Seriously, I think the last time when I did paper cutting was probably back to my primary school days, given it’s in a country where paper cutting has such a rich tradition.

I really don’t think I had two crafty hands at that moment, which probably explaines why I didn’t develop a passion on paper or scissors. But having seen some of Scherenschnitte works, now all of a sudden, I find that paper cutting is such a beautiful format of artistic expression, and more importantly, some of them can be used as a very effective decorating piece at home. Their styles vary, to suit a small yet modern home or add highlight to the spot that you want to catch people’s eyes. They are less expensive than most of art works, like paintings (actually they cost nothing but a bit of your time), but they are equally original and if properly framed, it truly shows off that you have a good taste than just being able to spend a fortune.

So I tried this Family Tree as a “Warm-up” project to just get myself in the mood. The pattern is from Back Street Designs Pattern Books, which I found very very interesting……Well, I guess they will keep me busy for quite a while.

I used just normal white printing paper (about 80 grams weight) and yes, that pair of scissors are very very important when you are doing paper cutting. I don’t think most of craft scissors are going to work alright, not that they are not sharp enough, it is their blades being too long and too thick. But don’t stress too much about it, guess what I used? I couldn’t be bothered to buy a good (professional) pair, so I used the ones from the pedicure set, which has a very sharp and short length blade with the tips leaning to one side slightly. So far it works beautifully to me, except the holes on the handles are a bit too small for my fingers.

This one is whiteworks, great on dark backing papers. Next time I want to try silhouettes design, meaning black on white backings. It’s gonna be so nice, I can even imagine now……