Using a circle sizer or quilling mat.

A circle sizer or quilling mat come in handy when making flowers. It ensures that all the petals of the flower are the same size. 

You will need: 

* Circle sizer/ quilling mat

* Slotted tool

* Tweezer

* Quilling strips

* PVA glued

If you look at your circle sizer you will notice circles of different sizes. These will make sure that all your loose coils expand to the same size for your flower making. 

To begin, quill a coil using your quilling strip and slotted tool. Do not stick the end down. Now as a rule of thumb, your coil should be about half the size of the circle size you choose so that it can expand properly. The one here is way to large. 

This one seems to be a better size. 

Place your coil in the center and let go of it. It should expand and look like this. 

My circle sizer has 6 circles of the same size so I went ahead and made 6 coils to fill up the 6 circles I'm using. 

Using your narrow nose tweezers, insert one prong into the center of your coil and pinch the outer end with the other and lift off of the circle sizer. 

Make sure you hold firm cos' if you let go there might be a change in its size affecting the final size of the petal. 

Apply a dab of glue at the tip. 

Stick the end down. 

Now shape your petal. I chose to do the drop shape for my petals. 

Complete all 6 petals in the same way. 

Stick the petals together to form a flower. 

Using another colour form a tight coil to form the center. 

Add some leaves and you're done. 

In case you've missed my earlier tutorials you can find below the ones I've used to create this flower. 

Tight coil

Teardrop shape

Crimped leaves

Thanks so much for dropping by. 

Xoxo

Karen. 

How to use a crimper in quilling

Everyone is getting on the "Quilling Craze" and a lot of people are amazed with the crimp effect on quilling paper but are a little hesitant in trying it. I personally love the crimped effect on my paper jewelry but I definitely want to try and incorporate it into some of my framed art pieces. 

You're gonna need:

* Quilling strips

* Crimper tool  

* Slotted tool

* PVA glue

The crimper tool is a simple tool consisting of 2 wheels and a rotating handle. All you have to do is gently feed in your willing strip between the two wheels while rotating the handle. You can see here how the smooth strip of paper now gets the zig-zag effect. 

I've got 3 quilling strips crimped and ready for the 3 leaves I need to make. 

To roll and shape your crimped strips, place one end in your slotted quilling tool and gently roll without putting too much pressure on the strip or pulling it tight. Both of these will result in losing the crimp effect from the paper. 

Once you've rolled to the end, take the crimped coil off the tool. 

Leave it on a flat surface to gently unravel to the size you need. 

Shape your leaves as desired and stick the end down. I made Marquis or eye shaped leaves. 

Hope you enjoyed this little tutorial. 

Xoxo

Karen. 

Quilled jewelry box

Quilling has a lot of uses. It's used to decorate birthday cards and wedding invites. It adorns photo frames and magazine stands, tea-light votives and wall art, Christmas deco and filigree eggs. There's also a wide variety of quilled and light weight paper jewelry. 

Quilling has a lot of uses especially around the house. Here I have made a three dimensional quilled jewelry box using only the 'Tight coils'. 

The top and bottles of the box are flat and the sides are built up from the edges of the bottom by overlapping each coil on each row. 

I used the square border buddy to create a handle and decorated it with a little strip of rhinestones. 

For the deco I've used one large quilled flower in dark blue to match the blue in the box. I've also added three purple three dimensional punchcraft flowers for a little pop of colour. Again all the flower centers have rhinestones to match the ones on the handle. 

Here's the top view of my quilled jewelry box. If you do try one, I'd love to see a photo of it. 

You can find my tutorial on the 'Tight coil' here

Xoxo

Karen. 

How to quill - part 2 - the loose coil, the drop, the eye and the leaf.

In this tutorial you will learn the second part of quilling basics. If you have not yet seen the first part you can find it here

Today I'm going to show you how to create a loose coil ( like in the Christmas stocking above), the teardrop, the eye shape or Marquise and the leaf shape. 

You will need:

* Quilling strips ( I'm using the 5mm ones)

* Clear drying PVA glue

* Slotted quilling tool. 

To begin start quilling your strip in the same way you would to create a tight coil. When you reach the end DO NOT apply the glue (if you do, you're gonna end up with a tight coil). 

Gently take out your quilled peg from the tool and hold it between your thumb and forefinger for 3-5 seconds. 

Very slowly let the coil unravel between your thumb and forefinger till you have the size you desire. 

Now gently apply a little glue on the end and stick it. 

What you're left with are these nice light and fluffy loose coils. The loose coil forms the basis of all the shapes I'm going to show you today. So PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE!! 

To create the drop or teardrop shape, make a loose coil and hold one side between your thumb and forefinger and gently press to form a pointed end. 

These teardrop shapes are great for creating flowers. 

For the eye shape or the marquise you'll need to make your loose coil and hold it between you thumb and forefinger of both hands and gently pinch. 

This is what the marquise shape looks like. I like using these for flowers without centers. Or when the center is raised above the petals. 

Where there are flowers there have to be leaves... 

To make the leaf shape we start with a loose coil and first create a marquise. Then still holding the shape between the thumb and forefinger of both hands, gently push one hand away from you while simultaneously bringing the other hand closer to you. 

This is the ready leaf shape. 

There are no hard and fast rules to quilling. You can use whatever shapes you fancy. I like to play around with shapes. I've even used the leaf shape to create flowers and the marquise shape for leaves.  I was surprised at how beautiful it looked. 

At the end of the quilling basics tutorial I only have 3 words. 

PRACTICE 

EXPERIMENT and 

have FUN! 

I'd love to hear your thoughts on my tutorial. 

Xoxo

Karen. 

How to make your own bookmarks or page markers

I love writing. I've got a combination of a diary, art journal, smash book and scrapbook. Try as I might, I can't conform to just one. I just let my creativity take over and go with the flow.

And while I like store bought supplies, I love making them on my own. Especially when they're so simple and easy.  

Today I'm going to show you how to make your very own paper clip and ribbon page markers. These can also be used as bookmarks.

You will need:

* Paper clips - I prefer coated clips to metal for the simple reason that it's way too humid here in Goa and they get rusty quick. 

* Satin ribbon - in this tutorial I've used 1/4" ribbon. 

* Your trusty sharp scissors

Cut a 4" piece of your ribbon and place the center over the front of your paper clip. 

Take the right end and from the back bring it forward through the top loop of the paper clip. 

Do the same for the left end. Hold both the ends and pull straight up. 

Make sure its tight and firm. 

Trim the edges into a nice 'v' with a sharp pair of scissors. And your page marker is ready. 

I hope this little tutorial helped. 

I would love to hear back from you. 

Xoxo

Karen.