paper + scissors + me = happy

I am often accused of being childish. I prefer to interpret that as child-like. I still get wildly enthusiastic about little things. I tend to exaggerate and fantasize and embellish. I still listen to instinctual urges. I play with leaves. I skip down the street and run against the wind. I never water my garden without soaking myself. It has been after such times of joy that I have achieved my greatest creativity and produced my best work.

Leo F. Buscaglia

Ever since I got my first pair of scissors way back in kindergarten I have always loved to cut paper.   I don't know what it is, but I have always enjoyed folding up a piece of paper and making a few snips here and there and then opening it up to admire my creation.  I never made anything I would really call "art", in fact I never got much further than some intricate snowflakes ... until today.

The Munchkin was looking through this book that I recently checked out of the library. I haven't read it all, but what I'd seen so far had really got me itching to do something crafty.  When my little chickie saw an example of Scherenschnitte (ie. the German word for the art of paper cutting) and said "Mama, how did they do that?" I jumped at the chance to play with scissors.  I  mean, I figured what better way to explain something than by doing a little demonstration, right?  Roughly following a pattern in the book (I free handed the pattern rather than tracing it), I took scissors to paper and came up with this: 

So how did I do?  Personally, I was surprised it came out so good for a first try.  Just imagine what I could have done had I not been using some extremely sub par scissors and a piece of cheap construction paper.  One thing is for sure, this will not be this Mama Hen's last attempt at the fine art of Scherenschnitte ...  I am smitten!