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. 

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. 

Covering cables and wires in yarn

I love Apple products except for their cables which don't seem to last very long here in Goa- India. It could be our intense hot and humid summers. So I decided to prolong their life my covering the entire length of the cable in soft wool. The reason I chose wool is because it's softer and more flexible than say crochet yarn. 

The materials you're gonna need are:

Yarn of your choice

Electrical tape if your cable is opening like mine

And a little drop of clear drying glue (optional)

Take a small piece of your electrical tape and wind it tight around the part that's opening out. If you've decided to cover your cable before it opened out, I applaud you - you can skip this step if you'd like. 

Tie a tight double knot close as close to the plastic part of the cable as you can. I cut off a length of wool of about 12mts from the ball of wool. This length will vary depending on the thickness of your wool or yarn. If you do run short just tie on another length with a double knot and carry on. 

Hold the short end of the wool flust against your cable. We're gonna work over this end so the knot we started with doesn't have any chance of opening out. 

Still holding the end piece with your left hand, keep the ball of wool in your right hand and pass it to the left but behind the cable leaving a small loop on the right hand side. 

Bring the ball of wool to the front and pass it through the loop back behind to its original place. 

Pull firmly to decrease the loop size. 

Keep pulling till the loop completely decreases and it meets the first knot you made at the top. 

Using this same method continue to make your knots as you work down the cable. 

Continue till you reach the other end of the cable. End by putting a drop of glue onto your last knot so that all your hard work doesn't open out. What you're left with is a funky flexible cable that will definitely last you longer. 

Hope you had fun with this. 

I'd love to hear from you. 

Xoxo

Karen.