Creative, economical gift
Say “cut and paste” to today’s tech-savvy kids, and they’ll think you are talking about rearranging and editing photos, images and documents on their computers.
But to Northeastern University art student Helen Schroeder, “cutting and pasting” typically means spreading out good-old basic supplies of paper, scissors and glue on the kitchen table to create eye-catching handmade paper art.
Helen’s ideas for her paper art evolved last summer after Saturday-morning bike rides around town. Her destination was often the lively and colorful downtown farmers market.
As she wandered the stalls of flowers, vegetables and fruit, Helen was meticulously choosing eggplant, heirloom tomatoes and chard that would be the subject for a still-life picture.
She translated the look of the produce with cut out paper shapes, glued and layered one on top of the other.
She scanned her “artworks” into the computer, printed copies out on her color printer onto blank note cards, and voila! Instant holiday gifts wrapped in ribbon for the family.
It’s not too early for you and your kids to get started making paper art for a creative and economical family holiday greeting card or for packets of note-card gifts.
Here’s what you’ll need:
•A photo of the subject matter of your artwork, such as your house
•A sheet of 8 1/2-by-11-inch patterned paper for the background of the picture, found in the scrapbooking section of craft stores
•Assortment of solid-color paper
•Pencil
•Scissors and X-acto knife (for teen or adult use)
•Glue stick
Here’s the fun:
1. Using the photo as a guide, draw the shapes of the objects on the colored paper. For example, for a “From our House to Your House” holiday card, draw the shapes of your house, door, windows, chimney, etc.
Cut out the shape of a Christmas tree and small round ball shapes for decorations. Helen suggests using solid colors that coordinate with the colors of the background sheet.
2. Cut out shapes and glue on the background sheet to compose the picture.
3. Scan and print on paper or blank note cards on a color copier.
4. Sign and date the art print, or put your own hallmark on the back of the smaller note cards.