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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.

 

I didn’t want the gift to look too frilly or girly, and was pleased when I found heart scrapbook paper in shades of beige, pink, and brown (American Craft’s Romance collection, In Love, #34582).  I cut a band of the scrapbook paper to fit the bottle like a wrapper and grunged it up with brown blending chalk.  I kept the quilling embellishment to a minimum, using simple light pink, red, and brown, quilled hearts, inspired by the scrapbook paper, glued down the center.

 

I really enjoy Halloween!  It is the only holiday where you can go all out decorating your home and creating costumes for the little ones (and yourself), or you can do absolutely nothing … and it’s all OK. 

 

I experimented with puffy markers in an earlier post and thought that they might work well with spiders.  Since Halloween is right around the corner (where did the year go?), I thought I would give it a try.  I used a dark gray quilling paper for the spider hoping that the black marker would show up a bit more than straight black on black, but the contrast isn’t there.  However, the texture the marker created is good.  It doesn’t show up very well in the photo, but it does look cool in person. 

 

In the spooky spirit of Halloween, I’d like to share my free spider pattern with you.

 

(1) 5″ loose coil (head)

(1) 16″ loose coil (body)

(1) 1-1/2″ strip (front legs)

(4) 3/4″ strips (middle legs)

(2) 1″ strips (back legs)

 

Using the photo as a guide, glue the 5″ loose coil head to the center of the 1-1/2″ strip, then glue them both to the 16″ loose coil body.  Make a small bend in one end of each of the remaining legs forming a tab and give each one a slight curve.  To attach the legs, add a dab of glue to the tab of each leg and glue it to the body, spacing them evenly on each side.  Use the (4) 3/4″ strips (two on each side) for the middle legs, and the 1″ strips (one on each side) for the back legs.   If you would like to add a flocked effect to the spider, paint it with the black puffy marker.  When dry, turn on the heat gun and watch the paint puff.

 

What do you do with a scary quilled spider?  Turn it into a Spooktacular Halloween card, of course.

 

*(1) 4″ x 5.5″ card, ivory

*Orange card stock

*Quilling paper:  lime green, purple

*Small tag (1.5″ x 2″), lime green (Paperbilities — I found mine at Walmart) 

*Ink pads:  Brown (Stampabilities - Walnut); Black (StazOn - Jet Black)

*Halloween greeting stamp of choice (I bought a small set with several greetings at JoAnn for $1) 

*Small piece of black netting

*Small piece of black floss

*Self-adhesive foam mount (Pop Dots)

*Dry adhesive (tape runner)

Cut a 4″ x 5.5″ piece of orange card stock and ink the edges with the brown ink; attach to front of card.  Stamp greeting in upper left corner of card.  Using photo as a guide, glue strips of green and purple quilling paper in a cris-cross pattern to front of card; trim edges.  Tie the net to the tag with a simple overhand knot.  Thread one end of the floss through the tag hole and glue to the back.  Glue the other end to the center of the tag about three-fourths down.  Glue the spider (head down) to the tag at the base of the floss string to make it look like the spider is hanging by the thread.  Attach the tag to the card with the foam adhesive mount.

 

Share your Halloween card with a family member or friend.  And, don’t forget to sign your work!

 

I 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.

 

 

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. 

Unless you are creating a stand-alone, 3D paper sculpture, you will probably be attaching your finished quilling to some type of backing. This might be a card, scrapbook page, or a piece of mat board that you intend to frame. No matter what the surface, you will want to glue the quilling securely and cleanly with no glue showing to detract from your art.

 

There are several methods for applying the glue to the back of your quilling.

 

Spread a very thin layer of glue as large as your quilllwork onto a flat surface like a plate or plastic lid. Using a pair of tweezers, pick up your quilling, touch the bottom edges of the paper to the glue, then place it on the desired backing. A thin glue (such as Elmer’s) works best for this technique. If you normally use a thick, tacky glue for quilling, you might try thinning it with a drop or two of water. You want the glue thin enough to spread thinly and evenly over your flat work surface. A foam brush helps to spread the glue. If the glue is too thick, the loose center of the coils will stick to the gluing surface, pulling them apart and ruining your piece. This method works especially well when tendrils and vines are part of the design. Once you have the glue on the back of your quillwork, you need to attach it exactly where you want it. If you try and slide your quilling into the correct placement, you will leave glue smudges. Any glue you see will turn shiny and even though it is clear, it will be noticeable.

 

You can also use a small paintbrush to paint the glue onto the back of your quilling. Use care in touching only the bottom edges of the paper with the glue to avoid unwanted globs or smudges. Again, a thinner glue is easier to spread with the paintbrush. Tweezers are useful to help hold the quilling and assist in placement when glued.  

 

I actually don’t use either of these methods. I spread glue on the back of my quilling using a toothpick. I pick up a little glue on the tip of the toothpick and roll the toothpick over the quills. Depending on the design, I apply glue to the tight rolls and centers of the quills to allow a little more “wiggle room” when placing the quilling on my background. If glue is not over the entire back, I can slide the quilling just a tad if needed without the glue showing. If I do end up with a bit of glue on the background, I slightly moisten a fresh toothpick (you don’t want it dripping) and gently wipe up the glue. 

 

 

Quilling Tip:  Make sure your background surface is ready before you apply glue to the back of your quillwork. You don’t want the glue to dry before you have a chance to attach the quilling. If not, you will have to apply more glue which increases your chances of having glue showing on your finished art.

For me, summer means the beach.  I love to hear the sound of the ocean waves crashing upon the shore as I lounge contentedly under the shade of a big umbrella.  But, since I can’t go to the beach, I thought I would do the next best thing and craft something tropical instead.  Today’s quilling pattern is a fun one because it introduces a new quilling coil, technique, and tool. 

 

The trunk of the palm tree is made from a coil called a “rectangle” because it is, well, a rectangle.  To make this quill, roll a loose coil and pinch it into a marquise.  Next, move the marquise slightly between your thumbs and index fingers and pinch again, forming two more points near the original ones.  You should now have a rectangle quill that has two long sides and two short sides. 

 

We’ll also be playing with a new tool — a paper crimper.  I bought mine at the North American Quilling Guild Conference this past May.  The one I have is made by Paplin, but there are several good ones on the market.  It isn’t a “must have” quilling tool, but it is so much fun. To use the crimper, simply feed your paper strip through the gears and it comes out crimped.  If you don’t have a paper crimper you can still make the palm tree.  Just make the palm fronds with straight quilling paper instead. 

 

Finally, I want to show you a bit about wheatears.  This isn’t a coil or a scroll because you don’t curl the paper, you loop it instead.  To make a wheatear, create a small loop.  Now, while holding the original loop, make a larger loop around it.  Keep looping the paper until your wheatear is as long as desired, then glue the paper down at the starting point and either tear or cut off the excess paper.  Wheatears can be left rounded, or shaped like a coil.  For the palm frond, you’ll pinch the ends like a marquise and bend the ends in opposite directions to give the frond a little curve.

 

 

Using the photo as a guide, glue the rectangle coils on top of each other to form the palm tree trunk.  Give the top rectangle coil a little pinch to form the top of the trunk.  Glue the base of each wheatear to the tip of the palm tree trunk, mixing up the sizes.  Glue the tip of the gold pressed heart to the tip of the gold teardrop to create a fun little fish swimming in the surf.

 

The palm tree and fish make perfect additions to a beach-themed tag  — a great embellishment for a vacation scrapbook page.

 

(1) Tag, 4-1/2″ x 2-1/8″, blue (DMD Industries)

Card stock scraps, turquoise, white, beige, gold

Blending chalk, brown (optional)

Jute twine, 6″

 

Using the photo as a guide, tear a strip of tan card stock, chalk the edge a darker brown (optional), and glue it to the tag for the sand.  Tear a strip of white card stock and glue it over the bottom edge of the tan strip for the crashing waves.  Tear a strip of turquoise and glue it along the bottom of the tag for the deep water, leaving a strip of the original blue tag showing for the shallow water.  Tear a curved piece of gold card stock and glue it in the corner for the sun.  Trim off any card stock edges even with the tag.  Glue the palm tree and goldfish in place.  Tie the jute on with a simple overhand knot and fringe the edges.  Be sure to sign your work!

 

I hope you decide to join me at the beach and give this project a try.  If so, I’d love to hear from you.  Send me a comment and let me know how it turned out. 

 

Quilling Tip:  Don’t pinch the crimped paper too hard or you will flatten out the paper folds and lessen the effect.

I went into a local scrapbooking store yesterday and found a darling magnetic mini frame.  It came in several colors and I started pondering the possibilities.  When I saw the red one, however, one word came to mind — ladybug — and I knew that I just had to have it.  I had originally thought that I would quill the ladybug, glue it to the center frame area, and seal it with an acrylic sealer since the quillwork would be exposed.  Upon further investigation, however, I discovered that the back pulled off and there was enough space inside for the quilling if I used the thin 1/16″ quilling paper.   

 

The pattern, as written, is really better suited for an intermediate quiller since it does call for 1/16″ wide paper which can be a bit tricky to work with.  However, if you aren’t comfortable working with the thin papers, by all means, please use 1/8″ quilling strips. 

 

The ladybug quilling pattern introduces a new coil called a “half circle.”  To make a half circle, roll a loose coil and pinch it into a teardrop.  Next, instead of pinching the coil again directly opposite from the first point (which forms a marquise), pinch the paper a second time closer to the first point.  You can vary the height of the half circle by placing the two pinched points closer or further apart.

 

 

(2) 22″ half circle coil, red (wings) 

(1) 6″, half circle coil, black (head)

(1) 10″, teardrop coil, black (body)

(1) 1″, V-scroll, black (antennae)

(6) 1/2″-1″ tight coil, white (spots)

 

Using the photo as a guide, glue three white tight coils randomly inside the first red half circle coil forming spots on the wing.  Repeat for the second wing.  Glue the two red half circles together at the top only.  Glue the black teardrop between the two red half circles to form the body.  Glue the 6″ black half circle coil to the top of the ladybug body for her head.  Attach the black V-scroll to the top of the 6″ half circle for the antennae.

 

This little ladybug would be so cute on a card or decorating a scrapbook page.  I framed mine.

 

(1) Magnetic Mini Frame from Bazzill Basics Paper (holds a 1-3/4″ x 1-3/8″ photo), red, or similar frame

(2) 6″ pieces of 3/8″ ribbon, black with white stitching

(2) 3/8″ black buttons

(1) 1/2″ white button

Small piece of red floss

Scrap card stock:  white, green

Small leaf stamp (See-D’s or similar)

Black ink (StazOn or similar)

 

Cut the white card stock 1/4″ larger than the opening.  Stamp the leaf onto the green card stock and cut out.  Glue the ladybug to the leaf and attach both to the white card stock.  Glue the white card stock to the back of the frame with the leaf and ladybug showing inside the opening.  Tie the two pieces of ribbon together to form a decorative knot.  Referring to the photo, wrap the ribbon around the bottom of the frame, centering the knot, and secure the ends in the back.  Clip the ribbon ends at the knot on the diagonal.  Tie the red floss through the white button; clip ends.  Glue the buttons onto the upper left-hand corner of the frame.

 

Sit back and admire your quilling.  Don’t forget to sign your artwork!

It is very easy to change the size of a quilling pattern to fit your specific background — simply use a shorter or longer strip of quilling paper to make your quills.  (A “quill” is just a generic name for your scrolls and/or coils.)  With some practice, you will discover the size of the paper strip that will give you the size quill you need. 

 

For example, I found the cutest matchbook notepad template from Mirkwood Designs and thought that the floral pattern from ”Quilling a Twinchie — Beginner Pattern” would be perfect on it.  After printing out the matchbook template I discovered that the actual space available for the quillwork was only 1″ x 2″ which was too small for the twinchie pattern.   To make the quilling design fit the new project I needed to reduce it, so I cut the length of the quilling strips called for in the pattern in half (except for the tight coil used for the flower center — I kept that at 1″ since smaller than that is difficult to work with).

 

So instead of:

 

the quilling pattern used for the matchbook notepad is:

My earlier posts have explained the basic techniques and tools used in the art of quilling.  Now it’s time to quill!  For a perfect first project, we will make a twinchie.

 

What in the world is a “twinchie?”  Those of you familiar with cardmaking, scrapbooking, or stamping have probably heard of twinchies already, but if you haven’t, twinchies are wonderful pieces of art that are two inches by two inches, hence the name, twinchies.  This format for art grew from the original and still popular “inchies,” which, not surprisingly, is art that is one inch by one inch square.  This is a very satisfying form of art since it does not take long to create delightful results that are amazingly versatile.  It is a very common format chosen for group swaps since they are quick to produce and easy to mail which encourages more members to participate.

 

NOTE:  My quilling pattern instructions tell you the number, size, type, and color of the quills (coils or scrolls) needed to complete the design.  For example, (5) 3″ Marquise coil, blue, means that you will need a quantity of five marquise coils, each made from a 3″ strip of blue quilling paper.

 

Basic quilling tools (discussed earlier)

Quilling paper, 1/8″:  blue, white, green (multi-colored pack recommended for more variety)

Card stock, 2″ squares:  cream, blue

Blending chalk: mustard yellow

Dry tape runner (optional)

 

(5) 6″ marquise coil, blue

(1) 6″ teardrop coil, blue

(1) 1″ tight coil, white

(1) 7″ V-scroll, green

(1) 4″ V-scroll, green

 

Glue one point of each blue marquise to the white tight coil to form a flower.  Glue the folded end of the 4″ green V-scroll between two of the blue marquise coils to form tendrils.  Glue the blue teardrop to the top of the 3″ V-scroll to form a flower bud and glue the folded end between two marquise coils on the opposite side of the tendrils. 

 

Tear all four sides of the cream card stock and apply chalk to the torn edges.  Attach the cream card stock to the center of the blue square   Glue the finished quillwork to the 2″ square of card stock.

 

Congratulations!  You now have a beautiful twinchie. 

 

I made mine into a greeting card for a friend.  If you would like to, also, follow these easy steps.