Quilled Orchids and More

Here is a series of quilling project I've done over the course of the last few months. My latest piece de la resistance is a pot of orchids I made for a friend's Easter gift. I eagerly used the pattern and ideas of Alli Bartkowski in her new book Quilled Flowers: A Garden of 35 Paper Projects. And I tweaked it a little, too. The coffee mug in the photo is for scale.




Detail of the flowers:





Here's a posey I made with Alli's original pattern for the orchid bloom:







In keeping with the Easter theme, here's a bunny:

and what I call the GoonyBird (based on a card I saw on Stephanie's Designs blog by someone named Anita):

I started to make a 3D snowflake out of 3/8" paper, but it began to droop terribly. I stopped with only this much, but the droop turned into a pleasing effect:

A little angel based on something I saw at Aquamarine Crafts blog:

A very dark blue snowflake that looks black based on a design by Stephanie Sanchez - I saw the pattern on Ann Martin's allthingspaper blog:

A colorful butterfly emulating one by Celia Louie of Crafting Creatures:

Dragonfly like ones I saw at Quilled Inspirations:

Here is a string of fish I made for some friends who own a restaurant in Germany well known for its local catches. I based the designs on those of my quilling guru Ann Martin of the All Things Paper blog:

A flower thingy based on something I saw by Charlotte Canup on The Art of Quilling blog:

A bunch of grapes based on some I saw at Elizabeth's Creations Studio - these make great gifties for wine lovers:

I love the way this Monarch turned out. It's based on one I saw on Inna's Creations blog. I will probably never make another. It was so detailed and had so many teeny, tiny parts. I added a tail of folded roses to bring attention to it.

I made this as a Mother's Day gift. The recipient used it for a corsage for the afternoon!

I dig this peacock based on a card I saw on Inna's Creations blog:

Another design I borrowed from Ann Martin. She designed this pear tree for a holiday card:

 

A weird scrolly thing:

Please note that I troll Internet images for ideas and designs to use. I try to attribute the source where I can, but I don't always remember where I got them. I thank the makers nonetheless! There are so many talented quillers out there. Do your own image search just for a pleasant pasttime the next time you have a few minutes. I hope you've enjoyed my creations!

Original Quilled Birthday Card and DipQuills

I made this quilled card for my German teacher's birthday out of some leftover pieces I had tucked away from doing a jewelry box a few months earlier. It's an original design, something I've been trying to do more of instead of using patterns or emulating work by other artists. I'm still not totally comfortable with it, but I'm getting there!

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From time to time I do a bulk order to send to my friend Lauren who came up with a fabulously clever idea of dipping them in liquid acrylic. When they harden, she makes earrings and pendants out of them. Here's a shipment I did just before Easter. I totally DIG the bunnies! And didja notice the cute little snails in the middle?

 

Here is an example of a pair of DipQuill earrings we did for Valentine's Day:

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I did these placecards for my landlady's 85th birthday party. All this and a free lunch, too! My fondest memory of the event was the fact that the old man at our table who had advanced-stage Alzheimers was happy (over and over again) when he was told he could take his home.

 

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 Here is a gilded snowflake I made that Lauren dipped - we gave it to her mother for a Christmas present. Her mother, Miss Ella, keeps a half-Christmas tree mounted on the wall year round and changes the ornaments for each season of the year. I hear this snowflake stays for every season!

Quilling in Europe

I have found that bringing my quilling supplies to Europe was one of the smartest things I could have done. Since I've had to rely on many, many people for places to stay, rides, translating, apartment hunting, and on and on and on til I just don't wanna think about it, I have made little quilled presents for many of my benefactors. They really seem to love them!

Here are a few of my creations:

Since the springtime was so, so beautiful here in Germany, I made a little spring scene for my hostess Hilde:

And remember my folded paper roses I made back in February? I used them to make a monogrammed card for Hilde, too:

This angel I made for Hilde's niece who gave me an acutely needed Internet connection, printouts, and a ride:

My host, Hilde's husband Adi, recieved this little owl monogram card:

Then, Hilde went so wild over a little snowflake I made her that I made her a large one:

Here's the silhouette of it hanging in her window. I love the negative image:

Then, Hilde's daughter Sonja made a special effort so I could use her internet connection, so I made her a trio of snowflakes using the color scheme of her beautiful dining room. This is the largest of the trio and was done in bronze:

I'm especiallly proud of this second snowflake, done in metallic black, because it's my first original snowflake design!

And this teeny little thing is done in black:

Now that I was on a roll, I made this original design for Hilde's brother who gave me more than one ride to town so I could work. He's a football fanatic (soccer to you Americans) and he seemed to really like this. It's about the size of a quarter:

I did this intricate cross for Hilde who is devoutly Catholic. She adores it! It's possibly the most beautiful thing I've quilled so far.

Finally, I made this little chachtke for Hilde for a Sunday dinner invitation:

The next post will be a tutorial for making a Kusudama ball out of some flyers for a photography exhibit. Check back soon for that.

Quilled Snowflake, Butterfly and Owl

I have brought my quilling kit to Europe. Here's a rather large snowflake I made for a friend here. It's based on D. Markes' design:



I simply HAVE to draw out a grid and use it for my snowflakes. The camera really emphasizes any non-symmetrical quality of the thing.

And here's the center detail:



For another friend's daughter, I made this butterfly based on a design by Pat Caputo.



For a sense of the size of the thing, here it is with a toothpick:



And, finally, a tiny owl for another friend. This one I designed myself. I like it!

Quilled Asclepius Staff, (More) Snowflakes & a Shamrock

I've been working more and more on my quilling, so here's my latest:

First, more snowflakes:

A beautiful white one:


And for scale, here is the same snowflake with a pencil:


Here's a blue one I made with some different kind of paper that is thicker and a little more difficult to work with:



And a purple one:




And my whole snowbank:



Then, for a doctor friend's birthday, I created a Staff of Asclepius:



Finally, in keeping with the season, a St. Paddy's Day shamrock: