Guest Post-Kalani Cropper

One of my favorite aspects of the blogosphere is the community. I'm sure there are some nasty souls out there, but I've only met the nicest ones. I took an amazing on-line class called Blogging Your Way with Holly Becker (Decor8, HausMaus) and Leslie Shrewring (A Creative Mint) last year. Not only was I inspired to blog to the best of my ability, but I met a lot of other inspirational bloggers and have joined a most supportive and friendly community.

That is how I met Kalani, who authors her blog of life's beautiful details and craft projects called Kalanicut. She was kind enough to share a bit of herself and her charming torn paper art in today's guest post. I thought the torn paper was such a wonderful way to use decorative paper that I decided to add to this post by offering a pack of my very beautiful decorative paper. I use and keep all the scraps left over from invitation projects and crafting projects and I've amassed quite a beautiful collection of silkscreened Chiyogami and graphic prints. I'll be giving away 3 fat packs to the first 3 readers who leave a comment. Please send me your address via email and I'll send it out to you!

Hit it Kalani...

The Simplicity & Delicacy of Torn Paper Art

Hi. I am so happy to have a chance to guest here at Margot Madison Creative. I thought I would share the art of torn paper today. Torn paper art is simply tearing all the shapes by hand, rather than using scissors, punches or other instruments. I first started doing paper art with construction paper in college. Since then I have used it when babysitting small children, teaching at The Art Farm (a children’s art program I founded), as family Thanksgiving Day entertainment and professionally to make notecards and larger pieces of art.

It is amazing what a group of people can come up with in a torn paper art session. It’s an art form that even people who don’t feel they are creative can lose themselves in, which brings me a lot of joy to see. I have seen everything from pop up notecards to broad landscapes and 3D structures. Paper is an amazingly flexible medium - you can tear it, fold it, bend it and glue it into endless formations.

When the scrapbook paper industry began to boom I graduated up to enjoy the full spectrum of colors and patterns it has to offer.  This past year two of my most challenging projects were contributing a torn paper art piece to the BlogHer/Kirtsy Gulf Auction  and creating a “portrait” of my little clan.

To make the large flower seen above you only need to be able to tear paper teardrop shapes in varying sizes and then tear three circular shapes.

Thanks so much Kalani! I love that spring flower and how it dresses up a gift (and the flower is a gift in itself!) I'm imagining how great it would look on a spring wreath too. Hmmm....somebody's mother might be getting a special torn paper something from her crafty daughter for Mother's Day....