Framed Papercut Art

SUPPLIES & TOOLS:

• Cutting mat
• Precision utility knife
• Paper/cardstock
• Frame_x000B_Tracing paper
• Pen/pencil

DIRECTIONS:

1. Sketch a rough drawing of your scene on a piece of scrap paper, approximately the same size as you would like for your finished piece.
2. Once you have a composition sketched out, use a pen or marker to create bolder lines that separate negative space from positive space. The negative space will be the space that will ultimately be cut away and the positive space will show the imagery of your drawing.
3. You’ll need to have a paper border around your entire image so that when you cut away the negative space all of the positive spaces will remain as one complete piece. An example of a finished drawing that’s ready to be cut can be downloaded under the "Get Patterns" tab. You’ll see that there are no floating images - all the positive space is connected.
4. Once you have a drawing that consists of a border with continuous connected spaces, you’ll want to lightly trace this onto the paper/cardstock you’d like to use for your final piece. You can do this by using tracing paper or by redrawing the shapes from your scrap paper onto your new paper.
5. Place the paper on a cutting mat and use a precision utility knife with a new blade to begin cutting out the negative space. It is a good idea to start with larger areas of the imagery to get used to the process.
6. Once you have successfully cut out the negative space, you should be left with your finished piece. Gently erase any pencil lines that are left and place your piece inside the frame. If needed, use foam squares or other adhesive to mount the back of the artwork inside the frame.

JOANN HACKS:

• Place small Xs inside the areas that are to be cut out so that you do not confuse these with the imagery that is supposed to remain uncut.