Late last year I treated myself to a copy of Paper Cutting by garden – Flowers, Animals and Other Decorating Ideas. I have quite a few paper cutting books but this one looked lovely.
Paper cutting by garden
Mihoko “garden” Kurihara is a well-known Japanese papercut artist is the author of many books including adult colouring and paper cutting books. This book presents more than 150 original cutting designs, mainly of flowers and animals, but also includes alphabets and numbers.
It provides detailed step-by-step techniques on paper cutting from copying the design to framing the completed work, which makes this book a good introduction for beginners.
The book is divided into two parts: Antiques and Paper Cutouts Part 1 and Part 2. Each part shows you the finished paper cuts, some framed or filled with colour, followed by the templates. Part 2 is followed by a helpful section on the basics of paper cutting which includes: what you need, basics of how to cut, how to add colour, pasting parts into a picture, how to frame a picture, how to make brooches and how to make mobiles.
I really liked some of the patterns in the book. I wasn’t sure if you were supposed to cut directly from the book so I have been photocopying the pages then cutting them. Unfortunately they are not reversed which I always find annoying as you have to be super careful when you cut out! So far I’ve cut the Christmas wreath and some of the animals. The designs are really pretty and I love the way you can ad a splash of colour to them.
This was the first time I had tried adding colour. I think the red tissue paper is a great addition for the berries on the wreath. I’m excited to start adding more colour to my papercuts!
I love the finished result, it’s so pretty with the little splashes of colour behind it.