Jul 17 2010
Quilling Paper Surprise
I was down in the basement going through some old boxes looking for something totally unrelated to crafts when much to my surprise I discovered not one, but two boxes packed with quilling paper! The paper dates back to the 1980s and is still in perfect condition. In fact, there are some beautiful shades of greens, blues, pinks, and yellows, that are different from the current papers I have purchased.
…
In addition to the papers, there were several commercial kits, my original masonite quilling board, and a Hazel Pearson Quill Quicky (which is like Quilled Creations’ curling coach only the quilling tool is built in) and Quill Designer (which is a design board with various size circles used to make uniform sized quills). I remember a few years ago seeing the Quill Quicky/Quill Designer on Ebay and watching the price of it go up…and up…and up. I think someone finally paid around $65 for it. I bought mine in the 1970s for $3.69. I was so tickled to find it since I thought it had gotten tossed a long time ago. I told my husband about the Ebay story and he asked me if I was going to sell it, but of course I told him no.
…
…
I also found several original patterns I designed all those years ago — with the instructions typed on an actual typewriter no less. I had created strawberries, lemons, a sea shell, and a sea horse. Goodness, it brought back the memories. They still look pretty good, though, so you will probably see a few of them on the blog or in the newsletter in the near future, so keep an eye out for them.
…
There is very little correspondence written on them, but it appears that from 1912 to 1915, Miss Harriett E. 
The sentiment inside the card …
The rocket cone is a triangle made from a 12 inch strip of 1/8 inch wide navy paper. The body of the rocket are C-coils made from 3 inch strips of red, white, and blue 1/8″ wide paper that are turned on end and glued coil side down. The rocket “stick” is simply two strips of white paper glued together for added firmness. To finish off the rocket, I glued a small piece of the the same white string used with the buttons to form the fuse.
I really appreciate all of the feedback I receive from my newsletter subscribers and blog readers. One request that I hear quite often is for more quilling projects made from recycled materials, which is great because I enjoy creating them!
Back in the 1980s, it was all the rage to stiffen strips of large-print floral fabrics (usually mauve) into bows to dress up wicker baskets. While that decorating look has come and gone, it’s still fun to stiffen fabric, especially if you are a 
Now that you have assembled your supplies, let’s get started. 1. Cut a piece of fabric (smaller than the plastic) and place it right-side up on your work surface. 2. Pour some of the stiffener into your container. 3. Using the foam brush, apply the stiffener to the fabric starting in the center and working your way to the edges, being sure to keep the fabric flat. You want to make sure that the fabric is totally saturated with the stiffener, but not gloppy. 4. Pour the excess stiffener back into the bottle, discard the brush and container (or wash them for the next time).
That’s it. Now just kick back while the stiffener dries. Depending on how much stiffener you used and how large your piece of fabric is, it might take 30 minutes or longer. This process can be hurried along with a hairdryer.
The fabric “paper” I made accents this colorful birthday card. I used a dry adhesive to attach the stiffened fabric to the paper surface of the card. The small amount of regular glue I used to attach the 
The 2010 North American Quilling Guild convention is one week away. I was so honored to be asked to teach a class and have been busy pulling my project kits together. We will be quilling an 
I have been sitting on this news for several months now, but the May issue of CardMaker Magazine finally arrived in my mailbox yesterday and my quilled Father’s Day card, Sail Away, is featured on page 18 in their Quill It Easy section. Needless to say I am thrilled to see my card in print, and yes, I do plan on purchasing an extra copy of the magazine so I can frame the article for my workroom. :-) 
A wonderful reader of mine, Lisa Malachinski, wrote me about a project she has done where she embellishes spoons with quilling. Yes, you read that correctly, spoons! You know how much I love it when someone thinks “outside the box” with their quilling, and I just had to share her story and photos with you.
Lisa’s Aunt Marion was a wonderful lady who was full of life and loved the outdoors. She would sit and watch the hummingbirds outside her front window and show the little birds to her children and nieces. When her aunt passed away, Lisa asked her cousins for one of her spoons to embellish with quilling. As a loving tribute to her, Lisa quilled flowers and a hummingbird for the spoon. It is not surprising that she has been asked to make six more for her family and siblings.
