Sneak Peek: new design

Last month a customer asked for a custom papercut ketubah. I like getting custom requests and suggestions from customers, it motivates me to actually take my sketches from the notebook stage to the final design. This one here went through 4 evolutions, but I think I got it right in the end. It looks like a cascading necklace to me. This beautiful new design will soon be listed in the Urban Collective shop with the rest of the papercut collection.

Etsy How Tuesday valentine tutorial

The sneak peek photo I posted last month? Was for this! Just in time for valentine, an Etsy how to tutorial on papercutting a special valentine card / keepsake, template included. How-Tuesday: Keepsake Papercut.

This tutorial was a challenge for me. First because it was the first time I've been asked to do one, and I was all over the place with what I could do. At the end I realized I needed to make it as simple and DIY-friendly as I can for readers. Then I had the challenge of taking pictures on a dark rainy week for this - which is why all the photos are filtered (aha, behind the scenes secret!) 

I love getting mail, but I love getting things I can put to use even more - so this card can also be a pretty great photo frame to pin on your notice board or fridge. The illustration itself might look like a lot of work, but it's pretty simple as far as my papercuts go. I happened to look at a lot of art nouveau book illustrations that week so I was in a romantic stage of knights and ladies. 

I hope you'll enjoy this tutorial and making a handmade card / present for your valentine, whatever awesome crafty idea you end up doing. Have a sweet valentine! 

 How-Tuesday: Keepsake Papercut

Artist: Lucrezia Bieler

I just discovered Lucrezia Bieler's sublime work through Paper Forest. Her papercuts truly are works of art and an awesome showcase of imagination and technical knowledge that comes together to create pure magic. I aspire to be that good one day. I especially love how a detailed shape emerges in gestalt from the black void in the two pieces featured here.

Lucrezia prefers the scissors (teeny tiny scissors!) to the scalpel knife), and she fearlessly snips and twists and drapes her paper until all her cuts have been made and the image emerged. I'm awestruck. When I feel that catch in the back of my throat like I want to weep is when I know I'm done for. Hello new obsession, I'm going to fangirl all over you!


Links:
Lucrezia Bieler
Paper Forest | New papercutting exhibition opening in LA tonight!

Images: Evil Bunny Rabbits Are Tempting Me With Their Fluffy Fur | Polar Star | Lucrezia in progress

Paper Flowers

If there's one paper craft that took over us romantics last year, it was handmade paper flowers. They popped up in fields all over the blogsphere, it was lovely. I personally didn't attempt to make any of these beautiful flowers, as I am much too lazy. I bought mine instead. But here are two tutorial links for you folks looking to give a valentine bouquet that will last. I know I'd love one.

Top photos | Crepe Paper Flowers Bouquet by Martha Stewart Weddings
Bottom photos | Giant Paper Flower by The House that Lars Built

Alexander McQueen Spring 2012

Boy, I wish I could wear these masterpieces... The closest I ever came was fondling an Alexander McQueen jacket in 2004. Ooh, I still get all giddy just thinking about it! Doesn't your heart rate speed up when looking at these clothes (if they can be called mere clothes)? I don't get people who aren't affected by fashion.

Image taken from the Cool & Chic Style Fashion blog.

Sneak Peek

...A little something I worked on over the weekend. 

Brand Identity development

Months ago I started thinking about the brand Woodland Papercuts. What its values are, its commodity, and of course its brand identity. The hamster wheel in my head really started spinning when I read this Branding article series by Three Fifteen Design. I have trouble with abstract notions, but Ravyn was so very clear about what branding is and what makes a brand excellent, she made it sound so simple.

After exchanging several emails in November I hired Three Fifteen Design to work on my brand identity. The process is winding down, and I hope to reveal the new logo soon (if you've seen some of my promo shots from late 2011 then you've seen its roots). I learned a lot in this process, mainly that I am incapable of relinquishing control. Has this ever happened to you? I knew I couldn't do it on my own, but as soon as I delegated the task to another, I had to pour more and more of myself into it. You see the inspiration board above? Ravyn sent me one based on all the information I shared, and I in turn sat down to make an inspiration board of my own for four hours, until it was just right. I scare myself some times. (She later edited it better into this inspiration board.) Ravyn is very patient with me, but I'm sure it's not easy having a client be so controlling. Sorry, Ravyn!

Below you'll find one of the logo sketch pages I sent to 315 along the way. Honestly, I get stuck on the little details and the thousand different ways I can shape them, that I forgot about what I want the brand to be, and I didn't even look at the inspiration board. But this is interesting, how did I come from the inspiration board, to these logos (round no. 4)? Can I even see a connection between them all?

I want to cover my eyes and just randomly pick one and be done with it. I wanted this to be easy, just draw one and be like 'Oh, that's it, no need to do more!' But my indecisiveness... That's why I'm so lucky to have Ravyn - when my energy wanes she sends me an email with a new round of logos and then I'm back in the fray!

Links:
My Branding Inspiration board on pinterest
Posts on 315 featuring Woodland Papercuts: A Lovely Gift | Design Board

Dream weddings...

I have a confession. I was never much interested in weddings growing up. Sure, I looked through a brides magazine once or twice and considered what dress I'd wear from there, but I wasn't one of those girls with an organizer and a 5 year plan. I was very aware of the fact that my taste will change from 6 years old to 16 to 26, so I never bothered.

I wasn't even really interested in weddings when I started making invitations and ketubot. For all I knew, everything was horrible Judaica art and mass-produced flat print invites, all the dresses were garish corsets, the venues giant party halls and the music shrill eastern music. I know, what a horrible vision.

I think it was 6 months after I started designing papercut ketubot that I started browsing wedding blogs. I've become more and more romantic ever since, and put serious thought into how I'd like my wedding to be  - with all the inspiring photos and ideas, how could I not?! I have opinions! About wedding colors, and dresses, and venues, and flowers! Say what?! I even teared up once or twice looking at pictures of happy couples and playing the most gorgeous wedding videos (who knew such hollywood magic was reachable!) that seem as if they were taken in a dream, with glittering light and starry-eyed lovers. Aww, I want that! 


Last night, after spending an hour browsing through my favorite wedding blogs - the reigning queen of which now is Once Wed - I've come to terms with the fact that Yes, I've been bitten by the wedding bug. Never thought it'd happen to me.

The concept I'm a big fan of at the moment is a DIY backyard wedding. If that backyard borders on a wood or meadow. It's budget conscious, it's personal, and it's romantic. Love.

Look! The Party Tree!

Images | Emily & Paul's DIY countryside wedding

Antlers

I saw this image last week on my blog reading list, and it was like a breath of fresh air. Oh, antlers, how I love thee! I think it was back in November that I promised to post more deer papercuts here. I still have half-fisinshed sketches and unpublished papercuts in my portfolio of deers and antlers, I just got side tracked with the holidays and now the wedding season. Time management is still not my strongest suite. It's one of my goals to make a massive papercut of antlers to put over my bed this year. This, instead of the embroidered headboard I was going to do but just never got around to (funny how that happens.) By massive I mean as big I can afford to, so probably no bigger than 1 meter wide. Still, compared to my other papercuts, it'll be gigantic. That empty wall is smirking at me.

Image | Besotted Brand blog.

Pic of the day

I'm a visual person, and often find it simpler to see something than describe it, so I've been taking a lot of pictures for people asking about my Tree of Life ketubah. I realized lately that while my tiny camera is not all that great at capturing detail from a distance, its super-macro feature yields beautiful sharp photos. That, and I'm getting better at photo editing.