Wedding card paper cutting templates

Today's post comes to you from a brand spanking new, bright pink laptop! I've had my old one for seven years and have suffered its slowness for far too long, so the beginning of a new year seemed like the perfect time to treat myself to a new one. It should make things like designing paper cutting templates a lot quicker and easier.

Speaking of which, a while ago I designed some paper cut wedding card templates but have only just finished cutting them all out. I decided that I wanted to package them up as a bundle of four templates, as the Christmas bauble designs which I sold on Etsy seemed popular as a set.

I have finally finished listing them in my Etsy shop, which, what with taking photos, writing a description and filling in the rest of the details, actually takes quite a long time! If you fancy having a go at your own wedding papercuts, please show me how you get on as I love to see how the templates are used.

The program I use to design all of my paper cutting templates is Inkscape. It's free to download but does take a bit of practice to get your head around how to use it!

I haven't really played around with infills before, but with this flowery heart template I thought it would be a good opportunity to give it a go. The result is very pretty, but I'm not sure I have the patience for too many infills!

In other news, if you read my blog last week you'll know that one of my New Year's resolutions was to get my ears pierced a second time. Well, I decided that it was now or never, so I went to Claire's accessories in Barnstaple on Saturday and got them done. I can't remember the first time I got my ears pierced so I wasn't sure how much pain to expect, but it didn't hurt much at all! I'm now really looking forward to all the earring combos I can try (very sad, I know!). This is a little watercolour sketch to remember this momentous occasion! I'm sharing this one for Paint Party Friday.

One of my other New Year's Resolutions was to draw a miniature portrait each week, so number two is Stephen Fry, who, as you've probably heard, got engaged to his partner this week. For those of you who aren't from the UK, Stephen Fry is a comedian and presenter, and a very intelligent man.

I've also been busy making some slippers this weekend from an old jumper, but I think I'll save that story for another day.

I'm sharing this post on the following blogs: Paint Party Friday, The Queen of Creativity, Handmade Harbour and Blue Chair Diary Illustrations!

Patchwork sewing machine cover

Since I got my sewing machine for Christmas I have been meaning to make a dust cover for it and today was the day!

I had the whole afternoon to myself so had plenty of time to work on it.

I was inspired by a cover I saw on Pinterest which has a strip of patchwork squares down one side. I really liked the effect and haven't tried patchwork squares before, so thought it would be a bit of a challenge.

I know from my Mum that patchwork squares aren't the easiest things to get right. They must all be perfect so that they line up correctly. I have to admit that mine are a teensy bit off in places, but overall I'm happy!

The first challenge was cutting out all the squares precisely. Sam's Mum swears by a circular cutter and I definitely could have done with one for this! It took ages to cut them all out, but worth it to get them accurate.

Armed with a cup of coffee (which was definitely needed after cutting out all those squares!) I sat down and organised them into rows of three.

I sewed each row of three and then matched and pinned each row to the next before sewing in place. The fabric is from a scrap bag very kindly donated to me by my Auntie. If you follow my blog, you may recognise some scraps from another project.

We also bought some more storage units this weekend - the sewing machine fits perfectly and I think it completes my little craft corner nicely. On the top is an old Singer sewing machine I bought from the tip!

Six Second Sketch

This week I've also done another six second sketch. I've decided to do a series of mini portraits of people with funny expressions so first up is Bruce Forsyth! I'm tempted to try and go even smaller!



Here's the finished sketch.

Papercut Wedding Heart

This is a piece I finished earlier in the year which I can share now the couple have now received it as a wedding present. It's a large heart filled with lots of elements which are significant to them.

I drew the design from scratch and then cut it out by hand.

That's it for today, keep an eye on my Etsy shop as I'll hopefully be adding another doodle to download as a colouring page this week!

I'm sharing this post on the following blogs:  Handmade Harbour, Manon Popje's Illustrations and Be Different Act Normal.

Cycling, doodles and paper cuts!

Just a quick one today because I really haven't done a lot this week!

We've been staying down in South Devon this weekend to see friends and family. I've got a new (second-hand) bike so we went out for a bike ride yesterday from Topsham to Exmouth, stopping for a drink on the seafront before heading back. It's a beautiful route to cycle along the river and quite flat which suited me perfectly! The photo below was taken on my first outing on the Tarka Trail in North Devon.

On Saturday evening we went to our friends' housewarming party, making the most of the weather with a barbecue.

Today we headed home via a visit to a couple of the studios taking part in Devon Open Studios. Heather Jansch's fantastic driftwood sculptures were set out in some beautiful grounds and included the large horse which has been exhibited at the Eden Project. The second stop was in a little village called Luton, where we enjoyed a slice of coffee and walnut cake in the sunshine before browsing the artwork of Angie Carter-Woodwark and ceramic artist Janet Street.

If you live nearby, Devon Open Studios will continue until 21 September and it's definitely worth getting out to visit some local artists.

In response to some people mentioning that they would like to colour the doodle below, I've listed a PDF version in my Etsy shop which you can download and print for £1.50. If you do, I would love to see what you do with it!

I've started another doodle, but haven't got very far, as you can see!

Finally, I've designed a paper cutting template to sell in my Etsy shop, which I've been cutting out this week. It features the Earth surrounded by various modes of transport and is split into a day half and a night half.

It's based on a previous paper cut which I blogged about here. It should hopefully be available to download and print later this week, so watch this space!

Just a little nudge for those who are new to my blog, if you've enjoyed what you've seen and would like to see more, there are several ways you can keep up to date with my artistic endeavours!

'Like' my Facebook page.
Follow me on Twitter @ClareWillcocks.
Follow my blog on Bloglovin.
Or use one of the options on the right.

I'm sharing this post on the following blogs:  Handmade Harbour, Manon Popje's Illustrations, Nifty Thrifty Things, Be Different Act Normal and Tatertots and Jello.

3D paper cut kirigami cityscape

I've just noticed that this is my 101st post! Good excuse for celebrating with a nice cup of tea I think, especially after a busy weekend of camping in Cornwall and going to the Boardmasters festival!

I finished this paper cut cityscape this week. It's made using a technique called 'kirigami', a japanese word describing the art of cutting and paper folding to make 3D sculptures. I had a go at it before, but my measurements were a bit off on my last attempt and it turned out wonky!

To my relief, this one came out fine! There's a yellow piece of paper behind, held up to the window to let the light through.

If I did it again, I would break the skyscraper down into sections, rather than long panels as it is now because they bow and bend too easily.

The forward facing steps (above) were really hard to fold! I did it by gently pressing along the edge of the knife from the back.

I quite like how it looks backed with white paper too.

But my favourite view of it is with a strong light shining directly behind, casting shadows from all the doorways and windows. It would make a great feature light!

Because it's paper, it can't really support itself and it was really tricky to hold it in the right place while taking a photo with the other hand!

This is how it started life. I measured out the buildings and cut out all the windows with a craft knife. Then came the fiddly business of folding!

Not sure I'll be attempting one of these again in a hurry!

Those of you who've popped over from my Facebook page will probably know that I've also been working on a doodle this week. I can now reveal that it is lined up to feature in Doodle Arts Magazine, which I am SO excited about!

 And that's all for today!

I'm sharing this post on the following blogs:  Handmade Harbour, Manon Popje's Illustrations, Nifty Thrifty Things, Be Different Act Normal and Tatertots and Jello.

Indian paper cut update - it's FINISHED!

After hours of sitting hunched up, toiling over the cutting mat, I have finally finished this Indian-style paper cut and I couldn't be happier with the way it's turned out.

It's cut out of 'normal' thickness paper with a size 11 scalpel blade.

I think I'm going to stick with the yellow background, but as it's for my sister, I'd better give her the final say! I love the way the contrast is so vibrant when it's held up to the light like in the photo below.

Although I'm glad it's finished, I really enjoyed cutting out all those tiny patterns!

Here's how it started life, hand drawn on a piece of plain A4 paper.

It casts beautiful shadows in the sunshine.

One last photo!

This weekend I've also been working on the dog portrait commission I began a few weeks ago. His nose was the focus today! The fur still needs toning down so it's not so pale.

Finally, I've almost finished this doodle, but you're only getting a sneak peek for now!

That's all for today, thanks for stopping by! I'll leave you with this photo taken at Westward Ho! while Sam was land boarding this evening.

PS. Please pop by my Facebook page if you'd like to see more of my work :)

I'm sharing today's post on the following blogs: Handmade Harbour, Nifty Thrifty Things, Be Different Act Normal, Sunny Simple Life and Manon Popje's Illustrations.

Indian-style paper cut

Hello! Last week I was painting a dog portrait which I still haven't had chance to finish! Instead I've been working on a couple of other commissions, which has also been fun.

I can share this work in progress with you as it's for my sister who has asked me to design a piece for an Indian Summer marketing campaign she'll be running for her business later this year. After doing a bit of research on Indian designs, I decided that the beautiful patterns lent themselves to being transformed into an intricate paper cut.

This is it so far, held up to the window with yellow paper behind.

I think I'll back it with a mix of colours though, to reflect the Indian Summer theme.

I loved drawing out the pattern, filling out an A4 piece of paper with raindrop shapes, loops, flowers, fans and circles. It was like doodling!

Cutting it has been really good fun too, I love all the little curves and intricate shapes. The fish scale pattern shown in the picture above is one of my favourites!

There's still quite a way to go, so I better get back to cutting! I'll leave you with this photo of Sam and other kitesurfers at Westward Ho! today. :)

I'm sharing this post on the following blogs: Nifty Thrifty Things, Handmade Harbour, Manon Popje's Illustrations, Be Different Act Normal and Tatertots and Jello.

The end of the 'World Cut'

As England's chance of success in the World Cup came abruptly to an end this week, so did my latest paper cut! I'm rather more cheerful about the latter though, as it's been on my to-do list for quite some time.

I can't deny that it was the trickiest cut I've ever done. All those teeny circles seemed like a good idea when I sketched out the design, but cutting them was a pig!

I've called it 'World Cut' but it was actually made for the transportation challenge for the Facebook group 'Papercutting Workshop'. Each little detail was sketched and cut out by hand. The paper cut design evolved as I drew it, I hadn't originally planned the night and day halves but thought it would add a bit of interest to the sky.

 The fiddliest bit by far was the bicycle, look how tiny it is next to my index finger!

The sun's rays had to be added in to support everything in the sky.

In the 'day' half, the images are positive, in the 'night' half they're negative ie. cut out as holes.

Here's the final piece with my paw to give it some scale.



I'm thinking of doing prints of this one, but as I've never had any done before, I'd like to gauge interest before I go ahead. Please email me or contact me via my Facebook page if you're interested in buying a print, if I enough people would like one, I'll look into it! 

I'm sharing today's post on the following blogs: Handmade Harbour, Be Different Act Normal, Tatertots and Jello and Paper Saturdays.