theartofquilling.com

 

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.

 

Normally, your piece of quilled art would be glued on top of your background surface like I did with the boot.

 

But, what happens if you place the quilling under the background, cutting out pieces to reveal the quilling?

 

You get a very striking piece of art that almost resembles needlework.  It will look absolutely stunning and will add value to your home which is perhaps insured with Aviva (aviva.co.uk) or another company.  Not just monetary value, but emotional value as the picture will soon become a family heirloom.

 

The method is quite simple:

 

 

Quilling Tip:  This would make an awesome home decor DIY project.  Add coordinating art work to a room that has a stenciled border.  Use the same stencil for wall art and a coordinating pillow.  Or create a stencil from a fabric pattern already in the room and bring it up to the wall with your own quilled piece.

 

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.

 

 

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.    

 

Quilling Tip:  I used a printed paper that reminded me of a starry night as the background for my snowflake, but many combinations are possible.  A quilled wreath would be great attached to a card featuring a home’s front door.  A quilled snowman could grace a card showing children playing in the snow.  Or quill a stocking and attach it to a card that shows a fireplace with a roaring fire.

Twice a year, my local library system conducts a book sale of hardbacks, paperbacks, children’s books, magazines, and tapes, that have been either culled from circulation or donated by patrons for the sale.  With the emergence of online used book sales through ebay, Amazon, etc., the lines are long and the sale is crowded, but if you are up for it, attending one of these events can lead to awesome treasures at a fraction of the price for new books (from $0.10 - $1).  

 

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.

 

Contact your local library or visit their website to see if they have annual book sales.  For me, I find it well worth the effort.

 

 

Quilling Tip:  Readers Digest condensed books, or other nicely bound books, look wonderful as props for your quilling.  Stack two on their side and top them with a piece of your framed quilling to create a bookshelf display you’ll be proud of.

Next week I am teaching my first basic quilling class with a Halloween theme.  It will also be my first Mommy & Me class (mother & daughter pairs), so I am really looking forward to it.  For each class, I provide my students with three original quilling patterns along with all of the materials necessary to complete three projects.  After making the basic shapes for their take-home chart, we complete one of the projects in class.  They can then keep quilling at home with the other two projects… and get hooked on quilling (I hope)! 

 

I was looking around the web for inspiration and ran across a card that spelled “boo!” using a chipboard letter “b” and exclamation point “!”.  For the letter “o” they used jack-o-lantern stickers.  It was so cute and I knew it would be just perfect as one of the class projects since each pair could make the card together, with the Mommy quilling one of the pumpkins and the child quilling the other.  I wanted to put a photo of the inspiration card on this blog, but it is on a major site and I honestly couldn’t figure out who to ask, so I am including the link here so you can click over and take a look.

 

I am very happy with how my quilled Halloween card turned out. 

 

Being creative doesn’t have to be expensive.  All of the supplies for this card came from my own stash, except for the ribbon that was on sale this week at Michaels.  Use what you have to make quilled cards for each season.  The lucky recipient will thank you for it.

 

Quilling Tip:  The idea of using objects for letters is not new.  An arching black cat would make a perfect “h” in Halloween.  And a quilled witches broom could be the “l”, or used as an exclamation point.  You could even quill the spider from the last post and use it for the “o”  in “Boo!” instead of the pumpkins.  Just make its body out of a larger loose coil and shorten the legs, making him more of an “o” shape. 

 

“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.” 

 

 

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. 

 

Puffy 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!!!

 

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. 

 

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. 

 

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.” 

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.

 

 

 

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!

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.