Template Tuesday - RIP

One of my favorite things about dead trees is when vultures sit in them. I couldn't resist putting a little vulture guy over this grave of the undead. He's probably thinking, "Hey! I already ate that guy!" or maybe that's the reason he waits in that particular tree, because he knows some tasty snack might unearth itself sometime soon. Patience is a virtue.

Here's the template. This one is fairly simple. The trickiest part is to not cut through the center of the letters. Or you can, if you like that look. Here's what the template looks like.

And remember, these are for personal use only. Please do not sell them and write them off as your own. Here's the papercutting template: RIP

Template Tuesday - What Does the Fox Say?

This last Friday, my stepson came home to the house SUPER excited. "You HAVE to see this video, it's the funniest thing!" he said. Then he showed me the "What Does the Fox Say?" video and loved it. He sang along to certain parts and told me who was who and then kept telling me what the fox did eventually say. And then it got stuck in my head. Over and over and over again I kept singing things the fox said and asking what the fox said. You might say this papercut is a bit of a release because now the constant looping of the music has decreased. Some of you might not be so lucky! It's a fun video. If you haven't seen it yet, go search for it on the you-tuber.

Anyways, here's what the template looks like. This is a bit of an advanced one. Cut out the gray parts and then cut out the outline of the fox. On the parts where the lines intersect, don't cut the intersection part until the very last. Does that make sense? Don't worry because you'll eventually figure out what I mean.

Download your free template here: What Does the Fox Say? And, as always, remember that these templates are for personal use only. Don't use them for making art of your own and passing it off as yours. Do make one for your mom or your kid or your neighbor who loves foxes. I think you get what I'm saying. Enjoy!

P.S. Prints of this piece are available here: Society6 and the original is available here: Etsy.

Template Tuesday - Delivery Stork

I was going to use this image in the last show I did, but I wound up not using the theme I was going to use and then I thought it would be a perfect Template Tuesday image. I hope the baby doesn't look too alien-like - although that's more true to life. :)

Here's what the template for the stork delivering a baby will look like.

Please enjoy this free template (but enjoy it for private use only - if you're going to sell something, try your own hand at it - you can do it, I promise!)

Download here: Stork Delivering Baby

Template Tuesday - Fox Family

It's been a little while, sorry guys! I need to keep it up and also focus on doing papercuts that aren't template tuesdays, too. It's been a while since I've done those as well. I asked on the facebook fan page what kind of thing that people would like to see and I got an overwhelming chorus of Fox Family! And I can't resist those little foxes, so here you go! Pop quiz: does anyone know what the names of female, male and baby foxes are?

Here's what the template will look like:

Here's the actual pdf of the scherenschnitt: Fox Family

Enjoy!

Template Tuesday - Lamb of God

The gap in between Valentine's and Easter this year is quite large. Usually it seems like only a moment that those Cadbury Mini Easter Eggs are available. This year they've been around long enough for me to almost tire of them. In the barrage of pastel and bunnies and eggs, it's easy to forget the actual reason for the celebration of Easter. Because of the Son, we may live again and for Him I am so grateful.

Download the pdf of the papercutting template here: Lamb of God

Template Tuesday - Simple Animal Valentines

Today's Template Tuesday is a twofer. I tried to make these a little more simple for kids to do, but I think I always wind up doing things a little too adult. I'm going to see if my boyfriend's son can help me with figuring out what little kids might want. Check back next Tuesday to see if I'm successful. For now, here are two things I enjoy -- love-birds and squirrels. Go ahead and take a whack at these and see what you think.




I separated the templates into two different files. One has just the animals on it and the other just the hearts. When I created the final piece, I pop-dotted them to each other so that there was more depth. You can do whatever you want.



Hope you enjoy these simple valentines! Here's the templates: Animals & Hearts.

Template Tuesday - Woodsy

Sometimes I think that people are sick of my paper cuts and they're like, "Cindy, paper cut, paper cut, paper cut...don't you do anything else besides paper cut?" And sometimes, really, that's pretty much all I do. So I feel like people might not want one, but when I receive gifts from people that they made, I generally like them. I like them a lot. So it was my friend Elin's birthday today and I asked her what animals she liked or what fairy tale and she said she liked woodland creatures, particularly owls, squirrels and deer. So I made her a little papercut based on those things. And in giving to her, I also give to you. Enjoy!
Download your template in pdf format here: Woodsy

Template Tuesday - Groundhog Day

So, tomorrow is Groundhog Day. A day that, for most people, carries much hope and suspense. Will Punxsutawney Phil see his shadow, thus signifying the onslaught of 6 more weeks of winter or will he emerge from his hole, granting us a reprieve from this gloomy malaise? We'll see what happens. I, for one, wouldn't mind for this dreadful cold weather that we've suddenly received here in Salt Lake to disappear.

Here's a nice little Groundhog Day papercut for those who might be fixated with the holiday or just like groundhogs. It's a mirror image one, so be careful not to cut through the center parts that aren't grayed out. This is what the template will look like:

To download your free Groundhog Day scherenschnitt, click here: Groundhog Day

Template Tuesday - Circus Bear

I'm super excited about this little guy. He's a dancing bear. Sometimes the squirrel likes to join him. I think, once a month, for template tuesday I'll try to do a circus themed one this year. I love the circus.

Here's what the template will look like. If you don't want the squirrel on his nose, you can just not cut out the squirrel. It's that simple!
Download your free Circus Bear template here: Circus Bear

Template Tuesday - Kitties

I was mapping out a plan for the year of what I should do for Template Tuesdays and I realized that I had kind of neglected the birthday area. My mom's birthday is coming up in a few weeks and I wanted to make something for her that I could put on a card. I don't know if this is exactly what I would give her since she isn't much of a cat person, maybe a bird person, so maybe I'll do another birthday one. But I thought there might be a few cat lovers amongst you, so I did this little kitty scene which could also double as something one might put on a card.

Here's what the template will looks like. It's a pretty simple one. Enjoy!
To download your free scherenschnitte template, visit: Kitties

Template Tuesday - Jonah

So, a little while ago, I was sitting in Sunday School and we were talking about Jonah and all I can do when I hear about Jonah is think of the song from my mission that some Pentecostals sang at a party once. It's stuck in my head and will forever be there, I think. It goes something like this:

Talkin' 'bout Daniel in the den of the lion
Jonah in the belly of the whale
Talkin' 'bout three Hebrew children in the furnace
And the fire didn't burn them.

Dang, I love that song. I found all the lyrics online a little while ago and it pleased me. So, here's my Jonah sketch from when I wasn't paying attention in class.

This is what the template would look like:

Click here to download your free papercutting template: Jonah

New London Safari

My friend Dave recently commissioned me to do a papercut for him to give to his partner. He wanted something that captured where they live, where Mark is from and one of Mark's favorite things to do. So I had the daunting task of combining New York, London and Safari into one complete papercut. I think I did pretty good. My favorite is the giraffe.

Deer Car Thriller

Last year I had the opportunity to be pen pals with some kids from my friend Rama's grade school class. They were some of the more fun experiences in papercuts that I did all year. (Dinosaur vs. Robot; Watership Down; Giant Squid Attacks a Frigate) So I got a postcard this year from a boy who drew a Maglev train. I had to look up what a Maglev train was. I figured he'd like something with more of a speed theme. So I did a speeding car jumping over a Bambi. Now, the question is, is it going to hit the deer or breeze right over it?

Template Tuesday - Easter Scene

Sorry for the lack of Template Tuesdays. You know how sometimes when you have something important to do but you don't want to do it and you put it off and put it off and everything else seems to get put off along with it? That's what's going on in my head. Anyway! Easter is coming up! Such a wonderful time. Here's a little mirror image cut that you can use for a variety of things.

If you are going to cut this out by hand, the holes in the flowers, I just used a .25 and a .125" hole punch. So much easier. The trickiest part about this cut is remembering not to cut out the chicken part while it's folded. Cut out everything else (well, you can save the hole punching for last) and THEN cut out the chicken.
Purchase this template here: Easter Scene

Template Tuesday - Hedgehog Love

There's nothing quite so romantic as two hedgehogs in love. Okay, maybe there is, but hedgehogs are really cute. Anyway, here are a couple of lovehogs for you for Valentine's day. It's a mirror image cut, so after you print it out, fold your paper in half and cut the top part out. Don't cut the letters while it's folded or you will get something terribly wrong. After you've cut out the top, THEN unfold it and cut out the letters.

Here is what the template will look like:
Download your free Valentine's papercutting template here: Hedgehog Love

Template Tuesday - Lion Hearted

Okay, before we get down to brass tacks, I've got a question to ask of all of you. At the gallery/children's museum that I'm going to be showing my work at really soon, they are going to have a little section where the kids can go and try their hand at paper cutting. I am coming up with the artwork for this portion as well. My question is, what do kids love nowadays? I think when I was a little girl, I would have loved to cut out princesses and bunnies. What is hip with the younger crowd these days?

Now, on to the template. Boy, it feels like forever since I've done one of these. Here's one I did this weekend. I didn't have anything to reference when drawing the big cat, so I'm imagining he's more of a leopard than a tiger or lion.



Here's what the template will look like. I think the most difficult part will be the hands and the leash. Just remember to cut from left to right (right to left if you're left handed) so that you can see what you're cutting.


Download your free template here: Lion Hearted
Don't forget to write in your suggestions for what kinds of things kids would like to cut out!

The Silence

This one was my favorite piece of the whole show.

Template Tuesday - Mushroom Bunny

I just moved into a new house and everything is so overwhelming so I'm trying to ignore the chaos and put some normality back into my life. I figured I'd do that by starting up exercising again. This silhouette was going to get pushed aside but I decided to take advantage of my new porch and the moonlight and the giant floodlights the old lady had put up who previously lived there and sketch a little something. I'm researching mushrooms for a different project I'm doing and thought I'd try out a little scene with that theme.

Here's what the template will look like. Remember to cut out the gray areas first and then the outlined area in the back.

Download your free scherenschnitte template here: Mushroom Bunny

I cut this out at work and am using a different mat than I normally would use. This one doesn't suit me. If you are trying to use a craft knife to cut out your papercuts and it tears all the time, maybe try getting a different mat. It'll make a big difference.

The Squirrel King Shows No Mercy

Here is one of the small papercuts I did for the show. This one is pretty simple. I love squirrels.

They Said She Wouldn’t Like It But They Were Wrong

Happy 4th of July!

To all of you who came to the show last night, thank you! It was a great success and a whole lot of fun.

Here's one of the pieces. This was inspired by my mom's friend, Garnet. Garnet and her husband were sheep ranchers and would travel many miles transporting their sheep from place to place.

When I have more time I'll post more photos from the show.