I love the complexity of coffee filter snowflakes, cut from simple folds and repetition of shapes, something so delicate, and beautiful is created. It’s sad to have to take down those happy little adornments as we transition out of the holidays and wintery scenes. Why not think of a more seasonally appropriate way of creating something as complex and festive, but with a modern twist, and a little larger for more fun? Enter, giant papercuts! These take maybe an hour or so to make, just a little bit of time, and some space to paint and voila, a super fun geometric backdrop!

Materials needed: 36″ roll of white craft paper, scissors, spray paint, masking tape

Step 1: roll out and cut several lengths of craft paper. We cut ours to 6′, 5′, 4′, and a scrap of about 2′. Rolls of paper come in various lengths, so measure the space you wish to hang these and make sure you don’t need to buy two rolls to make sure there’s enough pieces!

Step 2: for each sheet, accordion fold the length of the paper to about a 3-4″ width. Making sure the folds are aligned before creasing is important for consistent cut shapes.

Step 3: trace out the shapes you wish to cut, rulers help to guide straight lines for triangles and rectangles, while using the lid of a spray paint can makes for great circle stencils.

Step 4: cut out the stenciled shapes, then unfold. It’s a little challenging to refold and add more cuts, but not impossible if the sheet is not complex enough.

Step 5: spread a plastic tarp in a well ventilated area. Lay out the paper pieces, weighing them down may be necessary with either the extra spray cans or small stones. Completely cover the sheet for a solid finish of spray paint, but a different color for each. If you are using brown craft paper instead of white, several coats will be necessary. Allow time to dry.

Step 6: Once dry, suspend paper panels by using small strips of masking tape and layer on a wall, or hanging rod for a little more depth in the layering.