dying for Halloween die cuts

via halloween_guy

I've decided this year that we will become Halloween people. Try as I might to diminish it - Christmas and Thanksgiving are stressful. There is too much traveling, too much spending, too much stuff you HAVE to do. Halloween doesn't seem to have all those trappings and family obligations. It also takes place during the best time of year. Plus (hello?) there is nothing better than toddler costumes and free candy. 

What's also fun about Halloween is that we get to begin from scratch. There are no inherited decorations or knickknacks that one feels obligated to bring out very year. We get to pick out our own stuff. So the first thing I started looking for are old school Halloween die cuts (also called "cut outs" or super awesome teacher bulletin board art). Yes, I'm talking about those old school double-sided posters. Corny? No doubt. Expensive? Surprisingly so for used cardboard. Worth it? Totally. Because we are Halloween people and we do Halloween right.

via Halloween Cats

via riptheskull

via space24retro

via shabbyshopgirls

via Jenna Valentine

fancy face

 

The Paperself  cut paper eyelashes are something to behold. The most intricate designs to fashion onto your lids and bat your way into the spotlight. I have no idea if they are comfortable or easy to adhere, but I do know you can find a few styles for sale at Sephora right now....

 

Images: Paperself

Have a lovely and peaceful holiday, dear readers.

via These are a few of my favourite things...

party hat artist extraordinaire

Artist Stuart McLachlan is an illustrator. He is an illustrator who began to explore the creative opportunities in paper styling and the result is quite awesome.
His children's hats are intricate and fun pieces of visual storytelling.

Images: stuart-mclachlan

ida pearle

I was looking for Ida Pearle. I did not know it, but after seeing the above image on the album cover for Elizabeth Mitchell's You Are My Little Bird, I did some sleuthing and found out the artist for said cover was Ida Pearle. The rest of the world, it seems, was already acquainted with her, but even late to the game, I decided to post some of her art.

Her site gives a detailed explanation of her medium and methods- and who isn't charmed by the end result? The alphabet cards are my favorite, but the skater and children in the rain give them a run for their money. The gallery on her site shows many more pieces if you are interested.

 Images: ida pearle

Helen Musselwhite

Artist Helen Musselwhite specializes in paper sculpture and collage. Her work is comprised of layered, intricately illustrated, folded and cut papers. They come together to form another world, a peek at another time and space.
Her work is varied and interesting and her site has numerous galleries to browse.

I think the pieces under glass domes are incredible and even among the amazing colored works, the all white paper collages are my favorite.

Images courtesy of helenmusselwhite.com

Paper Theater

"Tranquil Morning- Two Sisters"

"He found the rarest of thistles by his rock in the wood."

"When she held her child she could walk through the forest, eyes high above the tree-tops."

"Her parents had named her Spring, yet her heart belonged to autumn..."

"The Rose Thief"

"Dreams for Weary Sailors"

"Advice from a Robin..."

Artist Elly MacKay photographs her scenes of drawn, cut, layered paper to create these curious and theatrical images. It is a fascinating process that encompasses her wide array of artistic talents. Each print is an intricate, multifaceted piece of art.

All images courtesy of theaterclouds

Stories in silhouette

There's something haunting about papercut silhouettes. There is beauty in the black and white simplicity and a gorgeous irony in the way that, somehow, a featureless image can be so striking.

My favorite papercuts are of fairy tales. That shadowy wolf in "Rotkappchen" makes me shiver, as does the witch in the window of Hansel and Gretel's candy cottage, the moment before they land themselves in her clutches.











































(Images via wackystuff)

One of my favorite Etsy artists, Elsita, has a beautiful series of prints of her original storybook papercuts. I love Alice in Wonderland the most, the white rabbit is so dignified in her illustration:






















Another amazing Etsy artist, Paperdiecut, offers these original papercuts with a charming storybook quality:













































I'm smitten with the vintage feel of these images, with their understated loveliness. And I am in awe of the steady hands that created these pieces--what a painstaking, exact art. And what a gorgeous result.