Cutting
By Angie Felix

Are you cutting challenged? Can’t cut straight lines? Frustrated by cutting around circles, ovals or scallop tags?

Cutting doesn’t have be such a challenge. Realistic Scrapper LeNae Gerig recommends slowing down and taking your time. “The more you practice, the better you’ll get,” she says. LeNae attributes her quick cutting skills to lots and lots of experience. Here’s a little advice on cutting from LeNae and Paper Engineer Susan Cobb.

Long Straight Lines
For long cuts, personal paper trimmers are perfect. In one quick stroke you can cut a nice straight edge, perfect for cropping a photo, creating a mat, or trimming down a paper up to 12” long.

Most trimmers come with built-in swing-arm rulers to help you measure and align. Trimmers also have a firm straight edge on each side for you to line your paper up against. While it is tempting to just place a small piece of paper in the center of the trimmer to cut it, you won’t get a straight line that way. Line up your paper flush against the ridge instead. If your cutter is bending or tearing the paper rather than cutting through it, you need to replace the blade.

LeNae points out that although personal trimmers are great for most straight-line needs, they do have their limitations. Because of the width of the ruler the trimmer’s blade is in, it’s very difficult to cut papers that are an inch-wide or less. Trimmers are also hard to use to cut off any less than 1/8” of paper. For small cuts like this, LeNae and Susan both recommend using an X-acto® knife with a straight-edge ruler and cutting mat.

Cutting Small Shapes
To cut out small shapes or intricate designs such as embossed paper charms, Susan suggests using a pair of small 5” scissors. Fiskars and CutterBee both make small, sharp scissors great for little cuts.

To get close on intricate designs, it’s best to cut in from one side, then turn the paper and go in from the other side, Susan says. This technique is easier than cutting in from one side and having to turn small corners with the scissors. Small intricate pieces can easily be bent this way.

Cutting Circles
Susan likes to use larger scissors (8 1/2”) to get longer cuts when cutting circles larger than 2” or so. She also recommends using the back part of the blade rather than the front tip of your scissors. This produces a better, smoother cut because you won’t have to actually lift your scissors to complete the cutting, meaning less chance for leaving small points in your circle.

To cut circles with ease, hold the paper in your left hand and turn it while cutting with your right hand (the opposite if you’re left-handed). You’ll naturally need to turn the paper faster than you cut it to keep up because of the long blade. Practice is the key, but if you have difficulty, remember you can always buy a circle punch.

X-Acto® Knives
For some cuts, X-acto® knives and straight-edged rulers work best. For example, trimming a fine piece off the edge of a paper—if the cut is smaller than 1/8”, it’s too small for a personal paper trimmer. X-acto® knives also work great for templates. Trace a template design such as a Diamond Fold, then use the ruler and knife to cut it out. The X-acto® is Susan’s favorite cutting tool because it can be a lot more accurate. For tips on using an X-acto®, check out “Making the Cut”

Buying and Caring For Your Scissors
Susan recommends buying a reputable brand of scissors as typically cheaper brands don’t last long. She also suggests testing them out in the store, if possible. The scissors should cut very smoothly with no hang-ups or dragging and not be too loose or too tight.
If you frequently cut surfaces that are glued or sticky, use Undo or another adhesive remover periodically to wipe the residue from the scissors and keep them from sticking.