Paper

My first two scherenschnitt pieces were made using some basic origami paper that the Ham was kind enough to give me from her stash. However once these two were started, I knew I was going to need some different paper. First of all, the quality is only so-so and the weight thin enough to make cutting without crumpling a challenge. So I made a run to our neighborhood art/craft store for some more. Talk about spoiled for choice! They had all kinds of paper, from art papers to craft papers, in various sizes and weights. They had a huge selection of scrapbook papers printed with patterns from the sublime to the ridiculous.

In fact that was a bit of a problem. I found myself completely blocked as to what kind / quantity / color / weight / size of paper to get. And this was in a tiny shop! I can only imagine how much worse it would have been at the giant art store. I could feel myself getting tense about it. After all, once I spend like $2 on a sheet of beautiful paper (as opposed to making due with some stuff from my kid's stash) well that makes it all official. What if I screw up?

Well, just before I completely gave up I saw a pack of papers. Thirty sheets of a random mix of 8x10 inch paper for $10. I grabbed it and retreated before I could think too hard. Actually, it was the perfect thing for me to have done. Except for the top and bottom sheets in the pack, I had no idea what I was getting. And while not everything is going to work, I got a lot of wonderful papers that have really sparked some good ideas for projects.

Some are thicker and some paper thin. Some of the really thin ones are quite beautiful though, with flower leaves and plant matter in the paper. The next one I chose was a thick dark green paper with bits of wood pulpy stuff in it. It's thin enough to cut but has a great texture.

Most are papers I wouldn't have thought to choose. Others are very different from what I'd seen in the rest of the store. So by relaxing and just going with it and letting fate take a hand, it worked out really well.