Schrenschnitte

A 3-D Schrenschnitte

Schrenschnitte (shear'en-schnit-tah) is a German word for scissor cuttings, the ancient craft of cutting paper into decorations. Laurie Williams taught us how to make some three-dimensional designs which are great for hanging on a Christmas tree or standing on a mantlepiece. Some can be used for greeting cards or luminaries. It is somewhat difficult to find free patterns online, but if you use your imagination, you can use create your own patterns from line or block drawings. One of the main things is to use the right kind of paper for the task. Card stock is a bit too thick to cut two images at once for the three-dimensional pieces. You should use a 65# weight paper for these. You cut the pattern in half, fold two sheets of paper in half and staple the pattern to the paper so it won't shift. You then follow the pattern to cut out the design. Then you sew the two pieces together on a sewing machine. You use the thread at the end as a hanger. Card stock is great for the free-standing pieces, and parchment works great for greeting card embellishment. You must use sharp cuticle scissors, and if there are lots of inner cuts, you should use a self-healing mat and exacto knife to make the cuts. The snowflakes you made as a child were similar to this, but for this, you use a pattern. I found an Alice in Wonderland pattern I'm getting ready to try.

Laurie shows how to sew the pieces together.

Crafters are deep in thought on their Schrenschnitte.

Sewing Cards

In May, we learned how to make truly unusual and exquisite greeting cards by actually sewing on the cards themselves. It is the same technique you used as a kid with the little punched sewing cards and shoelaces. But it is on a much more elaborate scale and is much more complicated to orchestrate. First you position your pattern on your cardstock and styrofoam base. Then you punch holes on the card with a sharp needle to develop your pattern and use embroidery thread to sew the designs. You can also embellish with beads or combine your design with paper punch borders. The designs here were created by Arbra Gibson from the Cane Creek Club. She shared her expertise with us, and we all made a card like this first one. We'll have to practice to be able to master these other designs.

A beaded card

A beautiful dove with punched border

Our state's flower with punched border