theartofquilling.com

While looking around the web for St. Patrick’s Day craft inspiration I ran across Pumpkin Petunia’s free lucky penny template.  Jo-Ann, a very crafty mom, created the template for her kids to use as a classroom handout for St. Patrick’s Day.   Of course, after seeing the template, I knew that it was the perfect background for a little bit of quilling, so I added the quilled shamrocks.  This time I made them with 4″ teardrop coils (using 1/8″ wide paper) that I paired into hearts, just like the ones used for the Upcycled Valentine’s Day Quilling project.  When you glue three hearts together, you have a shamrock.  I added a small flat-back gold crystal for a little extra bling.

I must have had the lucky penny handouts still on my mind when I went to bed because I woke up thinking how fun it might be if the children could pretend that they were the king or queen of the leprechauns handing out the pennies.  That, of course, meant that they would need a crown — a crown decorated with quilled shamrocks and precious jewels!  The one I made, using 3/8″ wide quilling paper with a gold edge,  is for your inspiration only.  A child would do a much more creative version.   Throw in some crayons, markers, and glitter and this crown would truly be fit for royalty.

Bookmark It

Tags: quilling, quilling design inspiration, Quilling with Kids, St. Patrick's Day

After numerous requests, I am pleased to announce the release of my Quilled Floral Heart Wreath ePattern that was recently featured in the blog post, Enhance Your Quilling with Blending Chalks. 

Bookmark It

Tags: cardmaking, quilling, quilling gift, Quilling Home Decor, Quilling Pattern, wedding quilling

Top ‘o the morning to you!  I missed Mardi Gras and the Chinese New Year, but my Scots-Irish heritage wouldn‘t let me skip St. Paddy’s Day without a quilled project or two.

For each petal on the shamrock
This brings a wish your way-
Good health, good luck, and happiness
For today and every day.

.

Bookmark It

Tags: free quilling pattern, quilled tag, quilling, St. Patrick's Day

Like most crafters these days, I am saving bottles, wrappers, and other packaging pieces for use in future craft projects.   I was looking through my stash for Valentine’s Day inspiration and found a wonderful glass bottle that used to contain a marinade.  I decided to dress it up and fill it with M&M’s (my husband’s favorite candy) for a great Valentine’s gift.

To make a quilled heart, roll two teardrop coils the same size.  Glue the sides together, starting at the tip and ending just before the curve of the teardrop.  If you are new to quilling, learn how to make a teardrop coil here. 

Quilled Heart

Additional quilling instructions, hints, and information can be found in the Beginner’s Corner.  The quilled hearts used on the scrapbook paper bottle wrapper were made using 8″ strips of 1/8″ paper for the teardrop coils. 

 

The tag is a collage made from a dictionary page, a February calendar, and more quilled hearts. 

Abbie at The Vintage Moth has been kind enough to post free antique and vintage images for mixed media artists.  I found her post containing several pages scanned from a vintage dictionary.  The word “love” was on one of the pages, so I copied the graphic into a photo editing software program, cropped the section I wanted, enlarged it a bit to fit a standard small white tag (3-1/4″ x 1-5/8″) and printed it out on white paper.  I glued it to the tag, trimmed the edges and punched out the tag hole.  The graphic already had a nice aged patina, so I just grunged the edges with brown blending chalk.  Next, I found a free calendar page for February courtesy of homemadecalendars.blogspot.com.  Again I copied the graphic, resized it, and printed it on white paper.  I cut it out and glued it on an angle to the tag, trimming the edges, and highlighted the calendar with light pink blending chalk.  I glued a 3mm flat-backed red crystal on top of the “14″ of the calendar to mark the date.  I then quilled three small hearts, one each light pink, red, and brown (teardrop coils made from 3″ strips of 1/8″ paper), and glued them randomly on the tag.  Red fiber string was used to tie the tag onto the bottle.

…

…

Quilling Tip:  Use the same graphics and quilled hearts to create a fun ATC for your sweetheart, or use the tag as an embellishment for a Valentine’s Day card.

…

…

Bookmark It

Tags: free quilling pattern, paper crafting, quilled tag, quilling, quilling instruction, scrapbooking

Fig 1

Blending chalks are an excellent choice when you want to add a bit of color to your quilling.  Made by several manufacturers, they come in a wide array of colors from soft pastels to bright jewel tones.  Some even have a bit of shimmer mixed in (Fig. 1).

Chalks are easy to use and, unlike inks, are quite forgiving.  Small sponge applicators (similar to those used for eye shadow) usually come with the chalks.  Replacements can be a bit pricey in the craft stores, so you might want to look into the make-up applicators available at discount or beauty supply stores.  You can also use cotton swabs, cotton balls, and tissues to apply the chalk.

 

Fig 2

You can apply chalks directly to your finished quills.  This allows you to add color without splicing strips together.  For the leaf (Fig. 2), I applied a darker green to the lower portion of the shaped marquise and yellow to the top with just a touch of red on the tip.  In the photo, a plain leaf is on the left for comparison.

 

Quilled flowers can be enhanced with chalks as well.  Dark colors of chalk look striking on flowers made with light colored papers while light chalk colors can really make darker flowers pop. 

Fig 3

Yellow was added to the center of this star flower (on the right) giving it a warm glow.  A plain star flower is on the left for comparison (Fig. 3).

 

My favorite use of chalks is to highlight the background papers used with my quilling.  I love the look of torn paper edges and think they add a nice texture to a finished piece.  Sepia and brown colors will give your background papers a worn, aged look. 

Fig 4

Adding a color that blends or contrasts with your quilling is a great way to add interest and draw your eye into the quilling, just like when you add a mat to a piece of framed art  (Fig. 4).

 

Don’t limit yourself to just chalking the edges of the quilling background.  When I created this Valentine’s Day card for my husband, I brought the red chalk in from the edges and made it a part of overall design. 

Fig 5

The chalk highlights the subtle texture of the background paper without taking anything away from the true focus of the card — the quilled floral heart wreath (Fig 5).

 

Give blending chalks a try — I think you’ll find that they can give your quilling an added depth and beauty.
 

Tip:  Blending chalks are actually quite inexpensive and last a very long time.  They are softer, however, than the sidewalk or blackboard chalks you might have played with as a child and they crumble easily.  Also, I found out the hard way that the individual pieces of chalk are not glued inside their trays and will fall out if dropped, making a mess on your carpet if you are not careful.

Bookmark It

Tags: cardmaking, paper crafting, Quilling Technique, quilling tools & supplies

In my last post (Groovy Birthday Wishes) I talked about the very popular technique of filling in an outline with quilling to form a design.

1. Find a stencil that you like and lightly trace it onto the card stock you will be gluing the quilling shapes to.  Remember, this paper will show through the coiled pieces, so you’ll want to choose a nice neutral or coordinating color that will go with your design.
2. Trace the stencil onto the paper you want as the cover for your quilling and cut it out with a craft knife.  (Note: the piece is easier to frame if the bottom card stock and the top cover sheet are the same size.)
3. Roll your quilled shapes to fit slightly over the outline and glue to the card stock.  Once finished, glue the top paper over the guilling, lining up the cut out stencil with your quilling and covering up any rough rough edges of the quilled design.
4. Frame your masterpiece and wait for friends to Oooooh and Ahhhh over your latest artistic endeavor.

Bookmark It

Tags: quilling, quilling design inspiration, Quilling Home Decor, Quilling Technique, Quilling Tips

I was browsing through the bargain bins of ribbon and found a funky retro paisley design in yellow, green, and orange that simply screamed mini skirt and go-go boots. 

I used the ribbon as my inspiration for a fun retro birthday card featuring a quilled go-go boot.  The boot was created using an “outline & fill-in” quilling technique.  You can use this technique to create any design you wish by following these simple steps:

1. Draw an outline of the desired design, or find inspiration on the web.  Resize the pattern as needed and print it out for your work board. 
2. Tear several strips of paper (I find 6″ to be a good length) and quill them into loose coils.  Starting at either the top or bottom of your design, pinch the coils into shapes that fit within the outline of your design.  Glue the quills together where they touch and pin into place. 
3. Continue filling in your pattern with pinched loose coils.  If you are creating an elaborate design, you may want to “draw” lines within the pattern using paper strips or “paint” with your quills by changing the color of the quilling paper used for the coils.
4. Glue a strip of paper along the outside of your quilled piece to finish off the edge and complete your design.

Bookmark It

Tags: cardmaking, quilling, quilling design inspiration, Quilling Technique

There is still time to embellish your Christmas crafts with quilling.  This sweet little angle works up quickly and would add a heavenly touch to your Christmas projects.

Basic quilling tools (discussed earlier)

Quilling paper, 1/8″: white, yellow, gold metallic (solid gold on one side of the paper strip)

Gold leaf pen (optional) 

 

Free Quilling Pattern — Heavenly Angel

(1) 20″ teardrop, white (body)

(1) 10″ loose coil, white (head)

(2) 10″ shaped teardrops, light yellow (wings)

(1) 2″ strip, metallic gold (halo)

 

Instructions for making the teardrop and loose coil can be found here. 

 

Using the photo as a guide, glue the 10″ loose coil (head) to the pinched tip of the 20″ teardrop (body) to form the angel.  Shape the wings by curving the teardrop around your index finger as you pinch it, or roll the tip of the completed teardrop around your quilling tool.  If desired, run the gold pen across the top of the two 10″ shaped teardrop wings to gilt the edges before gluing them to the angel body.

 

To make the halo, fold the 2″ strip of metallic gold paper in half and glue the two sides together.  You now have a 1″ strip with gold on both sides.  Overlap the two ends and glue together to form an oval loop.  Glue the halo flat (with the glued ends down) onto the background, slightly at an angle above the angel’s head.

 

Last year, I used this little angel on Christmas cards.  I used the same blue scrapbook paper that reminds me of a winter’s night that I used on the snowflake cards in the previous post and added a homespun feel with the golden gingham held in place with mini brads.

 

This year, I designed a scroll ornament from the sheet music of a familiar Christmas carol, “Angels We have Heard on High.” 

 

If you want to try making your own scroll ornament, there are many carols and hymns in the public domain. 

Try a Google search for images or you can visit openhymnal.org to see if they have any you would like.  There are also many scrapbook papers and stamps with music backgrounds that would work nicely. 

 

 

Quilling Tip:  The metallic coating on the paper used to make the halo causes the glue to take longer to set.  I find it helpful to use a pair of tweezers to hold the ends of the halo strip together until the glue dries. 

…

…

…

Bookmark It

Tags: cardmaking, Christmas Quilling, free quilling pattern, quilling, Quilling Tips

I want to thank all of the ladies who attended the Christmas quilling class at the Marietta Community School.  I hope you had a great time because I know I sure did!

 

Our class project was a Christmas card with a detachable snowflake ornament.  I am very proud of the snowflakes the students quilled.  This group photo of the students’ cards shows their talent and creativity.  The snowflakes are not glued to the front (which is why they may appear to be crooked), but swing loose which makes for a fun surprise when the recipient opens the card.

When creating the card, I punched a 1/16″ hole in the card at the top of the circle background.  This allowed me to thread the snowflake’s hanging loop through to the inside where I secured it with a piece of tape.

Many of us are on a tight budget, but you don’t have to trim your gift giving list this year.  These cards are perfect when you need a little something this holiday season for co-workers, as a hostess gift, or for members of your book club.  You can whip up a batch quite inexpensively, but I guarantee they’ll be appreciated and make a lasting impression.    

Bookmark It

Tags: cardmaking, Christmas Quilling, quilling design inspiration, Quilling Tips

I limit myself to two tote bags — if I can’t carry it, I can’t have it.  Others, however, show up with rolling carts and suitcases!  I have purchased some really nice old Christmas craft books along with some new ones on rubber stamping which provide wonderful inspiration for card layouts I can use with my quilling.  For those into altered art, the possibilities are endless.  I was raised in a household where books were revered and you didn’t mark in them, let alone cut them up, so I have a harder time thinking about books as potential art material, however I did pick up a pocket-sized 1978 World Atlas full of maps.  I think that pieces of it would make a wonderful addition to a bon voyage card or scrapbook page of that special trip.

Bookmark It

Tags: budget quilling, paper crafting, Quilling Tips