Quilled Placards at JOANN and Paper Zen Quilled Succulents

Attention-getting examples of quilling have arrived at JOANN craft stores across the U.S. Stop in to marvel at the colorful art pieces that are larger than life reproductions of on-edge floral work created by Ohio quiller, Lauren Byrne.
I first learned about the quilled placards via the Little Circles Facebook quilling group in which Lauren shared several photos she had snapped while visiting her local store, explaining that it was a surreal experience to look up and see her work in person for the first time.



Lauren said she's excited to see quilling pushing its way back into the realm of mainstream crafts. Many quillers have had the experience of visiting big box craft stores and asking in which aisle quilling supplies are located. Too often we're met with a blank look and the question, "Quilling? What's that?" or "Do you mean quilting fabric?"


Unfortunately, JOANN stores no longer carry quilling paper or tools... ironic, considering it was where Lauren and others in the more than 9000 member-strong Facebook group bought their first supplies. She is hoping JOANN's interest in quilling means that the chain will find a place for quilling supplies again, and perhaps even have information for customers to learn about it. Note that the JOANN online store shows quilling supplies. But as a class teacher, Lauren says it would be nice to be able to offer students a place to purchase supplies other than online.


Lauren's personal quilling style is dense, colorful shapes. She often creates frameable mats for wedding invitations, as well as anniversary gifts. I asked about her art background, how she began quilling, and what she likes about it.

I come from a very creative family and was introduced to many mediums from a young age. I have always had an interest in arts and crafts, especially paper art. I've created cards and scrapbooks for many years, but became frustrated when I didn't have the right sticker or embellishment for what I wanted to portray. I remembered purchasing a couple of quilling kits and decided to see if I could create what I needed, so quilling started just as an accent for my cards and scrapbook making, but soon I was hooked! I've been exploring it now for more than fifteen years and couldn't be happier to see it becoming more popular. You can find paper quilling in so many different aspects of art and marketing. It thrills me to see the different styles come to life.



Do you mainly work with strips you've cut from sheet paper?

I do now. I started with precuts and still use them here and there depending on what I'm working on. With so many paper options as to weight, texture and color, it's overwhelming to choose at times, but it allows me to be very project-specific. Cutting your own strips can be daunting, especially if you're cutting one at a time. Thankfully, I recently upgraded to a industrial cutter. Best Christmas gift ever! It allows me to cut many strips at once. I have also picked up some tricks along the way, such as using a pasta cutter for those crazy 1/16th inch strips I like to use. On the other hand, I prefer 1/4" strips for edge work, like the type of designs I did for JOANN.

See more of Lauren's quilling on Instagram where she is @pickerelite16. She also has a Facebook page, The PickerElite.
Another exciting occurrence in the world of quilling happened this past Friday when Cecelia Louie, a professional graphic designer and quilling book author, released a trio of instant download quilled succulent card patterns that are so clever I immediately told her I would let you all know about them. They're ideal to give as a Valentine, birthday card, or thank you note.


Make them right away via a digital tutorial Cecelia created that is available in her Etsy shop, Paper Zen. Over the years, she's perfected a step-by-step quilling method that involves simply printing a template and laying quilling strips on top of it... just mark the folds and cut to the indicated length; no ruler required. You can also customize the greeting on the card front and type your name on the back to give yourself credit for a job well done. What's better than that?!