This year is going to be more positive than last year. That’s something I’m relatively sure about. I’ve always been a glass half full person and that applies to both my work and personal life.
In addition, I like to think that I’m quite a creative person. I have many hobbies and my brain is often bursting at the seams with ideas. That’s why I like to use any resources I can to help me manage my ideas. One of my favourite platforms to look for inspiration is Pinterest.
I like to create boards for different projects and quite often my boards will have a theme. For example, I have a board for ‘Christmas Crochet’, ‘Free Patterns’ and most recently I added a ‘Valentines Crochet’ board.
I like to think ahead and try to plan my yearly projects in advance. As it’s January, I thought it would be a good time to think about Valentines day. With that in mind, come February my thoughts will probably turn to Easter! As you can see, I like to be organised and Pinterest definitely helps me to organise my thoughts!
Paper Cutting
While searching on Pinterest one of the features that I really like is that it comes up with suggestions for similar items based on what you’ve pinned. That’s how I discovered paper cutting. I’ve had many hobbies in my time from sewing to embroidery, quilting to toy making and, believe it or not, even woodwork! That’s a stage of my life I’d rather forget all about!
Anyway, paper cutting is something that I’ve not yet delved into so when it popped up on my Pinterest feed, I was intrigued. After lots of searching online, and even more searching on Pinterest, I discovered exactly what paper cutting was.
Paper cutting is simply the art of designing paper. It’s a craft that evolved uniquely all over the world and has been adapted to different vast cultural styles. One thing that most of these styles seem to have in common is that the plans are cut from one sheet of paper compared to multiple adjoining sheets as in collages.
This video from Eversea Design that I found on You Tube explains the basics of paper cutting really well.
However, for those who don’t have time to watch the video, paper cutting involves cutting paper with a knife or sharp scissors, and it can take anything from a good few hours to days even to complete your design. It’s certainly a craft that you’ll need a lot of patience for! If you want a quick hobby, this is not for you!
Design Bundles
If , however you do find yourself with some spare hours and you’d like to take a foray into the world of paper cutting templates, then I highly recommend that you go and take a look at the Design Bundles website online.
Design Bundles started in July 2016 as a way to provide their customers with affordable digital products such as Graphics, Templates, Mock Ups, Patterns, Illustrations and Craft Files. Since that time Design Bundles have managed to build a customer base of over 1 million users. That’s pretty impressive if you ask me!
At Design Bundles you can browse over 150,000 Marketplace Products and save big money on their Curated Design Bundles with up to 96% off the Regular Retail Price. They specialise in connecting talented independent designers with discount seeking customers through their easy to use Design Marketplace.
It’s also good to know that they pride themselves on their outstanding reputation for Quality at Affordable Prices with Customer Service being their #1 Core Focus. Their Customer Satisfaction is what makes them tick! I know this from personal experience as I have previously used Design Bundles for their free fonts so that I could create some pretty amazing Christmas cards. You can read all about that here if you want to!
Going back to paper cutting, it’s true that while anyone can trace through pre-designed paper and cut it as required, handling the initial design is definitely not a task that can be entrusted to anyone. That’s where Design Bundles comes into play. They have a wide catalogue of mockups where you’ll be sure to find something that suits you and the project you have in mind.
While browsing the Design Bundles website, I came across this Valentine’s Day ‘I love You’ illustration. It’s perfect for the upcoming occasion of Valentine’s Day. So perfect in fact, that I just had to download it!
The download is available instantly and provides you with the following files: AI, EPS, DXF, JPG, PNG. There are also three different designs included: a beautiful flower heart, the couples standing on the word ‘Love’ with a heart in between them, and then the full completed design which incorporates all three elements which is the couple standing on the word ‘Love’ in the flower heart.
As this is my first attempt at Paper Cutting, I’m keeping it simple! I printed off the black and white designs and have a range of various printed designed paper ready to experiment with! I can’t wait to get started!
I’m really excited to see what I can come up with, but if you have any ideas please let me know! There is absolutely no limit to the design areas where the use of paper cutting mockup comes in.
Paper cutting can be used by lots of different people for a variety of reasons. For me, my idea is to create an extra special handmade Valentine’s Day card for my husband this year. After all, I may not be able to go to the shops and buy a card if lockdown continues and if you ask me nothing says I love you more than a handmade card that’s been made with love by your wife for Valentine’s Day!
Other uses for paper cutting vary. For example, teachers can use the Design Bundle mockups to produce exciting designs for their students to cut out and learn art and craft. The possibilities are endless!
Have you ever tried paper cutting? I’d love to hear in the comments below.
Disclaimer: I was compensated for writing this post.
