I love projects that involve using an X-Acto knife. Maybe it’s because I like the fine detail work. Maybe it’s a remnant of the part of me that entertained the idea of becoming a surgeon so many years ago. Whatever the case may be, I really enjoy using X-Acto knives to carefully cut out shapes needed for a certain craft or project. It’s not brainless, per se (you wouldn’t want to you cut yourself!); but it’s an activity that allows me to focus on one thing rather than the millions of thoughts that would normally be running through my brain.
There are a lot of different crafts you can do with an X-acto knife. Sometimes I will simply cut out ornate shapes to just be pasted into a card, or attempt kirigami, a Japanese paper art that is sort of like “origami meets pop-up books”.
X-Acto knives are also great for cutting out stencils. Cutting out shapes on freezer paper works well for decorating t-shirts and such, as you can iron the stencil directly onto the fabric. Simply apply fabric paint or a bleach solution, and you can add any design you want.
In a similar manner, you can cut out stencils on contact paper to stick onto glassware — mirrors, wine glasses, picture frames — and use glass etching cream to create some cool designs. For my cousin’s wedding, I etched Super Mario-themed wine goblets as a gift. A silhouette of Princess Peach for her, Mario for him, and some stars, mushrooms, and ? blocks to fill out the set. They turned out really cool; I may make something similar for myself!
I have a strange fascination with the Blue Willow pattern, and started some glass etched art pieces to hang in my apartment. I was going to have these two smaller pieces (shown below) and then one large frame with the whole pattern, but I accidentally shattered the glass from the large frame that I bought (classic clumsy me!) and have not yet got around to buying a replacement.
I haven’t had much time to work on any crafting or art projects lately. I hope to be able to pick some of these things up again, maybe come summertime. There is something very satisfying about cutting out intricate patterns with an X-Acto knife. I promise to post pictures and/or how-to’s if I start to work on anything in the near future!
Do you have any cool craft ideas or hobbies that employ an X-Acto knife? Let me know in the comments!