(Couldn't think of any better title, and I'm not really sure what category to place multi-layered papercuttings in.)

Though deceptively simple at first glance, this has got to be the most complicated papercutting I've ever done, requiring 6 different colors of paper (I didn't add color to anything), 7 layers of cuttings, and 3 weeks of work. I designed everything myself except for the "Valknut" symbol, which you can see in full over here. The Valknut is an interlocking triple-triangle associated with Odin, which is found on several Runestones and on the headboard of the bed found in the Oseberg Viking ship burial. The 8-legged Stallion is of course Sleipnir, Odin's steed and the son of Loki (I based his body on that of a fjord horse). The two Ravens are Hugin and Munin, Odin's messengers/information gatherers, whose names mean "thought" and "memory". The swirly borders at the top and bottom are space fillers (based on an infinity symbol, which is an ancient Norse design), and the circle in the back is the full moon. (I used a thinner sheet of paper on Sleipnir, because I was hoping the symbol would show through him a bit, but I'm not sure now if I like how that effect turned out.) Anyway, this is going to my husband's boss as a Christmas gift. I usually give cuttings as gifts because they are generally well-received and appreciated, as well as easy and fast to do (most of the time), and very inexpensive, requiring only paper, glue and either an X-Acto knife (which I use) or scissors. It saddens me to see how papercutting is now a dying art, in spite of its international heritage. My hope is that by posting these, some of you in the younger generation might become inspired to make some yourself. For those who are interested, please feel free to drop by my Scherenschnitte group or the Papercutters Guild.