Architectural Quilling

A few years ago I met Allison Patrick via the message board of a New York musician whose songs we both like. We began emailing and soon were talking about our other interests. Allie had tried just about every craft imaginable while growing up... ah, except for quilling. I must have talked it up pretty well because in a matter of days she was experimenting with rolling paper around the tip of needle nose pliers and an open paper clip - that's determination!

When she mentioned she was moving to a new apartment and needed wall art, I remember jokingly telling her she would have to quill something... before I knew it, she was immersed in making this: What a great concept! By simply rolling a variety of shapes and gluing them into position on matboard, there's no denying that even as a beginner, she'd done an admirable job of quilling the New York City skyline. Allie explained that she created a line drawing in AutoCAD, printed it out, and attached it to foam core board. Next she wrapped outline pieces around pins that were placed in each corner, and lastly filled in the center. She went on to do the Eiffel Tower and Seattle's space needle and framed the trio inexpensively, but effectively, with black-painted canvas stretchers.Now Allie is a busy Columbia architecture student with little time to quill, but over the summer she co-developed Zipper8Design, a line of environmentally friendly, bamboo resin products. I'm looking forward to seeing where her creative mind takes her next!
On another note, my mother was in a serious accident last week. I'm not able to blog as often as I would like right now, but please keep checking back. I have lots more projects, artists, and crafters I'm excited about featuring... meanwhile, thanks so much for your patience.

When Art Surprises...

Anastassia Elias is a French painter and illustrator who does some pretty fascinating cut paper collages using... of all things... empty toilet paper rolls. This one is titled Grandmother. Just tiny bits of mundane cardboard, but I love the way her fine cuts bring scenes to life.

And here is School.
Enjoy more of Anastassia's work on her website, including lovely torn paper and newsprint collages like Square...
and Passants
Now then, ahem, since toilet paper is already out of the closet for today... I must admit I wasn't aware of toilet paper origami. It even has a name... toilegami.Perhaps we're all familiar with the triangle fold, but I bet the more intricate designs would go a long way in wowing house guests. Learn how via DIYMaven's post for curbly.com.

And who knew? There's even an entire stylish book on the subject!

(Thanks to fellow Twitterers margaretroach and howaboutorange for these finds.)

Saloukee Jewelry

Sarah Louise Kelly is the brainchild behind Saloukee, a relatively new company that features intricate, laser cut jewelry designs. In less than two year's time, Sarah's eye-catching necklaces, bracelets, pins, and earrings have been exhibited in shows across Europe, won awards, and generated a great deal of buzz.
Sarah studied silversmithing and three dimensional jewelry design at Loughborough University in England where she created jewelry models in paper as preparation for larger works. Soon Sarah realized she preferred paper as a medium instead of traditional metals; thus her line of jewelry was born. With patience and precision - pressing hundreds of rivets by hand, for example - she creates not just jewelry, but striking works of art from sustainable Japanese textile papers.The folds are designed to expand and contract.

Sarah's highest profile commission to date has been a range of jewelry for Angelina Jolie to wear in the film, A Mighty Heart, based on the memoirs of Mariane Pearl.

As one who also makes paper jewelry, I asked Sarah how she fields questions of wearability. I can so relate to her reply:

"...I love the natural, tactile nature of paper and I feel that a fixative would taint it. I don't like shiny, false looking surfaces and to me, treating an item in a way in which it was intended, is important. I always get, "What happens if it rains??" which frustrates me a lot! I've taken to saying "Well you wouldn't wear a pair of silk shoes in the rain, would you?!"

Saloukee jewelry can be purchased at Joolia.

Garden Peas

Before summer slips away, I'd like to show you this paper filigree piece that was in last year's exhibit. I made it as a gift for someone who enjoys growing peas each spring, thus the choice of subject material.To be honest, I never cared too much for peas as a child, but I've certainly mended my ways. Now not only do I like to eat them, but I also admire the growing habit of the plant itself... such delicate tendrils with a surprisingly firm grasp - really quite miraculous! I especially enjoyed recreating that aspect in paper.

Strips of hand cut vellum were used for the pea pods, and the Speck-tacular line of papers from Lake City Craft Co. made up the majority of the plant and flowers. I find that the muted Speck-tacular shades are a natural for plant construction and the paper is just the right weight for looping and sculpting.

Kitty Kat Kards

I love when someone grabs onto a design concept and runs with it. Tina of KittyKatKards, is one of those people... she makes multitudes of the cutest origami dress cards.
Crisp, clean lines, paper 'fabrics', as well as quirky little sayings.... it all adds up to eye-catching fun.Tina was a child when her mother started her on the path to origami folding. She was shown how to do a few models and searched out more. The folded dress that's been such a fantastic seller is a design Tina discovered at OrigamiClub. She liked its girliness and thought it could be used for many different types of cards, and also as a scrapbook embellishment.
Tina says she's always liked the idea of card making, but only seriously got into it the past couple of years. She also enjoys photography and has offered a few photo cards in her shop, but mainly focuses on paper folding. Not all of her origami cards feature dresses however; look for stylish seasonal designs too.

Fog and Thistle Paper Cuts

I was introduced to paper cutter, Rachel Weber, when she was a guest on Martha Stewart's show this past winter. Rachel demonstrated how to make one of her sweet and clever nightlights.

Is that one monkey......or two?!The design is magically transformed when the light is flicked on in the evening.

The entire segment can be viewed here. Free templates and instructions to make a little bird or koala light are also available - lovely!

Rachel began to experiment with paper cutting as a way to make adorable wall decor for her children's rooms. Soon she set up her Fog and Thistle website and Etsy shop to sell shadowboxes and framed prints of playful designs... and then added the nightlight line. She also offers complete make-your-own nightlight kits in a variety of designs.
Rachel says she's well-suited to paper cutting because of its finality. I like how she expresses it... "Brush strokes can be altered and pencil marks erased, but cutting paper permanently alters the medium. I find this process comforting and zen-like - a stark contrast to my earlier days as a frustrated, revision-prone painter."PDF templates for wall art, such as Feed the Bird, are also available via the Fog and Thistle shop. Print out the template as many times as you like... after a bit of practice, you could be making beautiful gifts for friends and family.

Baskets and Boxes

It's time for some container gardening.... quilling style, that is. My pals are always coming up with good ideas, so I asked if I could share these pictures with you.

Tracy Belair Gaito from Vermont (you may remember her orbit necklace and tiny mice) made this graceful spiral basket. It reminds me of the kind Martha Stewart carries as she sashays through her gorgeous cutting gardens for the tv cameras. (yep, just jealous :-) Tracy has filled her baskets with irises and glads... I love the fresh, bright colors she's so good at using.
Washington's Heidi Bishop (remember her cool zebra's eye?) made this beautifully ornate treasure box. The highly detailed, encrusted filigree style harkens back to Jane Austen's time.

Stephanie Lucy Djunaedi from Indonesia creates clever paper weaving projects. Here she's decorated the top of a little paper covered box with a pretty floral arrangement. And this little woven basket Steph made makes me smile - it's so realistic, right down to the stitching. I hope these ideas have started your creative wheels turning!

Giveaway Winner!

The random number generator at Random.org selected comment #5 as the winner... Congratulations, Regina! Please email me your address so I can mail the prize.

Thanks very much to all who entered. It was heartwarming to read your comments and I'm thrilled that so many of you share my enthusiasm for all things paper.

World of Paper

Video fun today... a very clever advertisement for Scribe notebooks. Conceived by Cru de Ladies, a studio in Mexico City, it was made in less than two weeks time - pretty incredible!

SCRIBE MUNDO DE PAPEL from ladies on Vimeo.

On another note, perhaps you'll have a bit of time this Labor Day weekend to make a butterfly or two. The Holocaust Museum of Houston, Texas is collecting handmade butterflies for an exhibition that will serve as a memorial to the 1.5 million innocent children who perished in the Holocaust. Read more about the Butterfly Project at Craft Critique.

And there's still time to enter in my Blogiversary Giveaway... just leave a comment here before the end of today. On Monday I'll announce the winner!

Hila Rawet Karni

Hila Rawet Karni makes significant use of her education in industrial design to create stunning jewelry. The Kipul collection is composed of simple folded paper sheets. Hila skillfully transforms the origamic construction into something unique, surprising, and incredibly elegant. The shading that results from the angular folding technique adds depth and interest.She describes her work as an encounter between industrial design and jewelry design and considers it "...gutsy with a feminine edge."You can see more of Hila's neckpieces and bracelets on her website. In addition to the Kipul collection, she has created a Kishut line, composed of flexible plastic and metal buttons or grommets, and the Kfitz collection that combines springs with textiles and leather. The jewelry commands a high price, and why not? It's exceptional!

Good Things

Just a quick update to say that my newest tutorial has been posted at Craftzine, where yarn projects are being featured all month long. The place card design is an example of easy-to-make flowers composed of crewel yarn and quilling paper. The leaves are made with the paper folding technique called alternate side looping and the flower centers are quilled tight coils.You might also enjoy stopping by Patricia Zapata's A Little Hut blog to print out these stylish (and free!) thank you notes that she designed. Patricia, as you may recall from an earlier post, is the author of the brand new paper crafting title, home, paper, scissors. She has such a knack for doing things simply, but beautifully... this classy little bow, for example.And don't forget to leave a comment on my Blogiversary post by Sunday night if you'd like to be entered in the giveaway!

Six Month Blogiversary!

I can hardly believe it... six months have flown by. For someone who wasn't quite sure that blogging would be her cup of tea, I have to say I'm having a blast! Getting to know so many of you lovely readers, not to mention being in touch with the fabulous artists and crafters who have been featured here since March... well, I'm very glad I took the plunge.

So then, to celebrate... how about a giveaway?! The prize is pristine, brand new copies of the September/October 2008 issue of Bead Trends and the January 2009 issue of CardMaker Magazine, and since it's all about making, I'll send along some nifty card making supplies too. The Bead Trends idea book features instructions for one of my gold-gilded filigree pendants, as well as many more handmade jewelry designs. CardMaker includes patterns for a quilled calla lily card and a quilled Valentine, plus a zillion other greeting card ideas. All you have to do to be entered in the drawing is leave a comment by the end of Sunday, September 6th.

It doesn't matter in the least if you've never commented before... if you're reading along, that's pretty terrific all by itself. Would you believe this site has been translated into 58 languages?! (Meet Google Analytics... my new best friend, har!)

Check back on Monday, September 7 when I'll announce the winner. And don't worry if you aren't in the U.S. - I promise to ship the treats anywhere in the world.

Here's to many more posts of papery goodness - thanks, everyone!