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Hello! My name is Christy Rawlings, wife, mother, animal lover, artist, and owner of Always In Designs. I grew up watching my mother, L’Or L. Whitehead, hand craft these beautiful paper masterpieces since I was little. She taught herself how to do these during college in 1972 after passing a window where she saw a butterfly with a similar design, and she went home and figured out how to make one. She designed a variety of objects such as flowers or buildings and taught a friend the process as well. She loved the unique challenge of designing, cutting and layering the paper to create such incredible depth and dimension. They started a business, but went their separate ways after graduation. 

My mother continued making these over the years for friends and family. She would design an original composition, draw the image by hand in reverse, then use an Exacto knife to hand cut each layer to fit perfectly behind one another, and then carefully assemble and frame them. Each design would take hours of labor and precision to create a custom one-of-a-kind masterpiece. 

After watching my mother create these for 32 years, I decided I wanted to try, so in 2018 I began my journey to create these on my own. My first pieces were the famous row of homes in San Francisco called the Painted Ladies. My mother helped with the fundamental designs and I was able to learn the basic principles of paper cutting, layering, assembly, and framing. 

I do not quite have my mother’s ability to draw with such a steady hand, so I figured out how to digitally draw them, and now I create my own designs. Being able to use the incredible technology we have now has made it possible for us to design and cut using precision cutting machines, making it easier to share these with everyone. Each one is still my unique design and is individually hand-weeded and assembled with custom mattes and frames.

I hope these bring you as much joy as they have to me. I love the simplicity of the white paper and the depth and intricate detail of the many layers. The balance of the light and shadow working together remind me that the richness of life comes from both our joys and sorrows along the journey. 

Thank you for visiting and please reach out with any questions or feedback!