fussy cutting

This week's tutorial Tuesday is going to focus on 'fussy cutting'. This is the term used to refer to the technique of cutting out selected areas of a design. You can use it to remove a flower or image from a patterned piece of paper, or to layer up part of a design by cutting out repeating sections to create a decoupage.

 

example paper

 

The key to fussy cutting is choosing the right resource. You need to pick a paper with enough individual designs on it to make it worth cutting up. This paper is a good example of a good one to use, as it has lots of flowers you might want to use in a more simple or layered design. I like to start at the edge and work my way into the paper, being careful not to cut through any usable pieces.

 



fussy cut pieces and the paper remaining



fussy cut flower and flower in the paper, (before and after)

To fussy cut the paper, simply follow the outline of the image, cutting it with some fine, sharp paper scissors or a scalpel. You can then remove the cut out piece from the page and use it in your design. 

 

a card created with the fussy cut flowers.

You can see how you can create a completely different look from a piece of paper using the fussy cutting technique. by removing the background, I have created a clean and simple look using these bold flowers on a card blank, with the edges simply inked and a stamped message to finish off.

 

Mx