Custom-Cut Paper

Custom-Cut Paper

Craftember ambassador, Molly Cawthorn, takes us step-by-step through how to make your own custom-cut paper…

Watch the video on our Instagram here.

Cut-offs of paper can be any size, but making your paper surfaces the size you choose is much more fun than sticking to  A1, A2, A3 standard sizing!

The great thing about cutting paper to specific sizes is that it means you can make any shape or size you want which means it can be a more interesting colour and texture than your standard sizes. I love to use pastel paper as it works well for the mixed media I use on the paper, and it also comes in many shades.

Double, triple check!

It’s important to make sure your paper is the exact size you’d like it, so make sure you mark it out with a pencil on both sides where you’d like your folds to be. When I cut my first piece in the video, I actually left a gap – just in case I had over or underestimated my measurements. This also left a space for me to put my fingers when folding the paper. 

If you’re making more than one of the same size of paper cuts, it’s really useful to make lots of measurement lines and folds to ensure the size is the same across a series of cuts. 

Once you are ready to make the fold, use a ruler or surface to keep the fold straight. It’s good to fold it over multiple times, both ways. I find using my nail right along the fold really sharpens the fold, priming it for cutting. 

Watch your fingers! 

When cutting paper, I personally like to use a serrated knife. This could be a bread knife, wooden disposable knife or something like the knife I have (I think it’s for fish!).

As you can see in my video, I use multiple angles to demonstrate the different types of edging you can get. The more parallel to the paper the knife is, the smoother the edge, and the more of an angle (90degrees to paper) the more of a rough edge you’ll get. 

Once you have finished cutting, you can rub out any initial pencil marks and there you have it! Some customised paper ready for crafting with.

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