Tips for Fussy Cutting

Some of this information was gathered from a number of websites. I asked permission of the writer if I could use the information they gave on my blog

What You Need

• Scissors: Small, sharp, fine-tip craft scissors (about 2.5 inches long) with short blades give you the best control.
• Alternative Tools: An X-Acto knife, a swivel blade knife, or a self-healing cutting mat for intricate interior spaces.

Hand-Cutting Technique

• Use Fine-Tip Precision Scissors: For fussy cutting, use scissors with fine, pointed tips. They make it easier to get into small areas and cut intricate details cleanly, especially in places where larger scissors might be difficult to maneuver.
• Always Use Sharp Scissors: Sharp scissors will give you cleaner cuts. Dull blades can leave ragged or bent edges and make cutting more difficult.
• Rough Cut Your Images First: It is much easier to fussy cut when you are working with a single image rather than a large sheet of paper. Start by trimming away the large chunks of excess paper around the image to create a smaller, more manageable piece to hold.
• There is one exception: If you are cutting out very small images, leave a little extra paper around them first. This gives you more paper to hold while you work on the details.
• Cut the Inner Areas First: If your image has inner spaces you want to cut out, such as the areas between the legs, cut those first. Then cut around the outside edge. Keeping the outer edges intact provides more support for making those inner cuts.
• Go Slowly: Take your time! The faster you cut, the more likely you are to make a mistake or accidentally cut off a part of the image you wanted to keep. Slow, careful cuts will give you better results.
• Move the Paper, Not the Scissors: Keep your dominant hand and scissors relatively steady while using your non-dominant hand to turn and guide the paper. This helps you follow the curves and contours of the image more smoothly.
• Turn the Paper at Corners: When you reach a corner or need to change direction, turn the paper, not your scissors. This helps you maintain better control, produces cleaner cuts, and reduces the chance of tearing the paper.
• Angle the Blades: Hold your scissors at a slight angle, about 20 to 45 degrees away from the paper, with the tips pointing straight ahead or away from you. This can help you maintain a smooth cutting motion and better control over your cuts.
• Decide on Your Border: Decide whether you want to cut right along the printed edge for a seamless look or leave a tiny 1/16-inch white border around the image. Leaving a small border is often more forgiving and helps hide minor hand tremors or slightly uneven cuts.
• Use the Inner Part of the Blades: Whenever possible, cut with the middle-to-back portion of the scissor blades rather than just the tips. This helps you make smoother, more continuous cuts and reduces the risk of tearing the paper.
• Finish the Edges: After cutting out your image or images, run a black marker—or a marker that matches the stamped image—along the cut edges of the paper. This helps soften the edges and gives your fussy-cut images a more finished look.

You don’t have to cut out every little detail! For example, when cutting out a person, you can choose to cut around all the little pieces of hair, cut them off completely, or leave the hair as one piece. It’s entirely up to you!

Remember, it’s your art piece, and you get to make the choices. You can even use only part of an image. If you look at some of the artwork other artists share, you may never know that they cut off part of an image to make it work for their project.

Try looking at fussy cutting as the beginning of your creative process, but also as something relaxing to do. Don’t stress about cutting out every little detail. Just relax and enjoy the process!

Personally, I tend to fussy cut an entire book, or at least most of it, when I get a new one. I like to sit down, watch TV, and fussy cut. I find it relaxing, and it’s a great way to get ready for future projects.

Then, when I’m ready to create something, I can simply go to my bins of images and find what I need without having to stop and cut everything out first!

Here is a video that I found that gives the "Best Hacks for Fussy Cutting” that I found.

If you’d like to see how I organize and store my fussy cuts so they’re easy to find, check out the link to my blog post about my “Storage Method for Fussy Cuts.”

Happy creating!

Judy

Quotes & Sayings for Art Journaling and other Creative Projects - Updated October 19, 2026

If you enjoy creating art journal pages, scrapbook layouts, handmade cards, or other creative projects, you know how helpful it can be to find just the right quote or saying to complete your design.

I used to spend so much time searching the internet and flipping through books whenever I needed a quote that captured a particular feeling, theme, or idea. Eventually, I decided there had to be an easier way!

I began collecting quotes and sayings that spoke to me and organizing them all in one place. I also gathered many of the wonderful quotes Marta included in her books and added them to my collection. That way, whenever I needed a little inspiration, I would have a variety of words and phrases ready to choose from.

Organizing My Quotes & Sayings

As my collection grew, I entered the quotes into a database and created Word documents organized by category.

Because I enjoy printing quotes and incorporating them into my journal pages and art projects, I formatted the sayings into tables. This makes them easy to print, cut apart, and arrange on a page. It also makes finding the perfect quote for a particular project much simpler!

How to Print and Organize Your Quotes

If you enjoy using printed quotes in your artwork, here's a simple way to keep them organized and ready whenever inspiration strikes.

1. Print on ivory or off-white paper. Regular paper works best, rather than cardstock, because it's easier to cut and incorporate into your projects.
2. Cut the pages into columns. After printing, cut from top to bottom between the columns of quotes.
3. Store them in page protectors. Place the cut sheets in page protectors and organize them in a binder.
4. Label each category. Add index labels along the side of the page protectors so you can quickly find the type of quote you're looking for.
5. Choose your quote and save the rest. Simply remove the quote you want to use, then return the remaining collection to its page protector for another day.

With this system, you'll have an inspiring collection close at hand whenever you're ready to create!

Access the Quotes & Sayings Collection

Some of the quotes I've collected didn't include the original author's name, so attribution information wasn't always available. I originally created this collection for my own personal use, and I don't sell my artwork.

I thought other art journal enthusiasts, scrapbookers, and artists might enjoy having access to these quotes, too, so I'm happy to share the Word documents with you!

Accessing the Quotes & Sayings Collection on Google Drive

The files are available in both Microsoft Word and PDF formats. Click the link for the format you prefer.

1. Quotes - Microsoft Word format
2. Quotes - PDF Format

I hope you'll find something in this collection that inspires your next art journal page, scrapbook layout, handmade card, or creative project. Whether you're searching for words of encouragement, a touch of humor, a meaningful sentiment, or a saying that perfectly expresses how you feel, I hope these quotes help spark your creativity.

Sometimes, the right words are just what a project needs to come together!

Happy creating!

Judy

Storage Method for Fussy Cuts - Updated October 19, 2026

I have updated the way I store both my images that have already been fussy cut and the images that haven’t been cut out yet. Because of the way my brain works, fussy cutting images only when I need them doesn’t work for me. However, I came up with a solution that works for me and keeps everything easily accessible.

This may seem like a lot of work to some people, but if you are someone who needs to be able to see what you have and find it easily, this system might work for you, too.

Since I started doing this after I had purchased a couple of books, it wasn’t a big deal for me to get everything organized. After flipping through those first couple of books over and over to find an image, I quickly became frustrated because I couldn’t remember which book I had seen it in. I can’t even imagine what it would be like now that I have all but three of Marta’s books!

Organizing the Pages from the Books

When a new book arrives, I remove all the pages and scan the book from cover to cover - Jump to Why I scan.

Then I sort the pages into categories, such as backgrounds, main images, bits and bobs, words, and so on. If a page contains images from multiple categories, I cut the page apart so I can file each section where it belongs.

I use hanging file folders labeled with the book names and store them in a rolling file cart.

I have two file drawers for storing the pages from the books. One drawer holds folders containing images, and the other holds the backgrounds.

The backgrounds are sorted by book. Within each book’s main background folder, I sort the backgrounds by size and place them in ziplock bags.

In front of the drawer that holds the backgrounds, I keep folders containing images that won’t fit into my 8.75 x 6.25-inch bins. Behind those folders, I keep the remaining images sorted by book and then by category.

For example, I have folders labeled:

1. Autumn Stories – Fairies/Kids
2. Autumn Stories – Bits & Bobs
3. Autumn Stories – Animals

This makes it much easier to find the pages I want when I’m ready to do some fussy cutting.

My System for Fussy Cutting

When I’m ready to fussy cut, I take a folder containing the images I want to cut to my chair in the front room. Then, while I’m watching or listening to my TV shows, I fussy cut the images and toss them into an empty bin.

The next day, I sort the cut images into categories and put them into the appropriate bins. Each book has at least one bin.

The bins I use are ones I buy from Dollar Tree. I generally order 12 at a time and have them delivered.

How I Organize My Fussy-Cut Images

For the most part, I organize my bins by category and book. However, there are some exceptions.

Some images can be used with any book, so it makes sense to keep them together. For things like butterflies, birds, fences, rocks, and similar items, I combine images from all the books into one bin labeled “Misc.”

That way, if I’m looking for a bird, for example, I know I can find one from any book in the Misc bin. It doesn’t have to come from a particular book—unless, of course, I want a bird dressed for Halloween!

Inside each bin, I use small snack-sized ziplock bags and small 3 x 5-inch ziplock bags, which I purchased on Amazon, to organize the smaller images. I put each type of item into its own ziplock bag. In the bins containing people, I sort the images by size and put them into separate bags. This makes it easy to find the size of image I want without having to sort through everything.

My New Way of Organizing Backgrounds and Images by Theme

Recently, I found myself getting frustrated when I was looking for a background to use for a journal page I wanted to create.

For instance, I wanted to make a Halloween page. I knew I had just the right background somewhere, but I couldn’t remember which Halloween or autumn book it was in. I was having the same problem when looking for images to use.

I decided it was time to make another change!

Over a couple of evenings, while watching TV, I went through all the file folders containing the large and small background papers from Marta’s books.

Instead of keeping everything organized only by book, I decided to combine similar themes. For example, I would put all the winter backgrounds together, all the Halloween backgrounds together, and so on.

My goal was to make it easier to find the background that fits the theme of the journal page I want to create, without having to remember which book it came from.

The little drawers on the left side are also from Dollar Tree - Small Drawers. Those hold most of the smaller tickets that primarily came out of the Junk Journaling Tickets book. Using the small drawers made it easier for me to get the color I wanted quickily & easily.

I think the pictures will help explain what I am talking about, but I am more than happy to explain it more if you need additional info.

Why I scan

One of the reasons I scan the books is so I can print out extra backgrounds or images if I am making greeting cards (to give to family/friends). The other is that I can’t do the fine hand movements to draw lines around the smallest images for my ScanNCut to easily see. So, I use a graphic program to put an outline around each image, then print it out and have my ScanNCut cut it out.

Happy creating!

Judy