The Crafter's Guide to Papercutting Review & GIVEAWAY

Cut up this book - The Crafter's Guide to Papercutting: The complete guide to cutting paper for artworks, greeting cards, keepsakes and more by Emily Hogarth. Inside, the Scottish designer and illustrator introduces the enchanting world of papercutting. There are 3 main sections - key techniques, projects (20) and original templates (50). All techniques and projects are neatly laid out with easy-to-understand photo and text instruction. Apply the techniques to a wonderful range of projects using the included templates. The templates stand out. They're gorgeous - no need to buy any special paper, photocopy or even trace. Remove the template from the book and follow cutting instructions starting with the first project. All templates are printed on light cardstock in a marvelous selection of colors, patterns, sizes and designs. A few of my favorites are the flying bird mobile, place cards, botanical artworks and wall art. You will need a craft knife or scissors. Nice-to-have tools and materials are also covered. If you simply cannot bring yourself to cut up this book page 26 shows you how to photocopy or trace the templates for re-use or to re-size. When you've finished the cutting go to the Designing Papercuts section and learn how to make your own designs. This book exceeded my expectations. Happy papercutting! The complete table of contents is listed below. Search Press released the 144 page paperback on February 4, 2020. Get your copy below!

C O N T E N T S

Introduction

About this book

HISTORY OF PAPERCUTTING

GETTING STARTED

Tools and materials

Paper

Cutting with scissors

Cutting with a craft knife

Templates

Single- and multi-fold designs

Layering and intercutting

Finishing your artwork

DESIGNING PAPERCUTS

Inspiration

Freehand design

Positive and negative

Thinking backwards

PROJECTS

Floral single-fold card

Accordion-fold garden card

Folk-art gatefold card

Lovebirds card (cover)

Layered forest card

Botanical artworks

Flying bird mobile

Shadow puppets

Tealight holders

Place cards

Cupcake decorations (above)

Layered gift tags

Banner and bunting

Tree decorations

Window decorations

Layered art (above)

Family silhouettes

Frame

City skyline

Wall art

TEMPLATES

Index

Credits

Botanical artworks templates from page 103.

Place cards templates from page 117.

The Crafter's Guide to Papercutting ISBN-13 : 978-1844488957 is available worldwide at Search Press. Search Press is an independent, multi award-winning, family owned art and craft book publisher. Check out their unique catalog at Search Press. Search Press has generously offered to giveaway a copy! One winner will be selected at random. Open until March 22, 2021. Canada & USA only. Good luck!

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Papercut Landscapes Review & GIVEAWAY

Turn your favorite land and seascapes into original artwork! In Papercut Landscapes self-taught paper cutting expert Sarah King shares how she creates her delightful hand-cut paper art. She developed her unique style while looking for a way to make affordable art for her home. Her lively designs capture scenes of the British coast and countryside in textured paper and card. From simple sketch to paper cutting and layering, she guides you step-by-step through all techniques. Use basic materials such as a pencil, eraser, craft knife or scalpel, a piece of paper and a cutting surface. Her tool of choice is a swivel-headed craft knife. Start with the smaller warm-up exercises. If it's your first time using a craft knife, you'll need to practice. Abundant visuals grab the reader's attention and make for good, clear instruction. Work your way through 9 gorgeous projects that come with full size templates - just photocopy. A typical project layout is shown below as are a couple of the finished designs. The complete table of contents is listed below. The 128 page paperback was released on March 5, 2019 by Search Press. A digital version is also available. Get your copy below!

C O N T E N T S

INTRODUCTION

MATERIALS

GETTING COMFORTABLE

TECHNIQUES

ADDING COLOUR

HALF-HOUR TEMPLATES

PAPERCUTTING THE LANDSCAPE

Basking Balloons

Mountain Scenery

Health by the Sea

Love Blooms

Caravan Friends

Harbour Arches

Moors Sheep

Waterfall

Early Morning Milk

FINDING YOUR VOICE

SKETCHING & SIMPLIFYING

ADAPTING PHOTOGRAPHS

STYLE

DISPLAYING YOUR WORK

INDEX

Using A Knife Freestyle

First we are going to practise using a knife. We’ll use a fixed blade scalpel, a swivel knife and a finger knife in turn to make some test cuts on a piece of paper. If this is the first time you have used a knife, I recommend you try some freestyle cutting – that is, without following any lines – on a sheet of copy paper before you head straight into a template. You'll practice cutting freestyle, cutting straight lines, cutting corners, cutting gentle waves, cutting changing shapes, cutting large and small circles.

Cutting The Silhouette

Now that we’ve practised cutting straight and curvy lines and circles, it’s time to try a picture. One of the most common questions from new papercutters is ‘Which bits do I cut out?’ In this book, you will cut away all the coloured spaces from the templates, leaving the white lines of the drawing intact. The result is a ‘silhouette cut’, to which we can add colour at a later stage.

Adding Colour

When you first start adding colour to your work, you will become over-excited about your amazing new skills, and rightly so. You’ll add colours to everything, convinced that the viewer will be so impressed with your technical ability with a knife that they will fall in love with your art on the spot. But here’s the thing. Choosing the right colours for landscapes is as important as being able to cut and fix them! In short, your colours need planning.

Half-hour Templates

Many papercutters tell me they are scared to add coloured infills because they don’t want to risk ruining their beautiful silhouette papercut. So I've included two templates specifically for you to practise with, which will take no more than half an hour to cut out, and give you lots of scope to practise some of the skills covered further in this book. Experiment with fewer – or more – colours of your choice.

Health by the Sea project - 6 pages start to finish (above & below).

Harbour Arches design by Sarah King.

Love Blooms design by Sarah King.

Framed design by Sarah King.

Papercut Landscapes ISBN-13 : 978-1782215660 is available worldwide at Search Press. Search Press is an independent, multi award-winning, family owned art and craft book publisher. Check out their unique catalog at Search Press. Search Press has generously offered to giveaway a copy! One winner will be selected at random. Open until February 21, 2021. Canada & USA only. Good luck!

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Paper Cutting for Celebrations Review & Giveaway

Paper cutting is one of the oldest and most popular folk arts in China. This is Double Birds on Plum Blossoms from page 1 of Paper Cutting for Celebrations by Zhao Ziping (Author), Liu Shenghui (Photographer) and Kayan Wong (Translator) Paperback – released April 1 2014 by Tuttle Publishing. There are over 100 Chinese Designs for Festive Holidays and Special Occasions created by Zhao Ziping, a professional paper-cutting artist at the Shanghai Arts & Crafts Research Institute. Paper cutting is easy to learn, requires few materials and can be used to create a wide range of decorative projects. All you need is scissors, then cut, copy or scan the designs from the book while learning their symbolic meaning. With Valentine's Day (February 14) and Chinese New Year (February 19) approaching you will find many uses for your paper cuts. There are varying levels of difficulty in the book. Get your copy below!

CONTENTS

Introduction

A Brief History

Artistic Characteristics

Using Paper Cutting Crafts as Decorations in Daily Life

Tools and Materials

Accessories

How to Use This Book

Chapter One Birthday

Chapter Two Celebration for the New Born

Chapter Three Weddings and Anniversaries

Chapter Four Graduation and Promotion

Chapter Five Housewarming

Chapter Six New Year

Chapter Seven Valentine's Day

Chapter Eight Mother's Day

Chapter Nine Father's Day

Horse page 45.

Paper Cutting for Celebrations is available in both my Canadian and USA Amazon Stores and worldwide at Tuttle Publishing. Check out their unique catalog, rooted in Asian culture, language and history at Tuttle Publishing.

Tuttle Publishing has generously offered to giveaway a copy of Paper Cutting for Celebrations! One winner will be selected at random. Good luck! Open until February 3, 2014, Canadian and USA addresses only.

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Elephant page 91.

Snowflakes, Sunbursts, and Stars Giveaway

Add a touch of handmade to your Christmas with Snowflakes, Sunbursts, and Stars: 75 Exquisite Paper Designs to Fold, Cut, and Curl, by acclaimed paper crafters Ayako Brodek and Shannon Voigt. The 144 page hardcover published by Kodansha USA provides clear instructions and precise diagrams for making snowflakes, stars, and sunbursts using origami (paper folding), kirigami (paper cutting) and quilling (paper curling) techniques. Ordered by level of difficulty. Use as accessories, decorations and gifts. Get your copy below!

CONTENTS 

 Forewords 

 About this book 

 Chapter 1 SELECTOR 

 Chapter 2 THE BASICS 

 Tools 

 Paper choices 

 Core techniques 

 Chapter 3 DESIGNS 

 Quilling designs 

 Origami designs 

 Kirigami designs 

 Chapter 4 PROJECTS 

 Quilled place cards 

 Origami napkin ring 

 Kirigami place card 

 Quilled coasters 

 Kirigami notecards 

 Quilled window ornaments 

 Origami garland 

 Quilled mobile 

 Kirigami silhouettes 

 Origami earrings 

 Origami gift tags 

 Index 

 Suppliers 

 Authors' acknowledgments

Snowflakes, Sunbursts, and Stars is available in both my Canadian and USA Amazon Store's and worldwide at Kodansha USA. Check out their unique catalog at Kodansha USA. 

Kodansha USA has generously offered to giveaway a copy of Snowflakes, Sunbursts, and Stars! One winner will be selected at random. Good luck! Open until November 15, 2014, Canadian and USA addresses only.

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Snowflakes, Sunbursts and Stars

Snowflakes, Sunbursts, and Stars: 75 Exquisite Paper Designs to Fold, Cut, and Curl by Ayako Brodek and Shannon Voigt. 144 full color pages published by Kodansha USA. The neatly organized hardcover explores the celestial worlds of origami, kirigami and quilling. First choose your paper craft project from a dazzling array of photos. Gather some basic tools and materials. Learn some techniques. Follow clear step-by-step text and photographic instructions. Finally dress up your creations and use. Most origami projects start with a hexagon base cut from 6" squares. Kirigami 6" squares. Quilling 2" to 5" strips. Each design includes a level of difficulty. I made a striking origami star. Get your copy below!

CONTENTS

Forewords

About this book

Chapter 1

SELECTOR

Chapter 2

THE  BASICS

Tools

Paper choices

Core techniques

Chapter 3

DESIGNS

Quilling designs

Origami designs

Kirigami designs

Chapter 4

PROJECTS

Quilled place cards

Origami napkin ring

Kirigami place card

Quilled coasters

Kirigami notecards

Quilled window ornaments

Origami garland

Quilled mobile

Kirigami silhouettes

Origami earrings

Origami gift tags

Index

Suppliers

Authors' acknowledgments

Snowflakes, Sunbursts, and Stars is available in both my Canadian and USA Amazon Store's and worldwide at Kodansha USA. Check out their unique catalog at Kodansha USA.