For the LOVE of Quilling

Hello! Just thought I'd share some of my recent quilling projects. I haven't really talked much about quilling so now is as good a time as ever. I recently had the pleasure of teaching a class at our local AC Moore store and I had so much fun! The class was a Quilling Basics Workshop so the designs were pretty simple. These are the three cards the students learned to make:

 

 

 

Since this was a class folks had to pay for, I can't share the nitty gritty details on how these cards were created (that wouldn't be fair to the fabulous students that took my class). I can at least tell you what products I used :). All of the cardstock was from my stash but I think it was all Bazzill. The designer paper was from My Mind's Eye and is part of their Lost and Found 2 paper line. In general, I'm not a big fan of paper packs and I find that I very rarely purchase any. The main reason for this is because most of the paper is single sided and I feel like I don't get my money's worth as it's hard to coordinate with other papers. However, when I found the smaller 6x6 paper packs by My Mind's Eye, I found these to be perfect for making cards! The paper is double sided and I don't waste near as much paper as I do when I have to cut up my 12x12 paper. The border punches and paper crimper were both by Fiskars. The stamp on the first card is by Inkadinkado and I believe the set is called "Thank You". The bling in the second card is by Queen & Co. I love this bling as it's only $1.00 and you get an assortment of sizes (with it being so cheap, you can buy every color! LOL). The embossing folder in the last card is by Darice. I used my heart shaped Nestabilities by Spellbinders to cut out the heart. That's about as much as I can share about how I put together these cards. :)

 

If you've thought about learning how to quill, don't put it off! It is one of those crafts that you can do just about anywhere and doesn't require a TON of money (or space) to do! For starters, you need your tools - slotted quilling tool (the long handled one) and needle tool, needle nose tweezers, fine tip scissors and a quilling board. The best quilling board that I've used is by Darice. Don't even bother trying to quill with the tiny tool that comes with it as it will just make you crazy and want to hurt someone. There are kits that you can purchase out there that have some of the tools, some sample paper and glue. As far as the kit goes, I'm kind of indifferent to it. If you're like me, you try to get the most for your money which may not be the case with the kit as most of the individual things you can buy using a coupon. It all depends on what's available in your area :). Another thing you'll need to figure out what you like is glue. There are all sorts of clear-drying glue on the market. My preference is Glossy Accents as it dries super quick and is super strong. The other nice to have thing would be the Curling Coach. This really helped one of my students during class as she did not have any fingernails to help get her roled quilling paper off of the slotted quilling tool. Next, you'll just grab you some quilling paper (PLEASE, I beg you, do NOT cut your own paper). I've been there and tried that and cut the crap out of my fingers and HATED how my projects turned out. There's just something about true quilling paper that works sooooo much better!

 

Okay, so now that you've got your tools, I'll give ya some tips and tricks of the trade .... but you're gonna have to wait :). Stay tuned for more postings about quilling very soon. Go forth and be crafty my friends!