Scherenschnitte Christmas Card 2020

 Every year, designing my 3D scherenschnitte (paper cutting) Christmas cards takes FOREVER! I cut designs that I love but they take too long to produce en masse. Here's the one I have settled on to send this year. 

I started far away from that design though. After contemplating cutting a fancy covid molecule, my first real attempt was at a Celtic knot, thinking it would be quick and easy.  Nope. Not quick and not easy. 

Then I went for a beloved image; the matryoshka or babushka. 

I took pictures of myself dressed as a babushka to have a model to work from.  I liked the design but just could not seem to cut them very quickly.  That, plus the fact that when I asked people to tell me what the image was, they called it a Santa. Instead of adding more details to make it look more grandma like, I went to other designs that I just never loved.  My Christmas cards are 3D and I was going to sew together the babushka and bunny side with the boy, tree, and house side. 

Russian stacking dolls followed that. The face took too long and easily fell apart because it is so delicate. Again, for multiples, it just would take too long.  There were multiple iterations of that as I was determined that this was going to be the theme. 

Next, we move to birds. This is a delicate and small design. Once again, the intricacy was just too much.

This one, not enough action.

The birds inspired the final design though.  Actually, I bought a dishcloth at a Norwegian festival that had a similar bird on it and that is the image that inspired the final designs.  

Now I am in production mode.  Each Christmas card takes a minimum of an hour to produce....but all made with love and care. All a little bit different than each other.

Christmas Scherenschnitte 2019 - Planning

I've been contemplating whether or not to do my annual 3D paper snip for Christmas.  Those are what I send out as Christmas cards.

They are a boost to my self esteem, for sure.  People post their collections of my snip ornaments/Christmas cards on Facebook.  Some folks leave their Christmas snips hanging up all year, which is fun to see when I come to visit.  Fewer and fewer people send cards back anymore though.  I really enjoy receiving them so I am disappointed to not get cards in return.

Last year, I was in the throes of a sculpture class during this season.  I spent WAY, way too much time working on my projects for that, so the cards had to be set aside.  This year, however, I could easily do them.

Some 3D snips take an hour and a half to complete and that's not even taking into account the amount of time it takes me to settle on a design.  So, these things are really labors of love.


Here are the contenders for this season, albeit in a really unfinished form.  You can see one that I gave up on pretty quickly. The designs are not complete, and only one is 3d.

Some, I had to retreive from the trash can just now.  Most of my samples, I hate right after doing them.  When I went to bed last night, I had decided to not take on this project this year. This morning I changed my mind. I am ready to snip!

STEAM Winter Art Activity and Sub Plan - Doodles

This winter art lesson is integrated with math. It may be drawn in a complex design or a simple one.

The main idea is "radial symmetry."  Six templates are provided to help students evenly draw their designs around the circle.  Five drawings of completed designs are also included.  It includes a sheet of sample winter and holiday icons to help the kids add detail. This would also be great as an early finishers activity.  You can find this over at the TPT shop: Cool Classroom Ideas.

Scherenschnitte Christmas Card for 2016

The month of November was filled with much papercutting.  I snip my own Christmas cards each year and it is no quick task.  I do love doing it though.  If I wake at 4 in the morning, I get excited because that means I can go down into my studio and snip in the relative dark and quiet for a few hours.  It feels like Santa's workshop.




Anyway, this was the design for my 2016 cards. The cards are 3D.  The four sides each have a different scene.

Though I get a lot of positive feedback from the folks to whom I send cards, I do not get many cards in return anymore.  I guess the tradition is going out of fashion. Makes me sad.

Gingerbread Man Fun

So much of my holiday joy in the past, has come from being around excited little kids.  Since I am retired, and interact with them so seldom, I have had to seek out experiences with kids.  Around Thanksgiving, I went to see my grand nephew in a kindergarten play.  It was super sweet and I loved being in the presence of so much excitement.

I subbed for a friend and did lessons on Nutcrackers.  I brought in my nutcrackers.  We listened to music from the Nutcracker.  We watched videos about nutcrackers.  The kids drew nutcrackers.  That all got enthusiastic responses.

Still seeking out some Christmas joy, I invited myself to a friend's kindergarten class to decorate gingerbread men with them.  My friend was happy to oblige.  We decided that the best day to do this was the last day before winter break.

We finally came up with this plan.  I would rush into the classroom, wearing oven mitts and an apron, and I would declare that I was baking gingerbread men at home.  Supposedly, when I opened the oven, they pushed their way out and ran out the door.  They left me a clue that led me to their school. I asked them if they had seen the cookie people and they had not.  When I read another clue, it led us to another place in the building.  

There were probably 7 clues in all.  The kids got very excited figuring out each one.

Finally, they made their way back to the classroom and that is where the cookies all were.

I overdid the candy and frosting purchases, but I figured it was better to have too much than too little.  

Their teacher and I decided that the kids would work in groups of two.  The cookies had been made in a giant Wilton cookie pan, which was way too much for the kids to eat in one sitting.  So we decided that the cookies would be given to various helper people in the school.

The teacher purchased more gingerbread men at Costco for the kids to decorate and eat.  

Here are some of the ideas I want to remember for the next time I do this.

Sprinkles can be made by adding a few drops of food coloring to sugar.  I mixed them in ziplock baggies and let the bags sit open for a day to dry.  The sprinkles were put in spice jars with holes in the lids.

The Dollar Tree was a treasure trove for small candies and supplies.

Frosting was made with vanilla, shortening, and confectioner's sugar.  I put them in large yogurt containers. I think that I could have used the frosting from the Dollar Tree and not spent any more money than I did making it on my own.

The kids spread the frosting with plastic knives, also from the Dollar Tree.

I bought two part gift boxes and the kids decorated the gingerbread men in a half.  This gave a little sturdiness to the cookie when it was carried and it kept all the candies contained inside.

The candies were put in paper plates for the kids to use.

As some kids finished up, we started showing Gingerbread Man videos from YouTube.

I had a wonderful day with the kids, and they seemed to have fun as well.

Pysanky Ornaments for Christmas

Before Easter, I had lots of commissioned work for my pysanky.  People were ordering them for the holiday.  But now I am still getting commissions, only they are for Christmas ornaments.  I am so happy to still have reasons to do my eggs.  It is nice to be able to do the work, but not to have a bajillion of my own eggs around the house.

Before I pass them along, I glue a gold ring on the top so it can be hung.

I am having so much fun!!! 

Christmas Scherenschnitte Cards 2012

My creative juices have been spent mostly on yarn related activities lately.  Nothing highly creative; just pleasurable. 

But since Christmas is coming up, I've started snipping my holiday cards.  They often change from the time I start designing until the time I finish the last snip.  Here's how they look at the moment.

I'd like to add some sparkly white powdery stuff, but I have no clue how to do it.  I think it involves some hot air blower tool.  No clue where even to begin on that one.  Do you know?

(folded, this is 4" x 6")

Es Glantz und Glitzert

This is a vintage book that I bought on eBay.  I had entered a search for "scherenschnitte" and "book."  This was the only book that showed up that looked interesting to me. The amount I bid on it was so small that I felt I could overlook the fact that all the directions were written in German.  (I do not speak German.)

The book  contains tissue paper patterns for Christmas tree ornaments and a nativity scene.  It also came with gold foil covered cardstock in the shape of stars.  I have a suspicion that it originally came with plain gold cardstock from which you were supposed to cut the ornaments and nativity.  

I am curious to see what these things look like as finished pieces so I am trying to figure out how to cut and form a few of them.  The illustrations are relatively clear.  Thank goodness.  I've tried using an online translator with the directions.  Here's the level of clarity I got from that:  "The Aufhangen of the angel figure happens on a Drahtchen, which is pushed under the Flugelbindung (Fig. c)."  Holy Moses.

The only foil paper that I have is very thin, but I used it anyway.  Then, I tried to put it together as shown in the illustrations.  

I'd like to find something more along the lines of the cardstock that was intended to be used.  As the angel is right now, she's floppy and delicate.  It would be nice to see the author's real intent for these pieces.

Grandma's Kitchen

Among my favorite memories of my grandmothers and my mother, are those that center around the kitchen.  One grandmother was an amazing cook whose melt in your mouth food was country cooking at its best.  The other grandmother and my mom weren't great cooks, but they did let me linger in the kitchen with them and learn the basics.  

This is a tiny painting I made about 15 years ago of my Grandmother and Grandfather in their country kitchen.  My memories of the goings on in their kitchen are vivid and warm.   I especially remember waking up to the sound of the cows outside and the butter churn inside.   I remember the huge production of grape juice and jelly making with my cousins.  I remember watching with amazement both the cake batter and the very bowl itself moving around under Grandma's ancient  standing mixer. There were wooden spoons and antique bowls.  There were cans of bacon grease and pitchers of real, raw milk.  Fresh eggs.  Fresh meat.  Homemade butter.  Mmmmmmm.......

I want to create lots of warm kitchen memories with my own granddaughter.  Whenever we are together, we cook.  Holidays together are spent doing the stereotypical kitchen things.  Easter eggs at spring visits.  Crabs at summer visits.  Sugar cookies at Christmas.  "Hattie's soup"....campfire cooking.....  I hope she has as vivid and warm memories of cooking with me as I have with my own beloved mothers.

Scherenschnitte Christmas Trees

I have finally figured out that my absolute favorite snips to cut are the 3D ones.  I just enjoy seeing how the whole design opens up into a big space once I am done.

I didn't put up many decorations this year, so I decided to snip my own Christmas tree.  It seemed appropriate.  After I decided that I liked them, I thought that I should make some for gifts.  Unfortunately, I decided this in the last few days before Christmas.  So, I have cut two gift trees, but plan on cutting at least four or five more.  We'll see if I actually get those done.

These are about 8" x 12" and may be hung or set on a table.

See a Theme in My Decorating?

Who'd guess you can find all these cycling Santas?  These aren't all of them in my home, but these are my favorites.