The bride-to-be contacted me about a certificate prior to their wedding in 2010. She had a color scheme and layout in mind, as she loved the dramatic black and silver arcs of this design. Eventually the couple decided that calligrapher Riva Brown of Wilmington, Delaware who I often collaborate with, would go ahead and prepare it, but I would add the quilled design after the wedding to keep it safe while guest signature lines were filled in. Much time passed and I assumed the couple had decided they were happy with the beautifully lettered certificate just as it was - completely understandable.
As it turned out, they had eloped and so it had taken quite a while to gather signatures of family and friends. Not only that, they now have three children. Susanne requested deep red tulips arranged inside a heart to represent each child and positioned just as you see them here... the center tulip would stand tall with the others curving toward it. To make them, I cut and layered metallic sculpture paper.
She also requested another favorite flower, white sweet peas. I found that paper wasn't quite malleable enough to make realistically delicate blossoms and buds so I used reversible textured foil - white on one side, silver on the other. To make vine tendrils, I cut quilling paper into 1/32-inch strips and coiled them tightly at one end. Silver-edge black paper was used for the scrolls, tricky to show in photos, but it shines beautifully.
As you might have guessed, the most time-consuming part was the final gluing. This is when I find myself practically holding my breath as I make sure that the design winds up perfectly balanced. My trusty laser level came in handy once again as creating a mirror image with ever-shifting paper scrolls is a challenge!
The 22 x 30 inch certificate is now being framed by Riva and will soon hang in the couple's home where they plan to enjoy it for many years to come.
