Even More Quilled Letters!

, quiOn a roll... letter-wise, that is. I was thrilled to run across more quilled lettering, this time on Flickr. Serbia's Suzana Ilic is the creator of these impressive Cyrillic designs. She tells me that letters are her very favorite subject to quill. Look closely for her signature nest... it holds three tiny birds, representing a sister and her brothers. And how fun are these little cars, trucks, and stoplights?!Suzana enjoys quilling on small bases such as cards or miniatures. She prefers to use a needle tool and says though it takes more time, she appreciates the result.

Bright and colorful - this card, like the road scene, would be really cute framed and hung in a child's room.
So graceful...Suzana says that in her country quilling is a totally new way of expression. "People just can't believe you can do something like that with paper."

"At first I had difficulties finding the right weight of paper, made some tools on my own, found instructions on Antonella deFalco's blog and many others, and started to quill."I've been quilling for three years now. I fell in love with it the first time I saw a quilled card on the web by pure chance. I thought if I could learn this I would be the happiest person ever! I'm not exaggerating at all!"

Suzana doesn't only quill lovely letters. Visit her Flickr site to see floral examples like this stylish beauty.

If you'd like to try some quilled monograms of your own, Briar Press is a fantastic resource of sample letters.

Woven Paper Hearts

If you're familiar with the traditional Danish heart basket Christmas ornament that's been around since the 1800s, PaperMatrix offers lots of clever variations and makes them easy by providing templates.

Well, perhaps easy is the wrong adjective... at least for abstract reasoning-challenged me. It just might be Christmas before I get the weaving sorted out!


But if you're the type who takes to paper engineering like a duck to water, the eye-catching hearts would be perfect as favors filled with treats for a wedding shower, baby shower, or birthday party.


Thanks to Pam at Gingerbread Snowflakes for sending me the link. She wrote a tutorial that shows how to construct the original woven heart and it's honestly fun to do - give it a try even if these look too complicated. I remember having a great time making red and white ones for Valentine's Day and filling them with Hershey's Kisses when my boys were in kindergarten.

CardMaker Issue Winner!

The random number generator at mathgoodies.com has selected Eunice Robertson as the winner of the magazine. Congratulations Eunice! Please email me with your address and I'll get the issue on its way to you pronto.
Thanks so much to everyone who entered. I loved reading your comments and wish I had a copy to send to each one of you!

Lois Bandt Weber

Earlier this month I spent an afternoon at the convention of the North American Quilling Guild in New York. It's great to meet up with so many people who share a common interest and is always fascinating to see the quilling that's been entered in the annual competition. Lois Bandt Weber has won several NAQG awards in the past, hosted the convention last year in Florida where she lives, and brought along quite a few of her framed pieces to display at this year's event. She is devoted to quilling and with her outgoing personality and sense of humor, perfectly suited for teaching and generating interest in the art. In 2000, Lois says she wandered into a quilling class in her retirement community and remembered that she had made snowflakes for her children's teachers years ago. At the time, she wasn't aware it was called quilling.Upon returning to Wisconsin for the summer, Lois experimented with techniques, looked at pictures for inspiration, and generally enjoyed the process of learning all she could about quilling. Although she never had official artistic training other than high school art, she credits her mother with sending her to every art/craft class the YWCA offered.
She's developed a method of rolling several colors of paper together to "paint" with it, similar to the way portrait artists dip a brush into several shades. Even though the quilled faces are actually flat, they appear to have dimension.

Lois, thanks very much for sharing this sampling of your fascinating work!

By the way, the CardMaker Magazine Giveaway ends tonight. To enter, just leave a comment here.

Quilled Tree of Life

Back in January I received an email from Madeleine Lapke, who asked for quilling advice about a project she was planning to do with the sixth grade class at Holy Family School in the state of Washington. Each year with the help of parent volunteers, the school hosts a series of fundraising events that culminates with an impressive silent auction. Madeleine had it in mind that the class of thirty students could learn to quill and use their new found skill to embellish a piece of artwork as their contribution to the auction. The evening was a big success and the students' quillwork brought in a high bid of over three thousand dollars!Madeleine said, "There were ohhhhhss and ahhhhhhhs all night long! It turned out to be a perfect project to do with sixth graders and was something that all of them felt successful at (and some even got addicted to!) The best part was the meaning behind it... each individual coil was not so special, but when they were all put together the magic happened. Pictures really do not do it justice - it was stunning."Madeleine explained the process... she selected a picture that she thought would serve well as inspiration. (It happened to be by an unknown artist, so she was careful not to copy it directly.) Then she and other parents showed the students how to roll colorful coils which they made in abundance - nearly 1000! - during rainy day recesses. Madeleine outlined the design on a large piece of archival paper and supervised while the children glued the coils onto the outline as if it was a puzzle.
The auction website described the project this way: "The Tree of Life symbolizes our students. They continue to grow, rooted in their beliefs, branching out and blossoming with wisdom and beauty. The canopy of leaves symbolizes God as Creator, Provider, and Protector over our children. The sixth grade’s artistic expression of all these themes is a work of art to treasure."

And speaking of trees... Yulia Brodskaya, with her endless quilling creativity and craftsmanship, has done it again. This time it's a festival poster that's sweeping the internet by storm, a paper-on-edge tree loaded with musical instruments. Yulia gives all of us quillers, young and old-er, something to aspire to. An interesting tidbit... Madeleine had emailed Yulia also, and she wrote back to wish the students well!

Thanks to Krissy of PaperSchmaper for sending this link with its lovely closeups of the poster.

Just a reminder... a CardMaker Magazine Giveaway is going on through Monday. To enter, leave a comment here.

Quilled, No Frills + Giveaway

Designing cards for guys can be tricky, especially if you like to quill (usually flowers dominate the scene), so here's an idea for the next time a card is needed for any male/any occasion. Father's Day, birthday, graduation, retirement - just change the sentiment. The quilling reminds me of a compass, fitting for all those events that lead one in a new direction. A stress-free way to line up coils for this design, as well as when making quilled snowflakes, is to assemble them on a clear, acrylic sheet placed overtop a sheet of graph paper.My pattern is in the May issue of CardMaker Magazine, along with additional fab quilled designs by Alli Bartkowski and Charlotte Canup. The issue features lots of other cardmaking techniques as well. I have an extra copy and would love to send it to a lucky reader. To enter, leave a comment by the end of Monday, May 24 and I'll randomly select a winner the next day.

PaperPhine

I've been curious about the terms paper yarn and paper string recently. This beautiful River Aurora necklace is what piqued my interest, so an investigation was in order. Soon I came upon a treasure trove of supplies and information...Vienna's Linda Thalmann creates captivating jewelry pieces that feature the fine, industrially spun paper yarns available from her Etsy shop, PaperPhine.
Trained as a textile artist and textile designer, Linda enjoys experimenting with paper yarns, both the industrial, cellulose (wood pulp) variety, and those she sometimes makes by hand from long fiber Japanese and Korean Washi, Nepalese Lokta paper, as well as Western industrial papers (newsprint).Linda says ever since receiving the book, "Paper: Making, Decorating, Designing" by Beata Thackeray when she was a young girl, she's been hooked on paper.She opened PaperPhine as a resource for those who are interested in trying their hand at creating unusual, eye-catching things from simple paper yarn. It's surprisingly strong and takes dye beautifully.
I think you'll enjoy this interview with Linda by Stacey Trock of Fresh Stitching. Stacey crocheted a flower necklace of yarn from the PaperPhine shop, showing just how versatile the product can be. Not only is her necklace pretty, but it's so very different from Linda's contemporary pieces.Visit PaperPhine where Linda blogs about her own work, as well as other fascinating paper finds.

MegaCrafty Tries Quilling

To finish out a quilling trifecta this week here at all things paper, take a look at these cards made by Meg, another brand new quiller. Guess what? They are her very first quilled projects ever - further proof that you don't have to be an expert to make something that will knock the recipient's socks off!I love the way Meg chose to make designs that aren't routinely seen in kits and books. She just gathered simple supplies from around the house and dove in, inspired by the bold graphics on some ribbon strips and swirly vellum. That's one of the things about quilling that intrigues me... even without special tools, each of us can bring something unique to the creative table.
If you've been thinking of giving quilling a try, I bet you'll be surprised at the results. Cut strips of paper from whatever you have on hand. While rolling coils, be thinking about the way you'd like to arrange them, and then see what falls into place when you faff about with a layout. Your shapes may not be perfect at first - like anything, quilling takes practice - but chances are good you'll come up with something quite special and all your own.

Visit Meg's blog, Mega•Crafty for lots of great ideas, including a recent tutorial on paper making. She says she never met a craft she didn't like!

More Quilled Lettering!

Ready for some more fab lettering? Today's examples were created by a quilling newbie who was inspired by Yulia Brodskaya, just like Kara from Monday's post.Erin Casner quilled Everything is Awesome as her very first project! While expecting a baby, she wanted to make colorful wall art for the nursery. Not having proper quilling paper and tools certainly didn't stop her... Erin snipped the end off the eye of a needle to use as a rolling tool and cut strips of lightweight cardstock from her stash. She says she learned a few lessons from this piece - such as making the lettering larger than just an inch tall (larger makes it easier to be more precise) and using colored paper instead of white for the letters. Consider these rainbow paloozas as Erin calls them - love that! - as further proof that sensational quilled designs, worthy of being hung as framed pieces, can be created even by those who are brand new to quilling. Next, Erin made this Imagine piece, also for the baby's room. I love the positive messages of her work and have a feeling they'll help her new son to grow up as a cheerful little guy.This nice, big C is her most recent piece for the nursery. Truly hooked on paper filigree, Erin says sometimes before falling asleep she sees visions of quilling and pictures what she'll make next. I have to say, "Been there, done that!" It's such a great feeling when the creative wheels are turning... I think you'll find the more you do anything art-related, ideas really start to flow.

Follow Erin's adventures via her blog, Schmancy-ness.

Quilled Monogram

I was thrilled to come across Kara Henry's tutorial about quilling a beautiful Yulia Brodskaya-inspired letter. The graceful scrolls add so much interest to the stately H. Kara, of the blog Craftastical, captures the hallmarks of Yulia's fabulous designs... precise, square corners and lovely swirls of color.The excellent tutorial takes you step-by-step through the quilling process with helpful tips and photos. If you decide to give a monogram project a try, I hope you'll send me a picture of your finished masterpiece - I just might feature it here on all things paper!

Origami Tea Bag

Last autumn I remember seeing this novel idea of packaging tea in a bag that had been folded into a graceful bird. Recently a friend came across the link and sent it to me, thinking I might be interested. Yes, I was! I enjoyed scrolling through the many comments from around the world that had been left in the intervening time - there are lots of tea enthusiasts out there.

Although the Russian designer, Natalia Ponomareva, hasn't posted that she's found someone to produce and market the tea bags (the box was just a prototype), with any luck origami birds will soon be winging their way into our teacups.

The Crimson Poppy

Jenny Jafek-Jones of Stillwater, Oklahoma discovered just how much she loves flowers and flower arranging last year while planning her May wedding.cactus flower (it's paper!)

While searching the internet for inspiration, Jenny came across kusudama flowers (yes, the very same Folding Trees tutorial featured here recently) and also a Martha Stewart tissue paper flower kit. Her wedding decorations were a mix of kusudamas and silk flowers... just a taste of what would come once she had time to thoroughly explore the world of making flowers from paper.paper iris and orchid arrangement

Jenny came across Leone Em and Susan Tierney-Cockburn's examples of punch flower art here and expanded the flower sizes to make them more realistic via the use of a Gazelle cutter. One idea led to the next and amazingly, within a relatively short period of time, Jenny taught herself to make a beautifully realistic crepe paper rose. At first she focused on cardstock floral embellishments for cards and ornaments, nine of which she entered in the Oklahoma State Fair, garnering seven ribbons for first or second place! Needless to say, the wins gave her confidence to enter the craft show circuit. Only one of the prize winners was a realistic flower - the red rose - and it turned out to be what drew people to her booth. peonies

Wanting to expand the variety and quality of her 3D flowers, Jenny purchased stems of fresh and silk flowers, taking them apart to study construction, and tracing petals to make templates. She also searched paper flowers from the 1920s and '30s, and came across old Dennison patterns for crepe paper flowers.ranunculous

Finally she was ready to take the next step... marketing her products online. This turned out to be another time-consuming learning curve. Jenny built a basic website and opened an Etsy shop, The Crimson Poppy, but wisely decided to use the tax refund from her day job to hire professionals - a photographer, copywriter, and graphic designer/marketing specialist - who are helping her move, in her words, from "starting up" crafter to "making it happen" artist while she focuses on what she does best, creating exceptional flowers. anemone

Recently Jenny wrote a CraftStylish guide to get one started on making crepe paper flowers. She's even included links to the shops where she purchases the high quality supplies that make her flowers look so good, as well as helpful tips on gluing and stem making. As Jenny says, "There's something wonderful about the fact that each flower begins as nothing more than a flat piece of paper and a length of floral wire!"

Visit The Crimson Poppy.

Custom Quilling Giveaway Winner!

The random number generator at MathGoodies.com selected Jansie as the winner of a $10 gift certificate to CustomQuilling. Have fun shopping, Jansie! Denise of CQ will email the certificate to you.Thanks so much to everyone who entered - I really enjoyed reading your comments.

Seashell Book Sculptures

How astonishing are these paper shell sculptures by Australian artist, Rosie Miller?!To my eyes, their beauty is as subtle as the silent words on a page. Somehow Rosie manages to sculpt books into perfect shapes - I wish I could watch her at work. The pieces were part of Paperback Series II, a collection of eight books, installed on mirrored shelves for DEBUT IV, a 2008 exhibition featuring the work of newly graduated art school students at Blindside, a gallery space supported by the city of Melbourne.See more of Rosie's fascinating work on wooloo.

By the way, I've added Christine Donehue's email address to the bottom of Friday's post, if you would like to contact her about her quilling.

A Giveaway for a $10 gift certificate to spend at CustomQuilling.com winds up at the end of today, May 3. Enter here! I'll announce the winner tomorrow.