Papel Picado

In Spanish, “papel picado” means “punched paper”. And in cities like San Antonio with cultures highly influenced by Hispanic traditions, papel picado plays a colorful, festive roll in decorating for events, whether at home or on a grander public scale.To create the design of choice, the paper artist uses a crescent-shaped hand tool and mallet to cut the paper to create the negative space of the design. It takes a long time, a good eye and an impossibly patient personality to complete the details in the design. San Antonio artist Kathleen Trenchard is a pro, and she offers some fun notecards and home decor on her site Cut-it-Out. The bulk of her work, though, is custom commissions.