My, how ancient was the last time I posted here? The past months had been crazy busy with work (and a bit of travel) on the side that I hadn’t used my trusty craft knife for weeks. This week is a different story, though, as I had to finish 3 commissions which were all needed urgently… but that would be for a different post.
So I was browsing through my phone’s photos and I saw this papercut which I made more than a month ago. I like the design (credits to Tina Tarnoff) because it silently tells the start of a love story, with cupid aiming his arrow at the couple.
This was to be given as a wedding anniversary present so I incorporated the name of the couple to customize it.
You must wonder where and how I got the title for this post. It’s a song which I like very much (just the intro itself is a beauty) by the band The Mostar Diving Club. Listen to the song here:
Whenever I am commissioned for a project to be given as a gift, my clients always inform me who the recipient is. While this information is something that they voluntarily give, I find it helpful in coming up with the details concerning the design and overall look of the project. For instance, if the recipient is a teenage girl who is very feminine, floral designs and pink frames are a safe choice; while if it is for a guy, the color scheme would normally consist of earth and neutral tones, and geometric lines for the design.
For this project, I was contacted through e-mail. I can’t explain it, but I get really kilig whenever someone I don’t personally know contacts me for a commission. Must be the amateur crafter in me. Haha. Anyway, as I was saying, my client for this project requested a few lines from a song by Jason Mraz and a sketch of his (Mraz’s) face in one of his albums to be included in the papercut.
I was more than willing to accept the project not only because I am a Mraz fan myself (and I love this song to bits and pieces), but also because I was told the papercut will be given as an anniversary gift to her husband. To be asked to make a personalized gift for a special someone — my favorite. I feel like Cupid, only with a crafting knife and pencil in hand, instead of bows and hearts. =) Oh, and fully clothed of course! Haha!
So… Here is the project:
When my client first told me that the project is a song by Jason Mraz, I just knew the project must be all-white. I don’t really know why this immediately came to mind, I just thought this would give the desired effect I want on the project. Plus, it’s for a male recipient — I didn’t want too many colors. Looking at how it turned out, my instinct couldn’t have been more spot on 😉
Here’s the video, for those of you who might not be familiar with the song. I was lucky enough to watch Mraz perform this song in his concert in Manila last year. Such a talented artist, this man.
Before the festivities are over and gifts are unwrapped, allow me to greet you a Merry Christmas!!!! I do hope you are where you want to be right now, that is, with your family and loved ones.
Now, back to business 🙂 This is a project I’ve been meaning to share in my blog but couldn’t because my client requested not to have this posted before Christmas (the papercut will be given as a gift to her friend). And since I couldn’t wait a day after Christmas to post this, here it is:
“The greatest gift is a portion of thyself.”
Here’s a much clearer photo (but with a cream background which I replaced later on):
I don’t know if it can be seen through the photo, but if you look closely, I’ve framed it in a way that the papercut is embossed over the background. Here’s how I did it:
(Top) Glass – Papercut – Acetate – Mounting material – Background.
If you have your own frame-maker (which I don’t), it doesn’t have to be this complicated. You can just have him customize a frame and mount it for you. I substituted acetate for glass as I needed a thin material that the frame could hold. I couldn’t find a thick enough double-sided tape at home so I folded strips of black paper instead as my mounting material. Besides, the dark paper helped in concealing the mount since the papercut is also black. For the background, I used a semi-hologram board paper in lilac with astral print. It just so happened that I have this paper lying around in my room and thought it was perfect in creating that “holding hands in the twilight” feel to the artwork. 🙂
You might wonder why the title of this blog entry is so far off from the papercut. Well, it is. It’s just my way of getting all emo in bidding goodbye to the Christmas season. 😛 And it’s also the title of a song I like which I first heard on Chuck. The song doesn’t have an official video so the one below shows clips from the TV series instead (which I certainly do not mind). Hope you’ll like it as much as I do.
Were you one of those kids who used to make cards for their parents on special occasions, or sometimes, for no reason at all? Well, I was. I was thinking of a crafting idea the other day and came up with these pick-me-up cards. I call them as such as anyone would appreciate being a recipient of this long-lost tradition of card-giving. Anyone with a heart, that is. 😛
I added a white paper and lined each one with washi tape for that special touch.
What do you guys think? I’m thinking of putting them up for orders too. 🙂
Papel de Pinay 