Romantic Paper Cuttings - Louise McLaren

Usually I show just one photo for my Fab Friday post, but I have a great explanation as to why there are several today... it's because we get to see behind the scenes as Louise McLaren, a paper cutter from Perthshire, Scotland, creates this lovely "Grow old with me, the best is yet to come" paper cutting.

Lou told me she fell into paper cutting without quite knowing that was what she was doing. She often made cards to give to friends and family, but it wasn't until a couple of years ago when a friend saw her Christmas card design and told her it was a paper cutting that she learned about the art. Lou then did a Google image search and was astounded at what she saw!

She hand draws a design and does the cutting with a Swann-Morton scalpel and a 10A blade.

Lou is completely self taught and through trial and error has found the type of paper and blades that best suit her style. She loves the way paper cutting is minimalism at its finest - just a single sheet of paper - yet highly decorative at the same time.

 Cutting in progress

The step into opening a shop originated with her cousin's wedding. Lou couldn't find a gift that was quite right, so started thinking about all of those beautiful pictures she had seen, and decided to try her hand at making a personalized paper cutting for the couple. After much scribbling and sketching, her first Happily Ever After paper cutting was born. Now she frequently does commissioned pieces for weddings, anniversaries, and other special occasions, and also creates screen printings of quite a few of her designs.

Here's the reverse, all nice and neat.

Lou admits she is a complete romantic; her work often features phrases of love, courage, and fragments of poetry. She enjoys folk art and the natural world, and is especially drawn to leaves, flowers, and birds.

When the lacy paper cutting is completed, Lou sprays it with acrylic spray paint to color and strengthen the paper.

You can meet Lou in her home studio demonstrating paper cutting in this very nice Perthshire Artists video and see lots more of her designs on Etsy, Folksy, and Facebook.