Handmade craft do it yourself.
“Thanks, I have something to do that will amuse me. From tomorrow start two weeks lockdown and I want to stay focused and happy. DIY projects make me calm and now I need scissors, relaxation and creativity”.
So a customer wrote to me a few days ago.
It all starts ten days ago.
I needed to relax but at the same time to concentrate.
It is a phase of transition, not only because from summer we are coming to autumn, but after our lockdown and a period of balance of the virus, the infected begin again.
And in some parts of Europe and the world, cities are closing again and people are staying at home with their hobbies.
So another step, in this difficult and particular year.
And beyond the desire to create something with paper, I am asked to create something to pass the time to the customers.
And usually paper comes to my aid.
Love paper and paper works.
I usually get lost looking for notebooks whose paper is good for both writing and drawing.
That are of design, that have a certain measure, that are ecological.
They convince me that they are ecological but they pass the watercolor test, ink pen, fast writing without getting stained or losing hours to dry.
That they have covers that are not too rigid but not too soft either.
That they can be folded without losing the sheets.
That have vintage colors but nothing childish. That have some motivating phrases but without lingering on things already seen and read.
I confess, is one of my weak points.
If you want to win me, give me a notebook with these features.
I bought some notebooks for my paper projects.
But in the meantime, I wanted to celebrate the end of summer and capture the sun’s rays in something I could hang at home on cold winter days.
Summer starts soon on the other side of the world, but even for those who have just closed summer 2020, there is a need for beauty, light and color for the coming months.
No one knows what we will face in the coming months.
Creating is the only solution to improve life.
Creating is an act that revolutionizes life, makes it better, makes you look for beauty and balance, helps you change your perspective.
Designing with paper, cutting out sheets of paper, drawing on paper so it’s a great meditation exercise to find your center.
I can see it from the fact that I forget who I have around me, my breath slows down, time stops and I see only the paper and the colors.
When I work this way, new ideas come in.
Because I am not looking for them.
Imagine what it means for a person in lockdown to be able to forget the walls of the house, time, stress.
That’s the goal that I hit, when they write to me that they used my drawings to improve their lives.
Light is the summer paper work.
I looked for my smooth paper cards and drew a paper sculpture. Both with rigid and movable legs. The same for the arms. The body flooded with flowers and leaves and the first verses of a poem of mine.
The black and white version was then enriched with the color version, which is a Mediterranean jubilation of flowers and leaves and bright colors.
My friends who subscribed to the newsletter received the black and white paper doll as a gift and some of them are decorating their studio, the house, gave it to friends.
It is amazing to see when one of your works enters into the lives of others and together you create something beautiful and different.
“Light is the summer” paper doll is first of all an idea to decorate your home, but I would say your life.
It is not only cutting out, it is also choosing colors, deciding how to assemble it, whether to hang it on a wall, on a lamp, print it in many copies and make a garland. Or drawing the contours like a stencil on a wall.
It is big enough to add collage, decorations on the head and body.
Easy to print and cut out, it is big enough for those who do not have great manual skills.
You can also choose to print the two versions, or just one.
The pdf file contains both versions and other designs to decorate: stars of different colors and tags to dedicate a thought to a friend.
The tags are not strictly related to the paper doll, so a gift, additional for other uses.
The end of summer, the lockdown, creativity, this strange year.
The ideas with paper, the house full of paper decorations, after all tell us that with very humble materials, cheap and that we all have at home, you can change the face of a sad day, an oppressive place.
Also cut, paste, assemble, coloring freshly printed shapes is fast, practical, fun.
And I think I have kept two promises with this job: to pass the time to customers forced to stay at home, or to enjoy the weekends of customers stressed by the weekly work.
But also relax, meditate and concentrate.
Making your own paper projects is wonderful, don’t you think?
