Next Time I Will Pick A Simpler Hobby
So. It's December. I figured I'd better put something Christmas-y up in the apartment... only seeing how this is my first Christmas away from home, I pretty much have no decorations. Being the person that I am, I figured I'd make something rather than buying - and being the cheap person I am, I decided to make that something from paper... So I sketched out an idea. Something small - a Christmas wreath:
(Please excuse the crappy image quality - I'm a bad photographer)
1 Free Saturday, 2 sheets of A3 paper, 7 Hours and 3 episodes of Stargate Atlantis (damn you S4 finale cliffhanger!) later:
(The yellow ruler is 15 cm; click through to see the large version)
Blehhhh! NOTE TO SELF: Next time you pick up a new hobby -- save yourself the insanity and start with something simple! Can't feel my fingers -- but I think it was worth it!
Detail of the 'Merry Christmas', which you can't really see but was fun to do anyway (I do like the 'C', though):
The bow - my favourite part:
The leaves - they stand up!
Baubles - they look cool, but cutting paper string is damn difficult! (Yeah, a bit of sticky tape went into this part...)
I originally wanted to do a paper sculpture wreath (kinda like paper tole - you build up layers of 'shaped' paper) but that was too difficult, so I went with paper cutting instead. If you google 'kirigami', 'Scherenschnitte' or just 'paper cutting' you'll see tonnes of absolutely incredible works out there. Seriously, some of the images just blow your mind - it's amazing how many tiny details people can cut: [Link 1], [Link 2]. If you are particularly talented you can sing and papercut at the same time: [Link 3]. O_o
Construction-wise, I basically just sketched out the main features - the ribbon (which you can't really see, but it's wrapped around the wreath), bow, holly and text. Then I kinda made up the swirls and other details (candle in the 'A', stars...) as I went along. There's a couple of mistakes in there - if you notice them you've got too much time on your hands ;)
Now I just need to find something to back it on... Trying to decide between: a) Black; b) Red; c) Green; d) Green (for the wreath) and red (for the ribbon)... Opinions?
EDIT: Now with more colours!
(Please excuse the crappy image quality - I'm a bad photographer)
1 Free Saturday, 2 sheets of A3 paper, 7 Hours and 3 episodes of Stargate Atlantis (damn you S4 finale cliffhanger!) later:
(The yellow ruler is 15 cm; click through to see the large version)
Blehhhh! NOTE TO SELF: Next time you pick up a new hobby -- save yourself the insanity and start with something simple! Can't feel my fingers -- but I think it was worth it!
Detail of the 'Merry Christmas', which you can't really see but was fun to do anyway (I do like the 'C', though):
The bow - my favourite part:
The leaves - they stand up!
Baubles - they look cool, but cutting paper string is damn difficult! (Yeah, a bit of sticky tape went into this part...)
I originally wanted to do a paper sculpture wreath (kinda like paper tole - you build up layers of 'shaped' paper) but that was too difficult, so I went with paper cutting instead. If you google 'kirigami', 'Scherenschnitte' or just 'paper cutting' you'll see tonnes of absolutely incredible works out there. Seriously, some of the images just blow your mind - it's amazing how many tiny details people can cut: [Link 1], [Link 2]. If you are particularly talented you can sing and papercut at the same time: [Link 3]. O_o
Construction-wise, I basically just sketched out the main features - the ribbon (which you can't really see, but it's wrapped around the wreath), bow, holly and text. Then I kinda made up the swirls and other details (candle in the 'A', stars...) as I went along. There's a couple of mistakes in there - if you notice them you've got too much time on your hands ;)
Now I just need to find something to back it on... Trying to decide between: a) Black; b) Red; c) Green; d) Green (for the wreath) and red (for the ribbon)... Opinions?
EDIT: Now with more colours!