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My niece recently graduated from the University of Georgia.  She has always been so complimentary of my quilling that I wanted to make her a special card rather than purchase one off the shelf. 

The card turned out to be more of a challenge than I thought it would be.  It took three stops to find a paper that meshed with the idea I was playing with in my mind.  When I finally had the card layout set, I thought that quilling the graduation cap would be a snap.  Oh, my goodness … was I ever wrong.

This card may say, “Hats off to the graduate,” but to all the quillers who have already created a quilled a graduation cap, my hat’s off to you.  I had a devil of a time shaping the coils the way I wanted them.  And when I glued the bottom cap part onto the mortar board diamond, I decided that the mortar board was a bit too small.  I certainly did NOT want to create another cap, so I carefully added more “layers” to the top diamond shape to enlarge it. 

I could have created a paper tassel with fringed paper, but as you all know, I’m not a purist and like the look of mixing different materials together.  I had trouble finding a light blue tassel small enough in the stores, so I made my own using embroidery floss. 

The sentiment on the front of the card has rolled ends like a diploma.   I found a quote online that I thought was appropriate and used it for the inside of the card.

I hope she likes it.

Quilling Tip

Even if your quilling design isn’t quite right — keep working with it before you throw it away.  You can reshape or add to your coils until you have the look you want.

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My youngest daughter’s friend is having a baby boy and the shower theme is outer space. When she saw the Valentine’s Day lollipop cover I made with the rocket ship, she asked me to make a shower card with a rocket on it for her to give to the mother-to-be.

Normally, the idea of a baby shower conjures up images of baby booties, rattles, and teddy bears in soft pastel shades. When I found this nice blue mid-century modern space looking paper, I thought it would be fun to go a bit cartoonish with the quilling.

The rocket pattern is adapted from a free clip art picture I found on the Internet. I pulled the blue-yellow-red color scheme of the rocket directly from the patterned paper and outlined each section with a double thickness of black paper strips to give it a comic book feel. I just love the addition of the yellow star buttons that I found in my stash. The end result reminds me of Marvin the Martian’s rocket from the old Buggs Bunny cartoons.

I tailored the card sentiment to the arrival of the new bundle of joy, but this card could very easily be adapted for a little boy’s birthday by changing the inside sentiment to read, “Counting Down the Days Until you Turn 5,” for example.

Quilling doesn’t have to be girly – sometimes it’s fun to let your imagination take flight.

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I am so pleased to share with you that another design of mine, “Happy Father’s Day”, has been published — this time in CardMaker Magazine‘s May 2012 issue.  (The first Father’s Day card was published in May 2010.)

For this card, the magazine editor actually contacted me (yes, that was a squeal of delight you heard coming from Georgia last November).  LOL!!!  Tanya had seen one of my Christmas cards where I replaced a letter with a quilled design posted on Pinterest and asked me if I had any interest in creating a card using that technique for an up coming issue of the magazine.  Oh, my goodness, of course I was interested.

After the design was set and the card submitted, came the hard part … the wait.  You never really know what changes they might make or how the card will fit into the magazine layout until you see the final magazine.

Well, the wait is over and the issue is published.  Their photography is always top-notch and I am so pleased with the final results. 

I know I’ve said it before, but you really do need to check out CardMaker Magazine.  They always have at least one quilling card in every issue.  And for those in need of inspiration for design layout, colors, and sentiments – look no further.  This magazine has it all.  I love this magazine and I think that you will, too.

Thanks for letting me share.

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Several months ago I was doing my usual look through Michael’s scrapbook paper isle to see what papers they had marked down to ridiculously low prices when I happened upon one sheet left of a St. Patrick’s Day paper called Lucky Day Shamrock Big Stripe by Deja Views®.  Regularly well over a dollar, it was now a mere $0.29.  Of course I snatched it up. 

What first caught my eye was the wonderful saying printed on the paper.  A fancy sentiment is often the costliest part of making a card and here was a great one for mere pennies.  It is hard to tell in the photo, but much of the sentiment is done in embossed metallic. 

The other great thing about this paper was that it combined many great prints onto one sheet (also with lots of added shiny metallic embossing).  It was like having the use of six printed papers for the price of one.  I had quite a bit of the printed paper left over after making this card and will be able to use it for other occasions.

In making the card, the first thing I did was to cut out the sentiment and line it with matching blue card stock trimmed slightly larger than the sentiment, edging the pieces with black ink.  Next, I cut a piece of matching green card stock 5-in x 6.5-in and affixed it to the front of my ivory card.  I then cut a piece of the scrapbook paper 4.75-in x 6.25”, wrapped a piece of blue ribbon diagonally around the front securing the ends to the back, and affixed it to the front of the card.  I attached the sentiment to the center front of the card using adhesive foam mounts so that the sentiment stood away from the back of the card.

Since the background paper was already pretty busy, I didn’t want to glue quilled shamrocks directly onto the card, but wanted them to stand out instead, like the sentiment.  So, I quilled two shamrocks and glued them onto the front of mini clothes pins!  I then clipped them onto the sentiment section of the card. 

The clothes pin shamrocks were the perfect finishing touch to this St. Patrick’s Day inspired card.  You can find several sizes of clothes pins in the unfinished wooden shapes isle of your local craft store. 

Card Tip

I purchase bulk packages of inexpensive cards in 5-in x 6.5-in and 4-in x 5.5-in sizes in both ivory and white.  They make a wonderful starting base for decorated cards and come complete with envelopes that are sized a bit larger than the cards.  This allows finished cards to easily fit, even when embellished with quilling. 

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A cup of tea is an invitation to put your feet up and relax for a moment, or catch up with the latest news as you chat with a friend. Is it any wonder that teacups are such a popular motif in stamping and paper crafting?

When I first started thinking about this project, I envisioned my card having a decidedly Victorian feel. I had some nice off-white lace that I wanted to use and started looking through my papers to see what I might have to go with it. I was quite surprised to find that while I seem to be drawn to that style, it wasn’t reflected in my current paper stash and I didn’t have anything that would work.

That actually turned out to be a good thing. I am still in a “use what I already have” mood, which made me look at my current papers in a new way. I found a large scrap of striped print paper that reminded me of mid-century modern wallpaper and the look of my card quickly jumped a century from 1850 to 1950 and provided an opportunity to try some new quilling techniques.

I want to give Melisa Waldorf of Paperlicious Designs credit for the teacup template I used as the pattern to cut out my own blue teacup. I resized it a bit since I needed it smaller, but kept the rim wide enough to cover the packaged tea bag.  I cut a slit through the front of the card and slipped in the teabag.  It is held in place with a glue dot.

Most of the quilling designs are made from “solid rings” (the official North American Quilling Guild name for the ring coils) created by wrapping the quilling paper around a bamboo skewer, dowel, or tool handle.

I also used these rings to make the outline of the flower petals which I filled in using the Beehive technique Susan of Susan Quilling Cards introduced us to last December.  Pritesh of Quilling Me Softly was kind enough to make a video of this technique.

I enjoy a nice hot cup of tea, especially on a cold evening, and this card with the enclosed teabag will let me share that enjoyment with a friend.

Quilling Tip

If tea isn’t your “bag” (I know, that was bad … LOL!), this card idea can be easily adapted to hold a packet of instant coffee or cocoa.  Or try changing the tea cup to a soup bowl and add a packet of instant chicken soup for a thoughtful Get Well card for a sick friend.

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Feeling sweet, sexy, or playfully punny?  Then one of these quilled Valentine’s Day cards is right for you.

Archiver’s has been advertising a card workshop making Itty Bitty Valentines that are 3-in x 3-in.  They looked so cute I decided to challenge myself to design three Itty Bitty Valentines of my own.  I only had two rules:  (1) my cards needed to be the same 3-in x 3-in size and (2) I couldn’t purchase any new supplies – I had to use what was already in my stash.  

Pretty in Pink

Who says a Valentine has to be red?  For this sweet card I layered three strips of pink card stock (alternating light and dark) on the bottom and rounded the corners with a decorative punch.  I added a quilled long-stem pink rose with moss green leaves.  For the sentiment, I stamped “My heart is yours” in black ink and added a little pink bow.  The rose is a rolled spiral made from a circle punched from card stock.  To finish the card I edged it with pink chalk.

A Berry Delightful Valentine

This card was inspired by the red and tan checked paper which has been in my stash bin for quite some time.  It is from a sack I saved from a purchase made in Savannah.  It reminded me of a country picnic which lead me to the “I love you BERRY much!” theme.  I used my computer to print the sentiment onto the tan cardstock, trimmed it to 2.75-in square and attached it to the front of my red card.  I cut a piece of the sack with pinking shears and glued it near the top-left of the card.  I punched two small holes and added little red heart brads (bought awhile ago with no particular project in mind, but they were cute and on sale – lol!).  Next, I glued on a red heart-shaped strawberry and white strawberry blossom.  I tied a little piece of jute cord around the top of the card to finish it off.

Hot Lips

This card is my favorite.  I had the thought of quilling a pair of lips and as I pondered how I would use that embellishment on a card, I remembered the famous Bogie & Bacall movie quote, “You know how to whistle, don’t you?”  A quick internet search turned up the entire quote and I knew that this would be the card I would give to my husband — Steve.

I used my computer to print the text and a Spellbinder’s die set to cut out the layers for both the front and inside of the card.  I glued two little flat pearls to the front and added the lips.  He’s going to love it.

There’s only one downside to taking on a challenge like this — what do I do with all of the ideas still floating around in my head that I didn’t create?

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I’m not much of a winter person, so by January my thoughts are turning to spring.  When I happened upon some pretty floral scrapbook paper, I used it to create this decidedly feminine card and gift card holder perfect for any occasion.

Michaels had their scrapbook paper on sale a few weeks ago and since I was already there, I just had to take a look.  I was happy to find a floral with a small pattern that I thought would work well with quilling.  My idea was to make a card using the paper and decorate it with a quilled version of the floral pattern. 

At least that was the plan, but after a few false starts I was beginning to wonder if this project would ever come together.  Then, I had one of those sleepless nights and tried again at 4:00am.  This time everything just came together. 

The flowers on the paper are simple 5-petal posies.  I wanted to maintain the look and feel of this style, but couldn’t resist jazzing the petals up a bit.  Instead of keeping the flower petals flat, I gave them dimension by rolling them as tight coils and then letting them uncoil just a little instead of all the way before gluing down the end and pinching them into teardrops.  This allowed me to take the end of my quilling tool and gently push out the center.  I then smeared glue on the back of the petals so that when dried, they would keep their new shape.  For even more dimension, I angled the petals a bit when gluing them together to form the completed flower.

Since the card would be handled, I glued two strips of quilling paper together for the vine so that it would be a little sturdier.

With the card done, I turned my attention to the gift card holder.  It is made using an empty toilet tissue roll!  I have no idea how I missed this recycling trend, but it was new to me.  I first saw it used in a project created by the very talented quiller, Sue Custer (Hi, Sue!).  She is on the Custom Quilling design team and used a toilet tissue roll to create a gift card pocket holder tag (you can see it here).  When I asked Sue about it, she directed me to an earlier project where she used the toilet rolls to make a cute mini album (you’ll find it here along with some directions). 

I had a hard time keeping the roll flat so I cut the tube and made mine into a fold-out card holder.  I decorated the tube inside and out with the same paper as the card then cut a strip the width of the holder and glued down just the ends to form a pocket for the gift card.  It is still curved, but I know that the gift card is secure and won’t fall out.

I closed the gift card holder by wrapping it with a piece of the same ribbon I used on the card and tied a matching bow.  The ribbon just slips off to open the card holder and both can be used again and again.  How’s that for recycling? 

To finish off the gift, I created a matching gift tag using a left over pricing tag as the base.  I covered one side with the floral paper and the other with the dotted paper.  I quilled one more flower using the cupped petals and added a quilled leaf.  I stamped a sweet sentiment on the dotted paper side and tied the tag onto the bow. 

Whew!  That was a long post, but I hope I have inspired you to make your own matching card and gift card holder set. 

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For those of you interested, the floral paper is called “Itsy Bitsy Ditsy” from Recollections (which I think is Michaels’ store brand) and the color is called Pistachio.  The pink polka dot paper is called “Pink with Rose Trim” and is also by Recollections.  It has a green and white stripe of roses down one side of the paper.  I was tickled to find that Quilled Creation’s moss green and pale pink papers were an almost identical color match.

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When making cards, I think it is fun to replace letters with bits of quilling.  It adds such a touch of whimsy.  When I ran across the “Big On Christmas” stamps from Stampin’ Up! I knew they would be perfect for my 2011 Christmas cards.  As you can see, they had the same idea.  Of course, I didn’t want to stamp the tree, ornament, or snowman (which I replaced with a snowflake).  I wanted to quill those instead.

Unfortunately, having this idea and implementing it proved to be two very different things.  You see, I am not a talented stamper and I was having a hard time stamping just the letter part of these holiday stamps.  I tried adding ink to just the letters using a marking pen, but my hand would slip and I would invariably get ink on the picture portion of the stamp.  Next, I tried covering the picture parts with tape, but that didn’t work for me either.

Finally, I decided to cut out the part of the stamps I didn’t want printed.  It was a hard decision to make since there was a very good chance I could ruin the stamps, but I took my craft knife, held my breath, and carefully cut around the picture section of each stamp and peeled off the cut portions.  Since the stamps were mounted on wooden blocks, the spacing and alignment of the rest of the stamp sections was not disturbed.

I then inked them up (I like using StazOn solvent ink since it dries quickly and doesn’t smear) and stamped away.  As an added bonus, I was delighted to find that I hadn’t ruined my stamps at all.  The cut out portions fit right back into their original places so the stamps can still be used as they were originally intended.

I am sure that if you look around you’ll find many other stamps out there that would lend themselves to this creative “altered art” technique.

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We were blessed with our fourth grandchild, Daniel John Morgan, on July 21st, so to say that I have babies on the brain is an understatement.  When I ran across a free “cute as a button” graphic on the Papercraft Inspirations website, I was inspired to make a card featuring quilled buttons — for a baby boy of course!

If you haven’t visited the Papercraft Inspirations site, you are in for a real treat.  This is the online site for the printed magazine.  Besides all of the ideas provided by a team of extremely creative designers, you’ll find free templates, downloads, and papers you can print off to use with your own creations.

If you would like to make your own “Cute as a Button” card, you’ll find the free button card back graphic (designed by Jo Kill) in the free download section.

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Here is a delightful card that uses an empty ribbon spool as the card base.  A message strip is attached to the core, wound around the spool, and secured with a piece of ribbon tied into a bow.  The lucky recipient then unties the bow to unroll the greetings.  I guarantee that this card will be a keeper!  Since I wanted larger flowers, I used strips of scrapbook paper cut to various widths and hand fringed them.

Since I firmly believe in giving credit where it is due, I must mention that I ran across this clever idea by Alison Eads in the paper crafting book, Retro Mania, published by North Light Books.  The quilling design that decorates this card, however, is all mine.

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