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Kavya ✂️ Paper Artist

@papercutsbykavya

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✏️ I make 3D paper art inspired by my life in 🇮🇳🇦🇪🇺🇸
✨ art series: making paper look like ____
🫶🏼 goal: build my first art collection by 2027

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Most of these tools have been with me for years, which honestly feels kind of wholesome ✂️✏️✨

I am a bit of a hoarder when it comes to craft supplies and stationary so a lot of things you see in this post have been collected over the years. I still use the same ruler my mom gave me when I was in kindergarten!

People have been asking what tools I use, so here’s a little BTS look at ones use all the time!

The corporate slave in me wants to end this post with “let me know if this helps” but seriously though, I hope it does 👀 by @papercutsbykavya

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2 months ago

I realized most of you found me through one reel and have absolutely no idea who I am.

So... hi!

I’m a product manager by day, grad student by night, and paper artist whenever I can find time! I have always been creative but never really tried to established myself as an artist, until now ✨ (not sure when one can start calling themselves an artist but I believe in manifestation 💪)

For the last 6 years, I have been making handmade greeting cards at @handmadebykavya . Now, this new account is basically my creative lab where I am trying to create large scale art using cardmaking tools and creating some of my own techniques along the way!

Some experiments will work, some definitely won’t, but you’ll get to see all of it.

Thanks for following along ☀️ by @papercutsbykavya

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2 months ago

so why am I using paper?

Well I enjoy torturing myself for starters. But, I have always had fun working with my hands. No matter how much I painted or drew, the joy I’d get from a crafternoon was incomparable.

Paper art has other magical qualities too and I hope you find them out yourself through my account. Thanks for stopping by and indulging me in my lil corner of the internet! by @papercutsbykavya

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2 months ago

✨ the details ✨

Here are some closeups of my latest paper artwork of lord Balaji! Scroll through the images and captions for some behind the scene stories!

I am in love with the way the background contrasts with the jewelry and rest of the artwork. I was worried that the background would overpower the rest of the artwork but the gold ornaments stole the show imo!

Closeup of lord Balaji’s face. The artwork is layered such that it appears 3D and lifelike. The namam is the only part of the artwork that uses glitter paper so it sparkles beautifully when light hits the artwork at the right spot!

Some details of the haram. This one was challenging to design because there weren’t enough reference pictures that were clear. I had to use references for other Indian gods and goddesses but I am glad with how it turned out.

A closer look at the ear and shoulder ornament. These were the first pieces of jewelry that I started to make and the design and techniques used for these set the stage for rest of the ornaments.

I am in love with the kireetam. This was another ornament that didn’t have enough reference pictures so I had to design my own using other image sources.

The diamonds are actually made using holographic paper. You can’t tell from the pictures but this allowed me recreate the experience (color/lustre) of diamonds using just paper.

My favorite shot (and I don’t think the photo does it enough justice)✨ it’s gloomy where I live but I was able to capture my artwork in sunlight. The shadows are just 🤌🏽

… and finally in its full glory ✨
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🏷️ paper art, craft, artist, handmade, process, work in progress, making, artists, South Asian art, Indian art, original art, unique art, indian gods, crafting, diy art projects, art, Indian artists, South Asian artists paper cutting, 3D art, 3d paper art, 3d paper sculptures, pooja art, home decor by @papercutsbykavya

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23 days ago

✨ the story behind the artwork ✨

Every artwork has a story and here is mine! My family visits Tirumala almost every summer, so this piece is deeply personal to me. I wanted to bring pieces of that experience into the artwork, especially the details you notice when you are surrounded by the intricate carvings and architecture of Indian temples.

The jewelry was inspired by the traditional ornaments worn by Indian gods. I spent hours studying different designs and references before translating them into tiny pieces of paper and it made me realize how much craftsmanship goes into jewelry designs that we grow up seeing and wearing but rarely stop to think about the people who make them!

The result is my biggest paper artwork yet, and I hope you like it!

“Paper Blessings”
2026
16”x20”
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🏷️ paper art, craft, artist, handmade, process, work in progress, making, artists, South Asian art, Indian art, original art, unique art, indian gods, crafting, diy art projects, art, Indian artists, South Asian artists paper cutting, 3D art, 3d paper art, 3d paper sculptures, home decor, pooja decor, unique art, home art, Tirumala, tirupati, lord Balaji, Venkateshwara taken in Tirumala, Andhra Pradesh, India by @papercutsbykavya

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19 days ago

✨ some behind the scenes ✨

I love photography so naturally, I take a lot of pictures to document the process. Swipe to see the story behind each of them —>
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“Paper Blessings”
2026
16” x 20”

I start by making several sketches of the artwork. This helps me work out the different layers and decide how high each piece needs to be placed so that everything comes together to form the final artwork.

The kireetam/crown deconstructed 🏗️

The haram deconstructed 🏗️ (I don’t know why but there is something beautiful about looking at all the pieces before they are assembled 🙈)

All the jewelry at a glance ✨

I wasn’t ready for the amount of math involved! I had to make sure the spacers were the right height and that everything was aligned.

The first/failed iteration of the paper jewelry! I am so glad I decided to toss this out and start from scratch 🫠 by @papercutsbykavya

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18 days ago

Progress has been slow because I spent almost 2 weeks experimenting with different techniques to make the gold ornaments look realistic using paper.

At first, I spent a week making most of the jewelry and then I hated it so I started from scratch. I used techniques from tin foil embossing with metallic paper and I love how it turned out!

Here is what two weeks of paper art looks like ✨ I managed to finish the kireetam/mukut/crown.

I then spent another two weeks on rest of the jewelry. All in, I spent over 4 weeks on the jewelry! Might sound a bit crazy but it was worth it! Going to post the final reveal in a few days if things work out as I planned 🫠
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🏷️ wall art, unique art, pooja art, diy craft, paper craft, process video, art video, paper art, craft, artist, handmade, process, work in progress, making, artists, South Asian art, Indian art, original art, unique art, indian gods, crafting, diy art projects, art, Indian artists, South Asian artists paper cutting, 3D art, 3d paper art, 3d paper sculptures by @papercutsbykavya

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a month ago

My Lord Balaji paper artwork is finally complete ✨✨

(This is the third and final part of making this particular artwork)

Making the intricate jewelry out of paper alone took over a month. I actually scrapped my entire first attempt after hating how it turned out and went straight back to the drawing board to experiment until I landed on a paper embossing technique that finally felt perfect!

This is my largest paper artwork till date and when I started this account, I wanted to give myself a year to experiment with paper without worrying about failure. I knew making this artwork would be challenging and there were plenty of moments where I thought I couldn’t pull this off. But I am glad I didn’t give up!

I would love to know what you think of this final reveal!

“Paper Blessings”
16” x 20”
2026
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🏷️ paper art, craft, artist, handmade, process, work in progress, making, artists, South Asian art, Indian art, original art, unique art, indian gods, crafting, diy art projects, art, Indian artists, South Asian artists paper cutting, 3D art, 3d paper art, 3d paper sculptures, pooja decor, pooja art, wall art, home decor, unique art, activation events, artists Indian by @papercutsbykavya

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a month ago

Made some decent progress on my latest paper artwork of lord venkateshwara. Excited to see how it turns out ✨
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🏷️ paper art, craft, artist, handmade, process, work in progress, making, artists, South Asian art, Indian art, original art, unique art, indian gods, crafting, diy art projects, art, Indian artists, South Asian artists paper cutting, 3D art, 3d paper art, 3d paper sculptures , wall art, crafting videos, diy art videos, handmade gifts, living room art, unique art, pooja, Tirumala, tirupati, Balaji, govinda, devotional art, divine by @papercutsbykavya

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2 months ago

I am only 75% complete but I probably spent over 40 hours on mg latest paper artwork of lord Balaji ! Hoping to finish this artwork this weekend ✨
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🏷️ paper art, craft, artist, handmade, process, work in progress, making, artists, South Asian art, Indian art, original art, unique art, indian gods, crafting, diy art projects, art, Indian artists, South Asian artists paper cutting, 3D art, 3d paper art, 3d paper sculptures , wall art, wall decor, unique art, diy craft art, diy craft projects by @papercutsbykavya

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2 months ago

I still cannot believe the amount of love and support I got from part 1 of Lord Venkateshwara’s paper artwork. I finally managed to complete the face and body over the weekend. It took me over 6 hours to hand cut using a Xacto knife but I am excited with how it turned out.

It honestly felt like one of the scariest parts of the whole artwork. I wanted to capture the details and proportions while sticking to my own artistic style. I have always loved the distinctive eyes in traditional pichwai paintings so I decided to try the same style for this artwork and I love how it turned out.

It took me around 6 hours just to get this part together and it was hard to compress those many hours of work in under 45 seconds (and I also started working on this part before I posted my first reel so I didn’t shoot a lot of footage).

I am working on the ornaments next and there is still SO much more to add ✨
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🏷️ paper art, crafts, diy paper craft, diy paper art, , canvas art, craft, artist, handmade, process, work in progress, making, artists, South Asian art, Indian art, original art, unique art, indian gods, crafting, diy art projects, art, Indian artists, South Asian artists paper cutting, 3D art, 3d paper art, 3d paper sculptures , lord Balaji, tirupati, Tirumala, devotional, divine, wall art, mural, pooja room, god art, crafting, paper cutting, paper layering, layered paper art, handmade art by @papercutsbykavya

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2 months ago

thought you guys might be interested in seeing some behind the scenes of making lord Balaji’s face out of paper for my latest artwork! Since I am experimenting with paper art, I am writing my own rules as I go and here are some design decisions I had to make and some challenging parts of getting the fave right.

The placement of the eyes might look a bit weird right now but that’s because a ‘kireedam’ (crown) will be placed later. I usually try to save cardstock so I only cut as much as I need along with a small clearance.

Going to share a few more BTS shots over the weekend :)
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🏷️ paper art, craft, paper crafting, diy craft projects, balaji, Tirumala, tirupati, wall art, living room decor, unique art, 3D art, mural art, artist, handmade, process, work in progress, making, artists, South Asian art, Indian art, original art, unique art, indian gods, crafting, diy art projects, art, Indian artists, South Asian artists paper cutting, 3D art, 3d paper art, 3d paper sculptures by @papercutsbykavya

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2 months ago