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Papercuts
skill
level: advanced
cost: $5-$20 but may vary depending on your design
craft time: 1 hour or more depending on the design
Papercuts are an
exquisite folk art form that has been around a long time. Very thin
rice paper is cut and pasted together to create delicate finished
pieces. Some of the earliest papercuts found in China date back to AD
386-581. There are a myriad of patterns: dragons, pandas, birds,
people, landscapes, just about anything you can imagine. In the
household, typically women and girls make the papercuts. However, men
usually make professional papercuts. As with most art there are several
ways to execute the craft.
Click here to
get designs to try.
The Tools:
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Scissors or a sharp knife, scissors are usually
preferred.
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Thin paper such as rice paper look around your
local craft store for a good substitute if rice paper is unavailable.
Use solid or colored paper. For different effects several
different papers are used and then layered or the paper is dyed
different colors.
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Chalk
The Technique:
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Line cuts: The lines are cut away.
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Space cuts: The white space is cut out leaving the
lines in tact.
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Combination cuts: Both space and line cutting
techniques are used creating quite imaginative effects.
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Fold cuts: The paper is folded one or more times
and a pattern is cut out creating a symmetrical design. This is a good
technique for children.
Now it is time to create your own papercut.
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Create or choose a design below.
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Transfer the design to the rice paper with the
chalk.
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Cut it out, try to make each piece one continuous
cut.
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Gently and carefully remove the papercuts.
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Lie the papercuts on the "base" paper.
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Brush on some paste going from the center to the
edges.
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Let dry.
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