Papercutting: Hand-Cut Wedding Card

As an undergraduate I took a hand-paper making and book arts course. This is where I learned how to make hand-carved stamps, books, and refined my XACTO-Knife skills. It was also where I first tried my hand at papercutting.

Fast forward to 2017 and it's been years since I paper-cut anything. What better excuse to pick up the blade again than the wedding ceremony of  my good friend, Mary, who was in that undergrad course with me. If anyone would appreciate the labor of a papercut wedding card, I knew Mary would.

Here are a few photos of the card in-progress and the finished product: 

Cutting in progress

All cut out!

Final

Scandinavian Lady Baby Shower Invite

Apparently I started the draft of this post and never published it.

I am 50% Swedish. Much of my inspiration comes from Scandinavian folk art. I love the lines, the simplicity, and the colors. This is the baby shower invitation I designed for my sister. I used the same invitation for both showers we held for her (way back in 2014!) only making minor changes to the date/time details.

My nephew just turned two. He was born Jan. 1, 2015, which goes to show how neglected this blog page has been.

Anyway, the entire invitation is hand rendered (hand drawn illustrations & hand lettering). I like to scan my hand rendered work into Photoshop/Adobe Illustrator to clean them up and turn them into vector images. That way I can fuss around with arrangement and sizing without worrying about nasty pixels!

Prior to adding digital color

Prior to adding digital color

Final

Queen Bee & Poppy Floral Birthday Cards

I went through a phase where everything I made was on craft paper with black ink. Calligraphy, illustrations, doodles, whatever. I don't know if phase is the right word though, because let's get real, craft paper with black ink is pretty timeless, and downright swoon-worthy.

Here are two birthday cards I made on craft paper with black ink calligraphy. 

1. The Queen Bee

Queen Bee Birthday Card

This card was for my dear mother-in-law. She doesn't exactly have the "Queen Bee" personality in the traditional sense, and after I made it I realized that I don't think she even like bugs that much. However, I made the card with the endearing implication that she is the matriarch  and creator of the family. I think she liked it, regardless of the gigantic bug on the front page. I will say, though, that if I had to choose any insect, a bee would bee at the top of my list. They are quite beautiful and complex little creatures. And they make honey.

2. Poppy 

Poppy Birthday Card

One of my sisters-in-law loves poppy flowers. And I love flowers in general. Seriously, I am always happy to illustrate anything floral themed. My mom always had a large garden when we were growing up and I used to spend hours sitting on the rocks, usually trying to sneak up on dragonflies. Maybe my hours in the garden as a child is the reason I appreciate bees so much? Anyways, that's how this poppy birthday card came into being.