I’ll bet you remember doing paper weavings when you were a child. My memories of this craft involves blunt-nosed scissors that you couldn’t possibly get a clean cut with, and trying to keep those cuts as straight as possible. Not the most artistic results! Now that I’m a big girl, and I get to use an exacto knife, my shapes and weavings are a bit more interesting. Although my slicings and weavings are nowhere near as intricate as Georgia Russell’s, I’m still much happier with them than the laminated woven paper placemats that I used to make!
1. Cut and decorate two pieces of paper that are approximately the same size and shape. For my piece, I cut the background paper that I made last week in half.
2. Using a very sharp exacto knife, slice one of the pieces vertically, varying the width and shape of the slices. Leave 1/4 inch still attached at the top so that all the slices stay in order.
3. Slice the other piece horizontally, all the way through, also varying the size and shape of the slices. Keep these slices in order as you cut them.
4. Weave the second set of slices, alternating under and over, onto the piece with the slices still attached. As you finish weaving each slice, push it firmly up toward the top where the uncut end is. When you are finished weaving all your slices, use the exacto knife to finish slicing through each strip at the top.
5. Attach the woven piece to a piece of card stock or other backing if needed to keep the pieces from unweaving.
Copyright 2007 Cyndi Lavin. Not to be reprinted, resold, or redistributed for profit. May be printed out for personal use or distributed electronically provided that entire file, including this notice, remains intact.
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Comments
Using a rotary cutter (the kind quilters use to cut single as well as multilayered stacks of fabric) to cut paper is quicker and easier to facilitate than an exacto knife. Try it.