I was changing the blade of my exacto knife yesterday and I began to cut some paper and I gave a silent thank you to a previous design team member for inspiring me to add some freehand cutting to my scrapbook routine. I had asked her to compile a tutorial for me and our members and I found it so awesome and easy to follow.

I wanted to share it with everyone else!!

Cutting With An Exacto Knife

By Melody Zahara

My husband swears when I pull out my exacto knife, I get so involved with cutting I loose all sense of stress around me. Can’t complain about that! I think this happens more so with my knife and I than anything else. I guess I get so involved that even my face goes through different scrunches. (good thing no ones snaps pics of that!)
I’ve even sat for hours upon hours..and ended up with a calice on my finger. So remember to take breaks..or you’ll end up with quite a sore finger..geez.. when will I learn.
I love the way the 3D look adds character and dimension to a layout.
Now I tried all the fancy pansy knives on the market, but the best one that I found that works for me, is from the local craft store. It comes with 5 extra blades and the tip on them is quite fine, which is what you need to get in those tight corners and cut the overall design. So, it really doesn’t matter what knife you buy..just make sure it’s a sharp one.
When I’m shopping for my patterned paper, I look for a 3D design.
Flowers are a great one, as you can cut between the petals and add layers. You can also curl the edges up of your flowers, which adds even more dimension. You can cut out an extra flower, add a little pop dot and whalla…more dimension.
If you take a peek at the patterned paper below, you can see the design on the front with a pink background. The design becomes your 3D dimension. This is what you’re wanting to cut out.

All you need is a cutting board and a sharp knife.
The first thing I do is cut the main design out, so you’re leaving the background patterned paper.

There’s really no special way to hold your knife, just remember it’s gotta be sharp. I change my blades after 2-3 los, depending on the amount of cutting involved per lo.
Once I have completed that step, I take another look at the design, and cut out the background color/patterned paper from the design itself. Now, I don’t cut everything out, I just take out bits and pieces..as you can see in the layout below.
It’s all up to the individual on how much design they would like left.
On this particular design, I left some of the background between the design, so you can see what effect it gives.
There’s nothing really magical about cutting with an exacto knife. All that is required is a 3D design on your patterned paper, a sharp knife, and a little patience.
In the layout below, I cut out the design, inked the edges, and added the design to my cardstock background.

And in this layout, I cut out the flowers and butterflies, layered them with pop dots and curled the edges.

I hope you have enjoyed the above tutorial. I would love to see some hand cutting. Email me a layout or card where you cut a design element by hand and I will enter your name into the draw for the monthly blog prize!! thynner5@yahoo.ca

~Tara~

Tags: layout, tutorial

This entry was posted on Friday, May 30th, 2008 at 5:46 pm and is filed under Previous Posts, tutorial thursday. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.