Scherenschnitte Mother and Child

So this is what writing a blog is like, you never know what you'll be posting next. At least that's how it's going for me. The theme of Mother and Child is a favorite one for me and this is a papercutting (also called "Scherenschnitte" - did I spell that right?) of a mother playing with her little daughter. I made it to express the joy of having my daughter. This papercutting has a partially symmetrical design. The banner on the top border can have a verse or can be personalized with the names of mother and daughter.

The craft of papercutting has been done for many years in many countries all over the world. According to my research, one of the earliest known papercuttings is from China and dates back to 960 A.D. In Germany and Pennsylvania, Scherenschnitte (pronounced shair-en-shnit-teh) was a popular folk art in the 1800s. 'Scherenschnitte', which literally means 'scissors-cutting', was used to decorate birth and marriage certificates and Christmas decorations.

All you need for creating scherenschnitte is time, patience, a steady hand and a few inexpensive supplies. The designs can range from small, simple ones to intricate,detailed 'masterpieces' and once you learn the craft you can experiment with various papers, colors, frames and projects. You can make your own unique frameable gifts, cards, invitations, notecards, and many more projects with this simple craft.