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.