Quilling Tips - Make a Baby Card

I don't often lean toward quilling cute designs, but the arrival of a new baby is the perfect exception. Making this card for a couple whose first child just arrived was a lot of fun, but it's probably best I not admit to how much time was involved. No one ever said quilling is fast, but it still gets my vote as an enjoyable thing to do.

Once you start looking, there are quite a few details...

...printing and layering patterned papers, Oh Baby letter stamping, printing/cutting out a tag, scallop-edge scissor-cutting here and there, and experimenting with tassel-making. Oh, and the main attraction... quilling a dragonfly.

A few tips in case you would like to make a similar card:

The dragonfly is made up of quilled marquise and oval tight coils in graduated sizes along with a tiny V scroll as the antennae. [quilling basics]

To make the silky tassel, I began by running a sharp pin repeatedly down the length of a piece of ribbon to fray it.... because hello, tassels are everywhere! My wardrobe might not always be in style, but I make sure my cards are, ha. Perhaps this is overthinking it, but I like the way the gossamer softness complements the delicate dragonfly.

Stamping the letters before cutting the squares makes the process much easier than trying to center the stamp in such a small space. (An even better tip: print an extra sheet in case you goof up a number of times... no need to ask how I know this.) Using a glue stick to adhere the squares is easier than dealing with sticky bits of doubled-sided tape and holds the corners down too.

I didn't have an envelope on hand that was the right size, but thanks to a YouTube video aptly titled How to Make an Envelope, I was shown how to create one for any size card (well, within reason) from just one sheet of printer paper. And it truly turned out looking like a professionally made envelope!

P.S. The uber-cute dachshund wrapping paper is from Vitamini Modern and the green ribbon is the same kind I used for the tassel.

P.P.S. Don't forget to enter the Diana Ferguson Jewelry international giveaway that's underway through Saturday, 11/19/16. Your odds of winning are excellent! By the way, in addition to her amazing paper jewelry, Diana has a page of On Trend items that the prize coupons will cover. Who wouldn't want to have a pretty pair of earrings for themselves or to give as a gift? These little triangles are gold-plated sterling silver.