Artistic cutting. Story. Artistic paper cutting. Types and techniques. DIY Christmas decorations

Paper cutting has its roots in the distant 2nd century. This type of applied art comes from China. Much later, they mastered openwork paper cutting in Ukraine. The schemes of such creativity are varied, and among the people its fruits are called vytynanki. To master it, you will need perseverance, patience, accuracy and boundless imagination.

Creating Your Masterpiece: General Aspects

Artistic paper cutting is a real art. Not everyone can turn an ordinary sheet of paper into an elegant and sophisticated masterpiece. From ancient times, vytynanki decorated houses for the holidays. They were considered amulets.

And today, vytynanki are a common designer decoration. You can decorate the interior in an original way not only for Christmas or New Year. If you show your imagination and ability to work with paper, you can make the most complicated crafts that will take pride of place in your home.

How is the vytynanka made? Schemes are the basis of such crafts. After transferring the drawing to paper, we proceed directly to cutting. To do this, you can use the usual nail scissors with rounding. For cutting small parts, it is better to take a blade, scalpel or clerical knife. Experienced needlewomen use the extrusion technique, but for beginners it is better to start with a simple one.

Absolutely any paper is suitable: white offset, color, and even cardboard. Depending on the scheme, the paper can be folded in several layers or with an accordion. And some simply use a flat sheet and transfer the scheme to it.

Let's not talk more in vain, but let's engage in an exciting creative process.

That the coming year?

It is known that in 2017 the Rooster will patronize. The holiday is just around the corner, and so you want to decorate your house with symbolic figurines. And here we will come to the aid of openwork paper cutting. Templates can be found on the global network, downloaded and, using the functionality of a computer, enlarged to the desired size and printed.

Necessary materials:

  • paper;
  • sample;
  • scissors;
  • blade or utility knife.

At your discretion, you can decorate an openwork cockerel. Do not forget that this year Petya-Cockerel will bring good luck and joy to your home.

I remember I'm proud...

Great victory in 1945! Everyone associates May 9 with unbearable pain, great loss and pride in their heroes. From childhood, we are told about them, because thanks to our grandfathers and great-grandfathers, we live on this earth. On Victory Day, you need to honor the memory. Invite your child to make a postcard in the style of an openwork cutout. And we will help you with this.


Necessary materials:

  • sheet of white paper;
  • watercolor or gouache paints;
  • brushes;
  • felt-tip pens or markers;
  • glue;
  • red paper;
  • scissors and a stationery knife.

Step by step description of the creative process:

Craftsmen can cut an openwork carnation on paper, but bulk flower looks more original.

Paper cutting shapes and shapes helps young children develop fine motor skills in a playful way!

How to teach a child to cut paper?

  1. First of all, your baby's hands should be ready for instilling the skill of cutting. The best exercise for a baby is squeezing water out of a simple sponge, it trains the right muscles.
  2. Then show your child how fun it is to tear apart old newspapers and pieces of paper - this will teach him to hold the paper in his hands without dropping it.
  3. Now you can learn paper cutting using special materials for children! Start by cutting out straight and wavy lines, then teach your child to cut out the shapes before offering pictures to cut out.

Important! Remember to take breaks if your child is tired or bored. Be sure to encourage the child verbally, praise him and try to interfere less in the cutting process itself.

Paper cutting safety

Before teaching, show your child how to hold scissors properly and talk to them about safe use of scissors. The child must clearly understand that:

  • You need to cut in the direction from the body and fingers.
  • You can not play and indulge when scissors are in your hands.

At what age do you start learning to carve?

All children develop differently. The age limits below should be used as a guide, taking into account the interests, temperament and attention span of individual children.

2 years: children at this age will enjoy tearing paper into small pieces and cutting something out, only repeating after adults;

3 years: at this age, with a child, you can try to cut out any shapes, sitting next to him and continuously watching the process;

4 years: the child is able to cut out simple lines and shapes by himself with a little help from an adult;

5 years and older: the child himself should easily cut out the pictures and even stick them on paper, making applications.

Anyone who first sees products made in the form of carved lace from plain paper is always surprised that such beauty is easy to create with your own hands. Everyone can master tracery patterns, which are taken as a basis, are easy to find in the specialized literature. The necessary tools are inexpensive and readily available.

decor ideas

You can use this interesting technique both for making postcards, panels, and decorating the interior. Products are usually made from white or black paper, but other shades also look great. It is interesting that not only flat things are performed. Volumetric openwork cutting out of paper looks very impressive. Schemes for such objects are also presented in the form of a contour drawing on a flat sheet, which is then folded along certain lines and glued into a three-dimensional part. So, in technology, you can do the following:

  • Postcards.
  • Snowflakes.
  • Window decorations.
  • Napkins for the table.
  • Volumetric decor based on a flat product or an assembled three-dimensional paper structure.

Having mastered simple options, you can make things fabulous in beauty.

Materials and tools

You will need the following to master openwork paper cutting:

  • Diagrams and a printer to print them.
  • Sheets of white (or other) color.
  • The basis on which you will cut (a special tablet, a regular board or a piece of thick cardboard).
  • Manicure small scissors as an alternative to a knife or an addition to it.

The rest is optional and depends on how you will use the blanks:

  1. Glue on a colored base - decorative cardboard and glue.
  2. Hang on a Christmas tree or in the space of a room - pendants (threads).
  3. Decorate a window - plain or

In fact, nothing complicated, special and expensive is needed. General office stationery. The main thing is patience, perseverance and the desire to make a masterpiece with your own hands.

Openwork paper cutting: schemes, master class

Traditionally, patterns are created by cutting out part of the pattern on a sheet folded in a certain sequence. One of the most common and familiar products are snowflakes, but you can make not only them. A napkin or mirror frame made according to the following pattern will look very impressive.

Work like this:

Openwork paper cutting: New Year's schemes

To decorate the interior with elements of this technique, you can make various decorations according to ready-made templates. Print them in the desired scale (usually blanks are designed for a standard A4 landscape sheet), cut out the pattern. On the Internet, there are a lot of blanks, both directly festive and just winter themes.



  • Entire landscapes and lacy plot scenes.

Copy paper, tracing paper and cardboard for the template;

Simple pencil;

Glue universal;


With the help of carbon paper and tracing paper, the pattern from scheme 1 shown below or another is transferred to paper for the template. For this, tracing paper is placed under the pattern pattern and outlined with a simple soft pencil. Then the drawing is outlined again with a pencil and cut out along the contour with scissors. It turns out a ready-made template.


Is taken colored paper folds 2 times (according to scheme 2). The template is applied to the workpiece and the drawing is outlined well sharpened with a simple pencil. The template should be removed and the pattern cut out with sharp scissors or a knife with removable blades. The paper is unfolded, another sheet of paper is placed on it and carefully smoothed out with the convex side of the spoon, straightening out all traces of folds. The resulting napkin is glued to paper in a contrasting color and laminated to keep the product beautiful and practical. A napkin can be used for fruit or send a shallow vase with it and serve it to the table, say, cherries or grapes



Mirror decor

A mirror familiar to our eyes can be turned into an antique version. And for this you just need to cut out a frame from textured golden paper with a floral pattern and decorate with it the already existing on the mirror - inexpressive - frame. This will definitely please the hostess of the house, and then a happy, smiling face will be reflected in the mirror.


What do you need to cut an openwork frame for a mirror? This is metallized paper with a gold-colored wrinkled effect, tracing paper, thick paper or cardboard, simple pencils and scissors. A pattern is transferred to thick paper with the help of tracing paper and a template is cut out to decorate the frame. The second sheet of paper of the desired size is folded 3 times straight and 1 diagonally. The template is applied to the folded paper and outlined in pencil. The template is removed and the pattern is cut out with scissors. The product is unfolded and smoothed. Such openwork blanks decorate the mirror around the perimeter, sticking them on the old frame. Photo frames are decorated in the same way.

Almost everyone cut out intricate patterned snowflakes for the New Year, but not many people know that openwork paper cutting patterns are a whole kind of art. Vytynanka, silhouette cutting, paper graphics - there are many names, but the essence is the same, it is always a whole-cut drawing on a plain background. There are two main directions: cutting with a knife and scissors. Despite the seeming simplicity, creating paper patterns requires great patience and perseverance.

A bit of history

Silhouette carving has its roots in the depths of centuries, more precisely in the 2nd century AD, in ancient China. As you know, it was in China that paper was invented. There, for the first time, an openwork tenderloin appeared. At first it was an occupation of the nobility due to the high cost of paper. However, it gradually descended into other segments of the population. From China, this art migrated to other countries. First, Japan and Korea, then Persia and Turkey, and from there along the Great Silk Road to the countries of Western Europe and America.


Necessary tools and materials

In addition to a reserve of patience and a great desire to make beautiful thing with your own hands, you will need:

  1. clerical (dummy) knife;
  2. small scissors;
  3. schemes (you can take ready-made ones, for example, print them from the Internet, or come up with them yourself);
  4. sheets of paper or cardboard right size and colors;
  5. tablet or board on which you will cut.

Interior decoration

For centuries, filigree carving has been successfully used to make decorations for interior design. For beginners, postcards, snowflakes, table napkins, window decorations will be interesting.


More sophisticated craftsmen can make various three-dimensional objects.

Master class on openwork paper cutting

When all the materials are prepared, you can begin. Most often, patterns are cut on a sheet that is complex in a certain way. The most common and familiar to many, of course, are snowflakes. However, in this way you can make a frame for a mirror or, for example, a napkin. The master class will help those who are just mastering this interesting art!

  1. You need to take a sheet of paper and fold it as shown in the figure below.
  2. Next, use tracing paper to transfer the contour of the pattern to the base, or cut out a blank of part of the pattern and use it as a stencil.
  3. Then cut out the pattern with scissors or a knife.
  4. We carefully unfold the product.
  5. Straighten the folds, iron with an iron.
  6. We put the resulting napkin on the base of a suitable color and glue it (the glue should not leave marks).
  7. The finished creation can be laminated so that it retains its original appearance longer.

With such lace creations, you can decorate your home in an original way. The main thing is to show imagination.


Decorate your home for Easter

The Easter holiday is one of the most beloved in families, both Orthodox and Catholics. Several traditions associated with this holiday are unchanged - dyeing eggs, baking Easter cakes, decorating the house. According to special patterns for Easter, many attributes and decorations can be made. And someone will want to dream up in the technique of filigree cutting and come up with their own options.

One of the essential symbols of this holiday are, of course, eggs. These can be painted natural eggs or decorative ones, for example, made of wood or plastic. And you can make openwork eggs with your own hands. To do this, using carbon paper or tracing paper, transfer the pattern to drawing paper (you can take any other, but being dense, it holds its shape easier and sticks better), cut it out and carefully glue it. It is better to start gluing from the center, first to one end, then to the other. The glue must be allowed to dry before starting a new seam, otherwise it may come apart. Ready eggs can be put in a patterned basket, and you get a whole composition.

Egg vytynanki are also used to make greeting cards, decorate gift bags and boxes, even as a festive garland, connecting them together.

You can decorate windows with a patterned cutout, or, having made a three-dimensional composition, put it on a festive table. Inspiration and flight of fancy will help to make a unique holiday.

DIY Christmas decorations

New Year rightfully takes the place of the most favorite holiday for both children and adults. And everyone wants to plunge into this atmosphere of magic. Create at home New Year's fairy tale not difficult, the main thing is to approach the process with imagination. Nowadays, Christmas decorations are not limited to Christmas tree balls and a couple of garlands. The more varied the festive decoration of the house, the brighter the sensations. So let's get started! Let's start with the simplest - snowflakes. They can be made like this.


In addition to snowflakes, Santa Claus and Snow Maiden, snowman, bells, Christmas balls, deer and many others can be used for decoration.

You can use New Year's templates as independent decorations, or make such compositions:


Fantasy and good mood - that's the key to a truly festive decoration of the house.

Video compilation

And finally, a few videos that will most clearly show the art of openwork cutting.

Seeing products made in the form of carved lace from plain paper, you will never say that it is easy to create such beauty with your own hands. Everyone can master openwork paper cutting, the schemes of which are also provided. This type of needlework is also called paper graphics, silhouette cutting, but the essence is the same, it is always a whole-cut drawing on a plain background. There are two main directions: cutting with a knife and scissors. For beginners, when creating paper patterns, great patience, perseverance and desire will be required.

You can use this interesting technique not only to create postcards, panels, but also to decorate the interior. Usually products are made from white or black paper, but other shades will also look good. Openwork paper cutting can be both flat and voluminous. So, using the silhouette cutting technique, you can make such fabulous things: window decorations, snowflakes, postcards, napkins and much more.

What materials and tools will be needed in order to master openwork paper cutting? In fact, nothing special and expensive is needed. You will need:

  • printed schemes (invented independently or ready-made);
  • sheets of white (you can have a different) color;
  • mock-up (clerical) knife;
  • a tablet, a regular board or a piece of thick cardboard on which you will cut;
  • nail scissors.

As you can see, you will need ordinary office stationery.


Consider a master class on openwork cutting from paper, which will help to master this interesting art.

When all the tools and materials are prepared, you can begin work. Most often, patterns are cut out on a sheet of paper that is folded in a certain way. intricate patterned christmas snowflakes almost everyone carved as a child. But in this way you can still make a frame for a mirror or a napkin for a table. A napkin or a frame made according to the model in the photo below will look very nice:

Step by step job description:

  • Take a sheet of white paper and fold it.
  • With the help of tracing paper, we transfer the contour of the pattern to the base, circling it twice.
  • Cut out the pattern with scissors or a knife.
  • Unfold the product very carefully and iron the folds with an iron through another sheet.
  • We put openwork napkin on colored cardboard or paper and glue. Make sure that the glue does not leave marks.
  • If desired, you can laminate the product so that it lasts longer.

Decorate the house for the holidays

Easter is one of the most beloved holidays for both Orthodox and Catholics. Many housewives traditionally prepare for it - they paint eggs, bake Easter cakes, decorate their home. We will help you in this matter. According to special patterns for Easter, you can make beautiful attributes and wonderful decorations. But you can show your imagination in the technique of filigree cutting and come up with your own options.

One of the main symbols of this holiday is eggs. Usually housewives color natural eggs or decorative ones, for example, from wood. But you can easily make openwork eggs with your own hands. To do this, you just need to transfer the pattern using carbon paper or tracing paper to drawing paper, cut it out and carefully glue it. It is better to glue from the center, first to one end, then to the other. During work, it is necessary to allow the glue to dry before taking on the next seam, otherwise it may disperse. Put the finished eggs in a patterned basket, and you get a fabulous composition!


This way you can also do Greeting Cards for Easter, decorate gift bags and boxes, decorate windows. Egg vytynanki are even used as a festive garland, connecting them together. Inspiration and imagination will help to make a unique Easter holiday.

For the New Year

New Year's Eve is loved by both children and adults. Everyone wants to create a New Year's fairy tale at home and plunge into the wonderful atmosphere of magic. Nowadays, New Year's decorations are not only balls for the Christmas tree and garlands, but also many other wonderful little things for the festive decoration of your home. Our tips will help you prepare for this wonderful holiday in a unique way. One of the most traditional ways decorating a room is a decoration paper snowflakes. They can be made like this.

Usually they are glued to windows, cabinet doors, shelves, walls. Some make garlands out of them and place them on the Christmas tree.

To make beautiful openwork paper snowflakes, it is better to take ready-made patterns for cutting.

The main thing in the work is to correctly fold a sheet of paper to apply the template. Each snowflake consists of a repeating pattern around the circumference. Blanks are usually folded for 1/6 and 1/12 parts. You can fold the part based on an already cut circle or any sheet that first needs to be cut to a square and then folded, or, conversely, folds are made first, and then the shape of a circle sector is cut out.

Looking for a new hobby? How about cutting out paper? Surely someone now ironically chuckled. Quite in vain: artistic carving is incredibly beautiful. We were convinced of this by opening the book "Magic of Paper". See for yourself.

“You can cut out of paper without even having the ability to draw,” says Louise Firschau.

There are a million ready-made templates: just print them out. Or create your own design on your computer: install Inkscape, a free design program that lets you create basic templates.

How to start carving

Intricate plots and ornate contours - each picture seems to be created by a skilled artist. But trust me, you can easily do it yourself. All you need is a desire and a few tools.

Choose a round one: it is more convenient to work with a pencil-like holder than with a flat one. You will understand this when you start making rounded cuts and feel how the knife turns slightly in your hand.

Surgical blades

The choice of blades on the market is huge: it's up to you. At first, it may seem too flexible and unpredictable. But once you get used to it, you will find that it is very convenient to make round cuts, and the tip is great for cutting out small details.

Self-healing cutting mat

You don't need expensive branded cutting mats. Take a regular rubber one - after a few weeks of heavy use, they all look the same.

It is better to have two mats: one for cutting, the other for gluing. If you do everything on one, it will get dirty with glue and can ruin the next cut.

Paper

  • Do not take office paper: the lines are uneven, and the results are not impressive.
  • Use special paper for cutting or experiment with dense. For example, you can take a textured watercolor or mulberry.
  • Do not use paper heavier than 170 g/m²: it is very difficult to cut and your hand gets tired quickly.

Template for cutting

Where to start? We offer you such a cute picture from the book "Magic of Paper": it will decorate any home.

  • Before you take on the first template, practice just cutting the paper. Understand with what force to press on the blade so that it does not break, the hand does not start to hurt, and the cut turns out to be “clean”. Press lightly on the blade and carefully cut through the paper. Slowly make several lines, maintaining the same pressure along the entire length.
  • Start cutting from the most difficult area or from the place that causes you the most doubts.. Then, if you make a mistake, you won't have to redo too much.
  • Take your time. Change the blade every 10-15 minutes and take regular breaks to relax your head and neck. It is much more convenient to work on an inclined surface - for example, on a drawing board.
  • Pencil marks on wrong side no need to wash. No one will see them anyway, and the eraser can damage the paper. Always cut from the inside out.
  • Do not remove scraps of paper in the process, even if you really want to. Leave everything in place - this will stabilize the tenderloin. The sleeve/bracelet/cat tail will have nothing to catch on.
  • When you've finished cutting, don't use your finger to push the paper off, but use a knife to remove it. So the paper does not tear, and you will see in which places you need to go through the blade again.

Imagine how your friends will be surprised and acquaintances will be delighted when they see what kind of paintings you create. And, besides glory, you will find a real pleasure in the creative process, when an ordinary template turns into a charming and charming masterpiece.

Illustrations and materials from the book "Magic of Paper". The book will be out very soon. You can subscribe to the release notification - and get a nice discount only for your own.

Creativity in winter has a special incomparable magic. And this magic of paper captivates both adults and children, and so you want to create this little magic with your own hands. After all, nothing will decorate the atmosphere of the house so much as something created by one's own hands, like something in which the soul, time, feelings are invested ...

Artistic paper cutting, or vytynanka

Let's talk today about artistic paper cutting, or vytynanka, clippings, silhouette cutting. Every year silhouette paper cutting is becoming more and more popular and more and more masters and craftswomen delight us with their masterpieces. Indeed, a winter window, decorated with bulges, seems to open the door to an unusual fairy tale, surprisingly decorating not only the interior, but also the mood.

Vytynanka is a delicate art of cutting out patterns, plot figures and pictures from paper. To create it, you need a fairly thick paper and a cutting tool. As a tool, thin nail scissors, a sharp clerical knife or a mock-up knife are often used. A convenient cutting board or a special cutting mat will not be superfluous.

As a rule, to create New Year's vytynanok is used White paper. On the Internet, you can download a million templates with thematic plots and decorate the interior of the room with them. Below I will give a few beautiful templates for vytynanok.

Where to use vytynanki

Vytynanki perfectly create a New Year's mood, sitting on windows or glass doors.

Can do light air mobile just like that or for a chandelier.

Also, voluminous vytynankas on the illuminated windowsill look romantic as a window decoration. For illumination, you can use christmas garlands or table lamps.

Artistic cutting is a chic element when creating postcards and panels. High-class craftswomen create voluminous vytynankas that can be put, for example, on a table and give the office a New Year's atmosphere.

Last year, vytynanki helped us create.

How to glue protrusions on windows

Vytynanki are easily glued to the windows with soap. To do this, lather the soap in a small amount of water, moisten the window and attach a drawing on top. When the window dries, the pattern will stick.

You can also use adhesive tape, just remember that you can remove its traces from the window, but it’s already more difficult.

Plots for vytynanok

Plots can be very different. The main thing is the transfer of a fabulous mood. And it can be created by: snow-covered cities, and a forest in snowdrifts, a frosty starry sky, a clear moon and soaring snowflakes, snowmen and Santa Claus with a Snow Maiden, candles, Christmas decorations and garlands, Christmas trees, kids and cartoon characters, animals...

Punch patterns

The plot for the vytynanka can be drawn independently. You can circle the plot you like from any book on paper and cut it out.

And you can use ready-made templates for artistic cutting. Below are templates for cutting out New Year's protrusions, taken from the expanses of the worldwide web. You can download them by clicking the right mouse button and choosing "save image as".





Paper magic. Ideas for artistic cutting.


This unique book, published by the beloved Mann, Ivanov and Ferber publishing house, will inspire both those who are just falling in love with the art of paper cutting and those who already have experience in this painstaking work.

Its author, Paper Panda blogger and writer, Louise Firschau, has created a real carving guide. She talks in detail about everything: about cutting tools, how to use them, and what can be replaced, about the secrets and subtleties of this art, about possible mistakes and areas of application of handmade masterpieces.

Here are some tips from Louise Firschau from Paper Magic:

1. Always copy the original image. If you make a mistake, you can start over.

2. Start cutting from the most difficult area or from the place that causes you the most doubts. Then if you make a mistake, you won't have to redo too much.

3. Take your time, change the blade every 10-15 minutes and take regular breaks to relax your head and neck. It is much more convenient to work on an inclined surface - for example, on a drawing board.

4. When you have finished cutting, do not use your finger to push the paper off, but use a knife to remove it. So the paper will not tear, and you will see in which places you need to go through the blade again.

And here is one of the examples of Louise's author's templates:

In this video, I talked about the book "Magic of Paper" and showed how I cut out my first vytynanka)))

Inspirational New Year's creativity to you!

With love,