Mother Hen Paper Cut (Free Printable Silhouette)

March 2, 2015 · by · in Tutorials

When I was little (so little I can barely remember) my mom designed and sold doll’s dresses. I liked playing with the fabric scraps in her stash as much as looking at the pretty things she actually made. There was always a room dedicated to crafting in our house.

My mother didn’t teach me to make; she showed me.

It’s Mothering Sunday in a couple of weeks. This little paper cut is a quick way to give thanks!

Materials

The Mother Hen silhouette has been designed to fit 7″ x 5″ frames:

Download the Mother Hen silhouette pattern PDF

Cutting board and sharp art/craft knife
Paper for silhouette (I find thinner paper easier to cut!)
Pattern to transfer + carbon paper
Optional: Round tip tweezers

Some Paper Cutting Tips

It’s OK to cheat a bit and fix your mistakes. I use coated paper (white on the back and black on the front), and the white edges can make thin cuts for words look messy. Ink fixed it!
Cut from the middle out. E.g., cut out the little space between the chicks legs before cutting the outer lines to make their bodies.
Cut toward yourself in small, measured movements. It helps to have a small cutting board that you can rotate instead of rotating the paper itself.
Use a sharp blade. It’s easier to snag the paper and get ragged edges if the blade is dull. (I admit I didn’t have the sharpest blade when cutting this time!)
Never pull or rip off pieces. When a corner is being fiddly, you can use tweezers to hold down the paper you’re cutting and make sure you don’t cut too far.