Template Tuesday - Girl & Chick

Okay, guys, I put time limit restrictions on my phone, so expect to see great things here! Today's Template Tuesday is a simple one. It's of a girl and a little chick. I see that I've been labeling her as Girl and Bunny though and that must be because it's been a long day. If I keep up with the templates, expect to see some Easter, one or two St. Patrick and a few Mother's Day templates over the next little while.

Here's what the template looks like. The trickiest part are the little legs of the chick. Keep your blades sharp and cut from the corner areas outward! That's all the advice I have to give.

Here's the link for the free (but not for commercial use) template: Girl & Chick

Come Follow Me - Matthew 1 & Luke 1

Come Follow Me - Week 2 - Matthew 1 & Luke 1

I have been obsessed with Felicitas Kuhn's art lately and thought I'd try my hand at illustrating something like her. If you want to cut these out and narrate the story to your children of Mary, Joseph, Elisabeth, Zacharias and the visiting angel Gabriel, be my guest!

Template Tuesday - He Is Risen

Two weekends ago, I spent almost the whole weekend on the couch listening to Conference. I enjoy it because I get to sit for basically 8 uninterrupted hours and draw. Sometimes I sleep though. For 4 of those hours I got in a few good drawings and now you all get to benefit from that. I was thinking of doing some Easter template Tuesdays and I did the one from last week that is more secular in nature. I was thinking of more bunnies and whatnot for the next piece and then realized that Easter is not really about bunnies and egg hunts, it's about the glorious fact that the Savior rose from the tomb and in doing so, saved us all from that same death. Easter is such a beautiful holiday, one of hope and reflection and new beginnings. I hope you all get to take the time to give thanks on this next Sunday for all the Lord has done for us and remember that He lives and because of that, so can we.

This is more of a time consuming template than anything else. Be careful around the little stems around the flowers and be patient around the stems in general. Other than that, cut out the inside parts first and then the outside and you'll be fine!

Download your free template here: He Is Risen. I was thinking I'd sell these for $35 each if anyone is interested, I'll put some up on my etsy.

Joy to the World

I've been a little (okay, a lot) slackerly about posting stuff this December. All the holiday festivities got the best of me. I made up this little video though and wanted to share it with you. Hope you enjoy and hope you are having a Merry Christmas!



(From a 2010 Template Tuesday - Nativity)

Template Tuesday - Lamb of God

The gap in between Valentine's and Easter this year is quite large. Usually it seems like only a moment that those Cadbury Mini Easter Eggs are available. This year they've been around long enough for me to almost tire of them. In the barrage of pastel and bunnies and eggs, it's easy to forget the actual reason for the celebration of Easter. Because of the Son, we may live again and for Him I am so grateful.

Download the pdf of the papercutting template here: Lamb of God

Bidden or Not Bidden

A little before Christmas, I was asked to do this papercut. If you can't tell what it says, it reads, "Bidden or not bidden, God is present." Meaning to say that whether you know of Him or not, whether you want Him there or don't, He's there and that's that. There's comfort in those words for those who seek it.

Template Tuesday - Jonah

So, a little while ago, I was sitting in Sunday School and we were talking about Jonah and all I can do when I hear about Jonah is think of the song from my mission that some Pentecostals sang at a party once. It's stuck in my head and will forever be there, I think. It goes something like this:

Talkin' 'bout Daniel in the den of the lion
Jonah in the belly of the whale
Talkin' 'bout three Hebrew children in the furnace
And the fire didn't burn them.

Dang, I love that song. I found all the lyrics online a little while ago and it pleased me. So, here's my Jonah sketch from when I wasn't paying attention in class.

This is what the template would look like:

Click here to download your free papercutting template: Jonah

Template Tuesday - Creche

I'll bet you were thinking, "There's no way Cindy's going to do another template, she doesn't have any of her Christmas shopping done. How can she have time?" These are valid thoughts, but I created this last week at the same time I created the other one. Two birds with one stone!

Christmas day is almost upon us. My bishop requested that all the members of the ward read the 4 gospels and 3rd Nephi in order for us to gain a greater knowledge of Christ this Christmas season. So far I've read Matthew and Mark. It's been a wonderful refresher of who exactly He is and what He has done for us. I hope we can all get to know Him a little bit better this season.

This is what the template looks like. Be careful around the star! Cut the gray areas out first!
Download here: Creche

Template Tuesday - Nativity

Every year for Christmas, I have this grand ambition to cut out a life-sized Nativity silhouette from wood and place it in my front yard. I sketched out a possible Mary, Joseph, Baby Jesus scene in church and that's about as far as I got with it this year. It's closer than I got last year! I hope you are all enjoying this holiday season and for those of you who believe that our Savior was born a little over 2,000 years ago, that you are remembering Him in your hearts at this time. Merry Christmas!

Above is what the template looks like. You can download the pdf of it here: Nativity. Remember to try and cut out the inner parts first. For the halo, cut from the inner points of the stars, outward. Enjoy!

Humbly Kneeling, Sweet Appealing

I've been buying up dome glass thing at thrift stores a lot lately to make a series of 3D papercuts. I keep buying the domes and not using them. My church had a Relief Society dinner a few weeks ago and I needed to do a centerpiece. I thought it would be the perfect time to create something with these jars. I didn't know it was a competition and I won for most creative! My goal for all these is to do heavenly visitations, and not just those from the LDS religion. I would like to do visitations from the Old and New Testaments, from Catholic saints and from non-Christian religions. Do any of you have favorite stories of people who have had a brush with the divine?

Because They Have Taken Away My Lord

This is one that I've been thinking about for quite some time and I'm sure I'll revisit the theme again. The scene depicts the moment directly after Mary has seen two angels within the sepulcher and they asked her, "Woman, why weepest thou?" She replies, "Because they have taken away my Lord." She turns from them and looks into the garden and sees a man standing there who she identifies as the gardener. From that moment, to me, happens one of the most beautiful interactions in the scriptures. John 20:11-16

Note: These new pieces are all on display at the Terra Nova Gallery.

Template Tuesday - Easter Cross with Lilies

Yes! I made it. I got invited to go to Taco Tuesday with some friends and almost didn't go because I thought, "No, I haven't done my template for the day." But then I thought that I should get a life. So I went and it was fun and now I'm posting this in the last minutes of the day.

This is the second of three papercut templates I'm doing with the theme of Easter. I wanted to do a secular and a religious themed one. It seemed a no-brainer to do a bunny papercut. The cross theme for Easter is pretty universal as well as the Easter Lilies. I like how this turned out. It may look tricky, but if you have patience and take your time, it will be pretty easy to do.

Here's what the template will look like:
Download Easter Cross with Lilies papercut.

Remember, first cut out the gray area. The dotted line goes on the fold. Do not cut anything on the dotted line. Once you've cut out the gray areas, cut out the outer edge.

Woman at the Well

I've been sitting on this one for a while. It's been in my sketchbook and I finally got around to cutting it. This papercut is of the account of the woman at the well found in John 4:7-30. The Savior asks her to draw some water for Him from the well. She asks Him how He could request this of her since she is a Samaritan and the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans. He replies that if she knew who was before her, she would ask water of Him. She doesn't get it and He expounds some more. Still she doesn't get it and He tells her to go fetch her husband. She tells Him she doesn't have one and He replies, "No kidding, you have five." Finally she gets it and understands who sits before her. Sometimes I feel like that is what happens in my life. There are so many examples of God's abundance all around and I trudge through thinking about me and how sucky my life is and in reality, all I need to do is trust in the Lord and do as He says and everything will turn out all right. Maybe not in this life, and I really hate that answer, but in the life to come. As for me and my house, I'm pretty happy and grateful for all that I have received so far, I really can't complain.

Woman With An Issue of Blood

One of my favorite passages in the scriptures is the story of the woman with an issue of blood. She'd been coupled with the disease for some twelve years and upon touching the hem of the Savior, was made whole. He acknowledged this and told her that it was her faith that had cured her. This papercut depicts the moment when she touches his garment and he is not yet aware of what has happened. The woman's desire to be rid of the affliction and all the hope inside of her resides in this one brief moment.

"For she said within herself, If I may but touch his garment, I shall be whole."
Matthew 9:21