{Paper-Cut Hearts}

{for your valentine}

papercuthearts — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 19:04:16 +0000

… this week only: become a friend of PaperCutWorks on facebook & receive 20% off your order ~ your custom piece will arrive by Valentine’s*!

✄ http://www.facebook.com/PaperCutWorks

✄ http://PaperCutWorks.etsy.com

* only orders shipped within US will arrive by 2/14. faster shipping options available – feel free to contact me to arrange them.

PaperCutWorks then & now

papercuthearts — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 06:23:20 +0000

Over the holidays I worked on a San Francisco map heart & it made me think about just how much my design & technique have changed since their 2005 beginnings, and how this evolution sped up since I opened up my first etsy shop.

When I started sharing my papercuts on etsy in 2010, I used to cut the heart outline freehand, repurposing previously collected outdated maps, and mounted the final cutouts on 2″ thick art panels (instead of the current, more delicate 1″ kind). The lines were thinner, and mostly fewer. Paired with the heavier panel, the overall design seems so unbalanced now.

The most significant change however has been in the cut material. I ran out of the maps on hand & started being very selective about the maps I source. While I still use vintage maps in majority of my cutouts, occasionally a page from a vintage atlas isn’t as colorful or varied as I’d like it to be. So instead I turn to maps that are only 15+ years old, but more interesting in terms of design. I also always try to use maps by the same cartographers when creating two and three heart cutouts.

My chronological flickr {heartworks} photo album documents these changes pretty well.

{cultural fusion}

papercuthearts — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 16:45:26 +0000

The first person to wander into my PaperCutWorks shop back in April of 2010 & request a custom project was Taryn. She was designing her own wedding & asked me to create a series of unique Moroccan doorway papercuts.

I was really curious about how the papercuts she envisioned and I created would be incorporated into the wedding decor, so I asked Taryn to share some photos. A year and a half later… she sent me links to a feature of her special day in the Munaluchi Bridal, a wedding magazine for women of color, later linked in The Huffington Post Weddings!

I am honored that someone with such exquisite taste and brilliant design instincts invited me to play a tiny part in the happiest day of their life! Taryn, I hope your wedding day turned out to be everything you dreamed it would! My best wishes to you & LA!

Please visit the Munaluchi Bridal for more stunning photos by Tec Petaja of this one-of-a-kind event.

His Valentine to Kyoto

papercuthearts — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 16:11:11 +0000

Over the last couple years, little by little, I’ve become enamored with Japan. Among the people who helped to initiate and cultivate this process has been GJC. So with his permission, I wanted to share some breathtaking works of his.

The image above is from his Celebration of Tea series, which I love especially. I frequently bookmark his captures, or I’ll hold on to them as my desktop image because one glimpse just isn’t enough.

Like me, back when photography was my only artistic outlet, GJC captures mostly objects, structures, settings; occasionally silhouettes of people, but never posed portraits. Moments. & since recently, he treats his followers to beautiful, intimate glimpses of his family life (& his sweet baby daughter).

If I travel to Japan one day, it will be to help recover that moment awareness I think GJC excels at. For now, his images let me live an illusion, that if I can’t find it again in my life here now, I only need to buy a ticket to Kyoto.

The Floating World. Isn’t it just haunting?

{mentor}

papercuthearts — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 03:35:05 +0000

original papercut art; cut dictionary page featuring the word “mentor”. a holiday gift. hope both the giver & the receiver enjoy it this one-of-a-kind piece.

new year, new mat.

papercuthearts — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 04:35:13 +0000

it’s time to retire my cutting mat. so many tiny x-acto knife tips hidden everywhere. when i run into them while cutting through a sheet my line turns imprecise. i’m hoping to find a clear or a black one, because the blue is too bright for my eyes, especially since i only cut in daylight. looking forward to starting the new year with some fresh blades & a brand new mat!

~ happy new year to you & yours too! ~

{Heart of Art}

papercuthearts — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 17:48:00 +0000

A fellow etsian & a papercut artist too, Jacqeline of hipandclavicle, shared a song titled “Heart of Art” by Hope For Agoldensummer with me this weekend. {click on the image above to listen}. Thank you Jacqeline!

punk. rock. flea. market.

papercuthearts — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 16:12:14 +0000

[be there or be square :-]

Our home featured on Etsy’s “Get The Look”!

papercuthearts — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 05:45:20 +0000

Etsy’s blog writer Christine featured our home in her “Get The Look” series this week! She selected her favorite images from my flickr album & collaged them beautifully. I love that Christine happened to pick my very favorite & most meaningful pieces around the house: the mobile I made from red origami cranes my dear friend Joyce made for my 30th birthday; the black silhouettes I cut as a gift for James for our anniversary; the vintage oval mirror and mustard chair our friends Cait & Ridley gifted to us; the bicycle spokes ink drawing I created for James the first time we celebrated his birthday together; my favorite etsy artists on the wall … & more. I only regret that Madeline, the newest member of our family didn’t make it in (-:

So – here she is!

It was fun to work on the answers to her questions & reflect on James’ and mine decorating adventures since our move into our current home 2.5 years ago. You can read the whole article here!

{new} at PaperCutWorks

papercuthearts — Sun, 06 Nov 2011 06:33:51 +0000

An exciting addition to my etsy shop! Introducing new sizes of custom map PaperCutWorks:

This single map heart cutout features Spain. It is mounted to a 6″ by 6″ wooden block frame & documents one couple’s honeymoon. It’s much larger than my usual 4″x4″ piece (pictured below for comparison).

Two Hearts Beat As One design is now also available in a larger format – an 8″x8″ wooden block frame. Creating this design reminded me on my trip to Dublin, Ireland. I had the most amazing time there. A very present time in my life. I remember hiking in Howth, Coldplay & Radiohead in my ears; a beautiful autumn day. I would love to travel all over Ireland… see the country side, the south. One day!