Archive for August, 2009

Aug 31 2009

Quilling Inspiration — Modify a Quilling Design to Suit Your Needs

Published by Charlotte under Quilling Inspiration

Shortly after sending out my first newsletter, I received a lovely comment post from Rick Whitman,
“Thanks for sharing your ideas. The rose pattern came just in time as I’m working on a wedding invitation and was looking for a fill in. I used a strip of variation paper (shaded from red to white and back to red) and it came out beautifully.” 
Needless to say, I was thrilled to know that someone had actually created a rose from my pattern and I asked her if she would send me a photo. 
 

Fig 1

Fig 1

Rick had matted a wedding picture of her husband’s greatniece who married Mr. Rose (hence the roses), along with the front and inside of their wedding invitation.  She then quilled beautiful flower sprays to decorate the mat, duplicating the flowers used in the bridesmaids’ bouquets.  She did a great job and I can only imagine how pleased the bride will be to receive such a loving reminder of her wedding day.

 

Fig 2

Fig 2

Rick took the pattern I provided and changed it by using the variegated paper (Fig 1).  I think that it softened the rose and made it a better fit for her overall design.  She used the rose pattern again in her floral spray at the bottom of her piece (Fig 2), but changed the center teardrop of the rose to a marquise and omitted the rose leaves.  

 
You don’t need to copy a pattern exactly – use it as a jumping off point to quill the piece that you see in your own mind.  Change the colors, change the shapes, change the background … there are so many ways to change a pattern to make it your “own.”  You may think that you are not creative enough to come up with original patterns, but I’m willing to bet you can.  Creating an original pattern is as much a skill as anything and skills can be learned.  Start by making changes to an existing pattern.  Then make a few changes to the changes.  Pretty soon, you will see your own quilling style, your own creative voice, emerge. 
 
You can read more about Rick Whitman, and see some beautiful photos of her quillwork, on Pat Caputo’s Whimsiquills blog.

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Aug 28 2009

Quilling Classes Offered

Published by Charlotte under Quilling News

mcsI just wanted to post a quick note letting you know that the paperwork is completed and it’s official — I will be teaching three beginner quilling classes through the Marietta Community School, the continuing education division of Marietta City Schools.  The classes will be taught at Marietta High School, Marietta, GA.
 
  • Fall Quilling Basics – Thursday, Oct 8, 6:00-8:30pm
  • Mom & Me & Halloween Quilling Basics – Thursday, Oct 15, 6:00-8:30pm
  • Christmas Quilling Basics – Thursday, Nov 5, 6:00-8:30pm

 

In each class I’ll talk briefly about the history of quilling and show samples of the various quilling papers, tools, and books available.  Next, I’ll show you how to make the basic coils and scrolls used most in quilling as you complete a shape chart to take home for reference.  In the Fall and Christmas classes, we’ll create a colorful greeting card for our class project.  In the Mom & Me & Halloween class, we’ll create spooky (well, not too spooky) treat bag toppers.  You’ll go home with a pack of multi-colored quilling paper, a slotted quilling tool, plenty of informational handouts, and enough materials to complete two more projects so you can keep quilling after the class.
 
Check out the MCS online course catalog for complete registration information.  If you live in the area, I would like to extend a personal invitation for you to join me for a wonderful evening of quilling.  :-)
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Aug 24 2009

Quilling Tip — Hiding the Paper Seams

Published by Charlotte under Quilling How-To, Quilling Technique, Quilling Tips

When I am working on a piece of quilling, I don’t like to see the seam where the end of the paper strip is glued to the coil.  To me it looks unfinished and I try to avoid showing these seams when I can.  Picky?  Perhaps, but I think it gives the quilling a more polished appearance.  I have been using three tricks for years to help minimize the tell-tale seam left behind when making quills from loose coils and thought I would share them with you.
 

Fig 1

Fig 1

1.  Tear Your Paper Ends

Make sure that the end of the paper strip you glue down is torn so that the fibers blend into the coil.  If you glue down a cut edge, the seam is much more noticeable.  You can see the difference in Fig 1.  The coil with the cut end is on the left and the one with the torn end is on the right.
 

Fig 2

Fig 2

2.  Coil Shaping Tricks

There are two ways to hide the seams when making shaped coils (teardrops, marquises, squares, etc.).  The first method is to pinch the coil into the shape so the glued end of the paper is even with the pinched edge.   This gives a beautiful finish to the coil.   In Fig 2, the teardrop on the left has been pinched with the end at the tip where it all but disappears.  The teardrop on the right was shaped with the end clearly visible on the side.   Shaping my coils with the end at the tip is the method that I use 99% of the time.   However, if I know that the seam will be covered by another paper strip, such as a rose bud covered with a paper stem, I pinch the teardrop with the seam at the bottom.
 

Fig 3

Fig 3

3.  Hide Seams During Assembly

When possible, glue the seam ends or sides of your coils to each other when assembling your quillwork.  For example, if you are creating a flower from marquise coils, glue the tips with the pinched ends together for the center.  If you are combining a coil and a scroll (Fig 3) glue the seam end of the marquise inside the fold of the scroll. 

Fig 4

Fig 4

When gluing two loose coils together, try and turn the coils so that as one coil ends, the next one seems to begin, like an S-scroll only in two pieces (Fig 4).  

 
I’m sure these hints are old news to the seasoned quillers out there, but I hope they help those new to the art take their quilling to the next level.  Remember — it’s all in the details. 

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Aug 11 2009

Quilling Experiment — Puffy Markers

Published by Charlotte under Quilling Technique

puffy-markersPuffy Velvet Fabric Markers by Marvy® Uchida are, as the name clearly indicates, made for fabrics.  However, paper crafters have discovered these markers and the product packaging now states that they are also “great for paper crafts.”  I was introduced to these markers through a very creative Yahoo! Group I belong to called the Scrapbook Lounge and have long wondered if the markers could be used with quilling.  Now that I have my blog I just had to buy some and try it — all in the name of research, you understand.  LOL!!!
 

Fig. 1

Fig. 1

Like many markers on the market, when you first open one, you need to shake it and then press the tip down on some scrap paper so the color can fill the tip.  Once the color flows, you are good to go. 

 
Continuing the rose theme from my last blog entry, I made two red rose buds.  I left one plain (Fig. 1) and painted the other one with the red marker. 
 

Fig. 2

Fig. 2

After letting it dry for 30 minutes per the instructions, I heated it with the heat gun and it puffed — a lot (Fig. 2).  While I didn’t like it enough to use it on my quilling, I found the effect very interesting and wanted to give it another try.  I quilled another rose bud and applied the fabric paint, but this time I immediately patted it with a paper towel to remove any excess paint. 

 

Fig. 3

Fig. 3

When I applied the heat gun, it didn’t puff nearly as much (Fig. 3).  The instructions tell you not to rub it after the puff-up effect is achieved, but I just had to touch it and it does, indeed, feel very soft and velvety.  I thought that this rose was worthy of finishing and made it into a card, just like I did with the plain one.

 
I next tried the yellow marker, but experienced very different results.  I couldn’t get the yellow paint to “puff.” 

Fig. 4

Fig. 4

You’ll see in Fig. 4 that the top rose is plain for comparison.  The middle rose has the puffy paint on, but it just didn’t do anything.  Trying to be fair, I made another yellow rose and gave it go.  In trying to get the paint to puff, you can see that I held the heat gun on the rose too long and burned the paper.  Oops!  I really don’t know if the problem is with the puffy paint marker or the user.  

 
My pack of markers includes the color black and you might just see this product again as I try it with some spiders and bats at Halloween.  If you would like to give it a try, you will find the Puffy Velvet Fabric Markers in the fabric paint section of your local craft store, not with the paper craft markers.  
 
How about you?  Do you know of a product that might work well with quilling?  Leave me a comment and I’ll investigate the possibilities.
 
Quilling Tip:  It is better to quill the rose bud, apply the paint and puff it with the heat tool before finishing the rose with the calyx and stem to avoid the possibility of the puffy paint bleeding onto the calyx.
 
 

Newsletter Teaser

 
The first issue of my newsletter is almost ready.  I don’t want to give away all of the surprises, but I can tell you that it contains a free quilling pattern for the rose featured in this blog, along with complete instructions for turning it into a romantic card for that special someone.  So, if you haven’t yet signed up for my newsletter, do it now.  You won’t want to miss it!

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