a perfect fit for a crafter that is just starting out with paper and scissors.

creative paper cutting 3

The book provides many templates for accordion folds or doily type projects with illustrations of fruits, animals, dancers, and trees, among others. It also shows applications for these paper cutouts. There are many sweet ideas like the tents and bridges below. Can't you see these on a card, scrapbook layout, or wrapped around a gift box?

creative paper cutting 4

Coincidentally, after enjoying today's last day of school, my C and a friend used this book as inspiration to create a handful of paper snowflakes. They kept asking for more paper which I very happily provided and were very focused on their work.

Some days it's ok (and almost necessary) to create alone but sometimes there is nothing better than working on a fun craft with good company. I loved watching the girls having such a great time.

I hope you get the chance to make something of your own—and have a wonderful weekend!

all I want for christmas...

Is for things to stay the way they are now—well, sort of.
- I love that as a family we couldn't be any stronger. Love is all around.
- I'm grateful that we're all healthy (but things could be better—I could do without a few extra pounds and remembering to eat 3 square meals a day).
- I love our cozy house (even if we've sort of outgrown it).
- I love working from home (even though that means I stare at a mountain of laundry that I haven't taken care of).
- I love what I do (but there aren't enough hours in the day for my plans and ideas).



And I'd love for my stocking to be filled with more memories of:
- hugs, big and small
- giggles over the silliest of things
- what I feel when I hear "I missed you Mom" at 3pm after school
- catching little people, that are supposed to be in bed, reading
- crayons, markers and glitter being used
- Sunday afternoons with the family

That's all I want—more than enough.

house paper ornament

Having a digital cutting machine makes little creations like this appear in a matter or minutes. This design was something that I've been wanting to make this past week and just didn't have time to do it until today. It now hangs on our tree. Quick projects like these are so fun to work on, that if I had time, I could go on making new ones all day long.

ornament

I'll going to cut a few more and let the kids decorate them this afternoon—since we're already short on homework this week (love the break from that!).

Oh the paper... someone made a comment that my projects look so sturdy. For many projects (including my box calendar) I use paper that is thicker than scrapbooking card stock. In this case, I'm using Mr. French paper (100lb cover). I like that it has uneven specks in it and that it's a natural vs bright white.

lined holiday gift cards or tags for kids

Oh my! I never thought I'd pull a disappearing act for this long. I've been trying to get a proposal out the door, but nothing is worse than changing your mind about something at the last minute. I'm almost done and hopefully the effort will be worth it in the end.



In the meantime, upon several requests, I decided to once again pull out the holiday lined printables for kids. Because of my limited time, I've 'recycled' some of my own images (hope you don't mind). I'm offering two versions—one is just like the ones I've posted previously and the other is in black and white.

alittlehut-holidaygifttags

The black and white version has illustrations in outlines so that your little ones can color (while giving you an itty bitty slice of time to wrap gifts? read?—maybe?—or is that coming from a mom + wishful thinking?). I hope you like them and that the kids have fun working on them.

Downloads here:
- black and white
- color

Can you believe there are only 12 days until Christmas? I can't.