Quilled Christmas Tree Card

Is it really time to kick off the Christmas season? Wasn't it just the middle of summer?! I miss the warmth, but have to say it's kind of nice to live in this corner of the northern hemisphere where staying inside to make things goes hand in hand with the chilly holidays.


Here's an idea for a card that would be a good design to try even if you're brand new to quilling. Because the rolled coils are random sizes, there's no need to stress over them being exact. The card itself is a simple gate fold, meaning the short sides of a cardstock rectangle are folded in to meet at the center. The red, elongated triangle is glued to the left side only, so the flaps can be opened to reveal a greeting.


Quilled loose coils make nifty little ornaments. Roll a narrow strip of lightweight green/red paper, 1/8 inch wide, anywhere from two to seven inches in length, on a quilling tool or even a toothpick. Glue the end (a torn end blends in best), spread a little glue on the back of the coil, and randomly trim the tree. Tweezers are a huge help in handling quilling coils. To give the ornaments a bit of shine, dab one side in a metallic ink pad before gluing the opposite side to the card, or use specialty quilling paper with a gilded edge.


Make the tree trunk by rolling a loose coil and pinching it at two opposite points... this is a marquise shape. Rotate the marquise slightly and pinch again at two more points to create a rectangle.

I punched the gold metallic stars with a Fiskars three-way snowflake corner punch and used a Uniball gold gel pen for the lettering.

If you're thinking of making a batch of Christmas cards this year, there's no better time than the present to order quilling paper and other card making supplies. Custom Quilling and Whimsiquills are offering discounts on orders placed today, Cyber Monday, and fringers are half price at the Quilling Superstore until December 5. Too Bad Dogs also has a number of special offers going on now through the 5th. If you'd rather purchase a completed quilled item, several Etsy quilling shops have free shipping or discounts today. Just type quilling in the Handmade search box to display the most recently listed items. Quilling by Sandra White is offering free gift wrapping and shipping between now and December 12.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Feast your eyes on this slice of pecan pie/treat box made by Sonya Appel for the Custom Quilling newsletter. Not nearly as many calories as the real thing, but definitely just as wonderful!


Sonya is a dynamo in the quilling and stamping worlds, always coming up with inspiring ideas. Check out her blog for more information about how she went about making the pie slice.

Quick story about pecans...
My mother, who has had Alzheimer's for quite a few years, grew up in southern Virginia where pecans reign supreme - seriously, pecan pie is on the menu of nearly every restaurant.

photo credit (and recipe - yum!): Cyndi Allison

Last autumn Mom was still able to go to the grocery store with my dad, despite not having a clear idea of who or where she was. On one shopping trip she spied the display of pecans and insisted they buy a bag for my sister and me. Old habits die hard you know... the purchase of pecans had always been an annual tradition that launched the holiday baking season, and for some reason it stayed in her mind even though so many other things had vanished. I'm thankful she's still with us this year and able to enjoy a slice of pie.


To those of you here in the U.S., Happy Thanksgiving! I'll be back on Monday, gearing up for the holidays. 'Tis the season!

Quilled Grapevine

Several readers have been asking to see more of my quilling - how nice are they?! I promise to do a better job of sharing what I make and today will be one of those days. It's just that I love to show a variety of paper artists and ideas, and always seem to be coming across something that makes me say "wow!"

This piece is perhaps a repeat for Yahoo quilling group members, but now is a good time to post it with harvest season wrapping up here in the U.S. and Thanksgiving quickly approaching.


Inspired by a graphic design in a CR Gibson memorial garden book that I inscribe for a local church, it came together in a weekend. I always say creating an original design takes me so much longer than actually doing the project itself, so here you are, proof of that - it was relatively quick.

To give the vine stiffness for easier handling, I held a few lengths of gold and silver ornament thread together, coated them with clear glue, and set the strand aside to dry completely before trying to work with it. Leaves were punched from a variety of metallic papers. I sketched the vase, cut it out, and ran it in a few directions through a paper crimper to create interesting texture.

Woodland Marriage Certificate

Recently I completed a marriage certificate for a couple whose wedding took place in the Jurassic Park area of Universal Studios in Florida.

click pics to enlarge

They requested autumn flora and fauna to complement the forest theme. I love a quilling challenge, so enjoyed creating a design that includes ferns, leaves, acorns, mushrooms, an owl, blue jay, squirrel, and even a tiny mouse. See him sneaking along down there at the bottom?


A marriage certificate is a poster-sized document on which the couple's vows are written in calligraphy. The bride and groom usually sign it during or immediately after the wedding. Guests may also sign as a commitment to support the couple in their marriage.


Originally a Quaker tradition, marriage certificates are an alternative to the traditional guest book. A nice advantage is that the art piece can be framed and hung in the couple's home as a special remembrance of the day.


The couple's wedding vows were perfectly lettered by calligrapher Riva Brown of Living Letters Studio.


Many thanks to Nole Garey for featuring this certificate earlier in the week on Oh So Beautiful Paper. If you've found your way here via that post, additional document designs can be found here, here, and here. If you would like to inquire about a custom certificate for your wedding, contact me at ann.b.martin at gmail dot com


I always encourage others to try their hand at quilling, so if you are thinking of making your own certificate or adding a touch of quilling in some other way to your wedding, I've posted a tutorial for place cards and favor boxes, and also one that shows how to make fringed flowers, very similar to the brown craft paper blossoms on this certificate.


Best wishes, Matt and Alex!

MooDoo Lighting

Introducing laminated nanopaper lamps from MooDoo, a young design studio in Prague. Simple and spectacular!

Leaf Nano Paper Lamp on iroko wood stand

The designer of the lamps is MgA. Tomas Paul, a well-known artist in the Czech Republic. Peter Skacel and Marek Schwarz are technical developers of the special paper used to create the line of elegant ambient lighting. They work in conjunction with NeoGraph, a Czech security paper mill.

Lady Nano Paper Lamp on wire stand

So just what is nanopaper? I was curious and found this wiseGEEK site that explains it is an extremely durable paper that obtains its strength from trillions of linked cellulose nanofibers. Still a very new technology, scientists are working worldwide to develop uses for this fascinating discovery.

Guard Nano Paper Lamp on wood stand

The line of MooDoo lamps may be expanded in the future to include printed and/or perforated papers.

Bethlehem Praga lamp

This limited edition shade with stand is designed to hold a tea candle. Protective figures surround a cradle, standing under Prague's majestic Gothic arches. So beautiful in its simplicity.


Visit MooDoo's new Etsy shop and view additional lamp designs on the company's website, MooDoo.

By the way, for those of you who were interested in the 3-D modular origami featured last week, Helen of Let's Create has many tutorials on her blog.

Learn to make the swan, and perhaps there's still time to construct the symbol of hospitality, a pineapple, as a lovely way of welcoming your Thanksgiving guests.

3-D Modular Origami

Recently a friend's son visited Hong Kong and returned home with a folded paper dragon kit. I thought I knew what she meant when she described it to me, because some time ago I had come across videos for an Asian paper craft that relies on pointy pieces of folded paper to make all sorts of colorful structures. So off I went on a hunt for those same videos without either one of us knowing what the craft is called... and yay, found them! More about that in a moment, first let me give credit for the following pictures.


The projects belong to kattykong on Flickr, and all but one are quite unusual... see if you can guess which picture is a beloved and frequently made model in this genre.

The craft is called Chinese 3-D modular origami. Multitudes of little paper rectangles are folded into triangles that interlock without the need to glue each piece. In Japan, it's referred to as block folding origami.


It seems you can make just about any structure imaginable, large or small, complicated or not. It's probably best to start out by following a diagram, and you'll find quite a few by searching for 3-D modular origami patterns.


Now back to those YouTube videos... Made by Julia Zhu, a teen in New Zealand, I found them enjoyable to watch. She's a natural born teacher, and thanks to step-by-step instructions with a good bit of humor thrown in, Julia makes the mindless folding of little paper rectangles seem like a very fun thing to do. Here is her beginner tutorial and there are many additional ones on the page's sidebar.


I contacted kattykong in China about sharing her photos and despite the language barrier, she told me she used paper from cigarette packages to make the complex bicycle and advertisements for the flower vases. Kattykong's examples are elaborate compared to the cute and colorful animals that are often seen. With snow days ahead, those would be great, inexpensive projects to keep the kids busy, and a paper cutter would make short work of readying the rectangles.


Apparently paper folding aficionados are divided into two camps regarding 3-D modular origami. Some find it satisfying to be able to make so many different items with just one type of small triangle, whereas others prefer to fold a whole sheet of origami paper into a different model each time.

Of course kattykong rolled, rather than folded, this last container, but I think it looks quite nice too!


Oh, and it's the pair of swans that you'll see frequently as an example of modular origami. Their long and gracefully curved necks are so well-suited to this interesting craft.

Blush Envy - Paper Jewelry

I love to keep an eye on wedding trends, especially current flower and color favorites, never knowing when the information will come in handy for the marriage certificates I quill. Recently I've been noticing that the ranunculus has become really popular in bridal bouquets.

Photo source: Nature Hills Nursery

Isn't ranunculus a great name? It's one of those words that's just fun to say over and over. (Yes, I'm easily amused.)

Latin for "little frog", it leads me to think of the fairy tale in which the toad turns into a prince after being kissed... and this makes it a fitting name for the flower because the perfectly round and full shape is truly regal.


Brandy of Etsy shop, Blush Envy, creates paper ranunculus that look so much like the real thing, it's hard to believe they aren't fresh flowers.


She sketches, cuts, and shapes the petals by hand from fabulous colored papers, and highlights each one with paint. Finally, the whole piece is coated with a water-based sealer that protects the petals and makes them incredibly sturdy.


Brandy explains that each flower goes through a minimum twenty step glazing process and takes at least a week to make. Once the romantic flowers are created, she constructs beautiful bib necklaces, rings, earrings, and hair clips, often adding elegant pearls and beads as accents.


Blush Envy has only been open since May, but is already receiving a good bit of attention. No surprise there, as the flowers and workmanship are truly gorgeous.


Right now the shop is closed because Brandy is off doing her first show of the holiday season, but I'm sure if you contact her, she will be happy to hear from you. (edited to say, she's back now!)


And if you happen to be in Chicago in early December, Brandy will be traveling there from Florida to exhibit at the One of a Kind Show and Sale at The Merchandise Mart, December 2-5. If you go, just mention to her that you saw this post, and you'll receive 20% off your purchase.

Blush Envy is on Facebook too.

Fine Paper Cutting - Ruth Mergi

Unique paper cuts by Ruth Mergi are truly something to see. Ruth is an American-born artist living in Modi'in, Israel, who began paper cutting in earnest just a year or so ago.


She works by hand with a compass and straightedge to create intricate single-layer, multilayered, and painted paper cut designs. Ruth says she is strongly influenced by traditional Islamic motifs, as well as other spiritual traditions.

2010. Cut paper and gouache. 10 x 10".

Recently she began creating original paper cut ketubot, which are Jewish marriage documents. This is her remarkable first design.

Meytal's Ketubah 2010. 23" x 23". Nine layers of hand cut paper, gouache. Calligraphy courtesy of Izzy Pludwinski.

Meytal's Ketubah - detail

Ruth's work compelled me to ask questions about her creative process.

How did you begin doing this style of paper cuts?
One of my biggest influences is the Judaica artist Archie Granot, whose layered papercuts are very well known in the Jewish art world. It's been trial and error, and I consider myself to still be in a very experimental stage. I've been building on what I've picked up over the years, and also intensely studying whatever I can learn online about paper craft.

2010. Six layer hand-cut paper. Image from "Islamic Geometric Patterns," Eric Broug, 2008, detail.

The above piece is a pattern from Qarawiyyin Mosque in Morocco. Ruth says she wants to create fifty of these and tile her walls with them. I wouldn't be a bit surprised if she does!

Did you study art in school?
Oh gosh, let's see. I was introduced to paper cutting in high school, almost twenty years ago. An artist named Tamar Fischman came to my school and did a little workshop during my senior year. I loved it from the start. At UC Berkeley, I majored in philosophy, but made an effort to take art classes when my schedule permitted. After college, I traveled in Europe and India, lived in Israel for a time, worked as a journalist, and then went to law school in the U.S. My oldest son was born while I was in my last year, and after graduation I moved back to Israel, and here I've stayed. I did some legal research for a while, but never practiced law. In the meantime I stayed at home with my son, my two daughters were born, and I tried to figure my path.

Mind's Repose: Letter from John Keats to Fanny Brawne, detail. 2010. Hand-cut paper, Swarovski crystals. 18 x 18. Original design.

About a year ago I had a "wake up call" and realized that I was an artist after all. I set up a studio in the basement that same week and have been at it since. It's a challenge with three small kids at home - they are aged six, four, and not yet two - but I know this is the right path for me.

Can you explain for us how you go about your layering process?
For the most part, it's very straightforward. I glue the top layer to an under-layer, and then cut *that*. And I keep going until I'm done. Very low-tech, but labor intensive, and although I'm still working out the kinks, I have to say I find it satisfying!

meshushim, detail

You mentioned on your Flickr page that you would be sending a piece off to be laser cut.
So far I've only worked by hand -- no computers, no photoshop, no lasers. Recently I had a couple of pieces reproduced by lasercut, and am going to add hand-cut layers and paint to work those into new pieces. It should be a fun experiment.

Have you found a particular craft knife that is most comfortable to use?
I cut with a regular old X-Acto knife, #11 blade, for the most part.

Paper Cut Flower 2010. Hand cut paper, original design.

How are your hands holding up? I would imagine the tedious, fine cuts must be pretty hard on them.
My hands are fine, it's my eyes that hurt! One of my daily frustrations is having to take breaks when my eyes start to glaze over from the strain. The hands are willing, but I have to rest every hour or so in order to see properly. It's a challenge to get enough done while the kids are at school and daycare, which keeps me on a very tight schedule, but that's not an entirely bad thing. The kids do keep me motivated!

Stay up-to-date with Ruth's newest projects via her blog.

Even More Quilled Letters!

I love coming across bloggers who have given quilling a try and discovered how much they enjoy the process and results. Here are three such folks... and based on their eye-catching designs it's hard to tell they are all quite new to paper rolling.

First up is Lorene, from I am just Lu, who made this pretty W.


Lorene gets together monthly with several relatives and friends who call themselves the Crafty McCrafters. Recently they met to quill monograms, using Craftastical's excellent tutorial. Lorene shares helpful tips in her post that are the result of trial and error, often the very best way to learn. She's since gone on to make several more letters.


I think it's safe to say Lorene's sister-in-law Dusty, who blogs at Doug's Supertastic Blogging Experience, is also smitten with quilling. Her first attempt was this graceful N. Rather than beginning by shaping a paper frame for the letter, she relied on long scrolls to create it.


Dusty's next project was something I have to admit I've never seen translated into quilling before... can you guess what it is?


A peace sign. Well done, Dusty!


She used clip art to trace the basic outline, filled it in with scrolls, and placed it in a shadowbox. Dusty has also framed this stylish tree, created from loose scrolls, teardrop coils, and a teeny-tiny heart.


Lastly, here's a project that requires a bigger time investment, but if you happen to love paisley, it's well worth it.


Suzy, from Suzy's Artsy Crafty Sitcom, designed this pretty amazing A. She's posted a how-to that begins with the creation of a dimensional cardboard base.


Making these as personalized, but inexpensive Christmas gifts is a brilliant idea. By the way, Suzy kindly asked to interview me not long ago... the post is here if you'd like to read how I got started in this whole quilling/blogging adventure. But don't be alarmed by the initial chatter about Tom Selleck and Gordon Ramsay... Suzy is quite the character!

Previous quilled monogram posts can be found here, here, here, and here. Lots of ideas, if you are into pretty letters!