Blast from the Past: Decorative Scissors

In the above layout, decorative scissors were used

to mat the photos as well as for the borders.

Strips were cut and laid parallel to each other.

Stamps and stickers were used for the embellishment.

In this heritage layout, thin strips of cardstock were folded,

then cut carefully to get a double side-by-side design.

It was a more difficult technique, but can be very pretty.

When I first started scrapbooking, there were very few materials available. Punches, decorative scissors, stickers, cardstocks and patterned papers were our main resources. Even with such limited resources, it was possible to make attractive layouts.

At first, decorative scissors were used on the photos themselves. I seriously regret ever doing that to any of my pictures. It distracted from the photos instead of enhancing. However, once I started using the fancy scissors for other things, I was very happy with the results. Even years later, I still love these simple but elegant layouts.

The decorative scissors took more time to do, since you had to cut carefully to have it look good. Most people didn't have the patience for it, and decorative scissors fell into disfavor. I was skilled at using them and even taught classes on how to use decorative scissors. I eventually stopped using them simply because I had used them so much that I got tired of the look.

It might be fun to try them again, though, and see if I can make a new, up-to-date layout with decorative scissors and be happy with the results.