Scherenschnitte is the art craft of intricate paper cutting. It was carried to America by German and
Swiss immigrants during the late seventeenth century. Many of these immigrants settled in the Lancaster county area of
Pennsylvania and were fleeing religious persecution from their homelands. Symbols of faith were common in German
Scherenschnitte, and were often circular in design,
featuring hearts, flowers, birds, and other animals. This paper-cutting
art form was used to convey love messages towards God, as well as by men to express
love towards their sweethearts. Many
Scherenschnitte cards contained
verses or other expressions of love and is the
forerunner of today's Valentine's Day card! In fact,
Hallmark Cards owns a collection of Scherenschnitte art and their artists continue
to use them today for inspiration.
To make a traditional Scherenschnitte paper cutting, the
paper is marked with half a design, then folded in half and the
paper is snipped away bit by bit until only the design is left. Tiny cuts create
fancy edges or holes in the paper to decorate the picture. Many 19th century
paper cuttings were mounted on dark colored backgrounds to show off the silhouette design.
To make the Scherenschnitte
Valentine Heart above, you will need: a white paper doily, black paper 8.5" x
11" folded in half, heart shaped red paper. Fold doily paper
in half, cut a half of a heart design out that will fit onto the front of the
folded black paper. Unfold the doily to reveal the whole heart design and mount onto black paper. On the inside of the black paper you will mount a red
paper
heart with these words printed on it:
For God so loved (write
person's name) that he gave his only beloved Son,
so that (write
person's name)
will not perish but will have eternal life.
-- John 3:16 --
Copyright
2001 S.A. Keith -- ALL RIGHTS RESERVED www.SundaySchoolNetwork.Com
If you use this resource, or any of the other resources in the
site,
then please become a
Ministry
Support Partner!
