Enough with the quilling posts for a little while (whew, you might be saying)... it's time to get back to my mission of featuring all sorts of paper crafters and paper artists. Today I'd like to showcase a nifty trend that kept jumping out at me from quite a few sites this holiday season: snowy village by twelve22 [edit: no longer available] I'm referring to the making of tiny paper houses... with enough variety to cause this Weeds (TV show) fan to start humming the theme song, Little Boxes. cereal box houses by Bella Dia Perhaps the wee ones are on school vacation this week and would enjoy making homes for their Lego people, or maybe, like me, you'll file the ideas away until next year when it's time to think about a theme for your Christmas mantel or tree. Visit each site for a tutorial, some with print-outs. card ornament houses from DIYideas [edit: no longer available] holiday village by Claudine Hellmuth milk carton/cookie-carrier houses from

I'm positive Hollywood won't soon be calling, but in case you didn't get to see my That's Clever  segment   on TV last week, you can view it on YouTube - quilled poinsettia video . Since HGTV and the production company for That's Clever are no longer affiliated, the step-by-step information each artist/crafter had been asked to submit is not going to be posted on the show's website. Rather than linking there as I'd intended, here are the instructions to make the Christmas card I demoed on the show: Supplies: (products I recommend can be found in my Amazon shop ) quilling paper - 1/8 inch - deep green, ivory, gold quilling tool small scissors ruler tweezers non-stick workboard glass head pin glue - suitable for paper plastic lid - to use as a glue palette paper piercing tool or T pin - to apply glue damp cloth or sponge paper cutter card stock - deep green, gold decorative paper - gold foil double-sided tape/glue dot metallic gel pen

Dema Simeri is a prolific quilling artist I enjoyed meeting a few years ago at a convention of the North American Quilling Guild. She's passionate about paper filigree and says she could easily spend all day working on new designs. Dema primarily makes framed pieces to sell at Indiana art shows, as well as gifts for family and friends. Vintage Christmas card illustrations inspired her to quill these Santas. Dema sketched variations of the pictures and then used the outline/fill-in quilling method. Layering the various elements gives a 3-D appearance. For example, the tassel on the hat, eyebrows, nose, mustache, and gloved hand were initially separate pieces, and then were glued to the main body after it was completed. I really admire the way Dema is able to capture such lively expressions with simple coils of paper. Merry Christmas!

Last Christmas I hung this pair of quilled envelopes on the tree for our little nephews to spy. Since there's no shortage of wrapped packages for the boys to open (doting grandparents, you know) it seemed like a good idea to give them something to spend later on. And believe it or not, they slowed their frantic unwrapping for a moment to look them over. I'm pretty sure it was the big, shiny eyes that grabbed their attention, but hey, perhaps they noticed the quilling too. The reindeer was a CardMaker Magazine design by Alli Bartkowski ( Quilled Creations ) and I had spotted a roll of Christmas gift wrap with cute graphics that led to the snowman. I'm happy to say my non-crafty, but thoughtful sister-in-law put the envelopes aside instead of tossing them out with the rest of the wrappings and bows. Perhaps she wonders why I spend my time on such foolishness, but that's okay. I'm sure all of you maker-folks understand.

11/16/11 Edited to say: For those of you who just can't get enough quilled snowflakes, here are three more free quilled snowflake patterns ! Today I'm featuring the beautiful snowflakes of two quillers I've had the pleasure of getting to know through the North American Quilling Guild. Deb Mackes of Pennsylvania is a pro at making snowflakes... in fact, she doesn't even use a grid to ensure an even layout. Mind boggling! No doubt practice makes perfect, but Deb must possess an especially even gaze and steady hands.   She enjoys coming up with unique designs and has treated us to a pattern for this pretty little one. Use 1/8 inch wide white quilling strips. Make: 2 inch tight coil (make 1) 3 inch marquise (make 6) 2 inch V scroll (make 6) 4 inch marquise (make 6) 1 inch tight coil (make 6) Working from the center outward: Glue the 3 inch marquises evenly around the 2 inch tight coil. Glue a V scroll in between each marquise, making sure the tops of t

Ages ago.... well, two and a half years to be more accurate, a camera crew from the HGTV network came to my house to film a quilling demo for the show, That's Clever . I really enjoyed the whole experience and was thrilled to have been asked to do it, but alas... pretty soon the program disappeared from HGTV's lineup. Until now. That's Clever recently returned just one morning a week and at long last my segment is scheduled to air tomorrow at 7:30 AM Eastern/Pacific. This is a holiday card I showed how to make... an ivory quilled poinsettia made up of marquises and tight coils. The card is actually a little gift because the poinsettia can be detached and hung as a Christmas ornament. I also made a larger version of the same ornament that measures about four inches in diameter. So I'll be watching tomorrow from between my fingers... eek! The crew enjoyed making me say/do a few silly things... hopefully those moments were left on the cutting room floor

When decorating for the holidays, I like to replace a few of our pictures that hang on the wall all year with something more seasonal. This is an idea I came up with for a quilled Christmas tree that isn't terribly labor intensive. The tree was loosely inspired by a rubber stamp design that caught my eye. Each branch is a shaped coil of 1/8 inch quilling paper. I outlined the burgundy ornaments with silver-gilded paper for a bit of shine and also made the star with silver-gilded paper. The tree stand was especially fun to make... I laid out and wove silver metallic quilling strips overtop a sheet of graph paper, then drew a pattern for the vase shape and traced around it on top of the woven square which I'd turned on the diagonal. I cut out the vase and last of all, added a crimped strip to the top and bottom.

Isn't this a pretty little ornament? Considering how quickly the days until Christmas are flying by, I bet you'll be happy to hear the directions to make one are surprisingly simple. I was introduced to the German bell via the Yahoo Quillers group several years ago... but relax, zero quilling is involved. It was suggested to use a 5 x 8-inch index card (called a system card in Australia) because the card stock weight is just right. So that's what I did and must agree... once the bell is finished, no one will ever guess it started as an index card that's cut down in size to a 5-inch square. After the bell was folded, loop inserted, and top point glued, I applied two coats of antique gold acrylic paint to the surface by dabbing it on with a stubby stencil brush. This gave the card stock a slight texture... dare I say an aged patina? For something different this year, I thought it would be fun to make bells with some pretty snowflake vellum I had on hand.... i

Sandra White began quilling as a hobby thirty five years ago. Gradually she has turned her love of nature and paper art into an online and craft show business via membership in the League of New Hampshire Craftsmen. After experimentation with combining quilling and cut lampshades, Sandra developed her unique method that marries attractive hand cut mat overlays with quillwork detailing. Her contemporary designs incorporate paper sculpture and paper cutting in addition to quilling, and many feature wildflowers, birds, and wildlife animals. The streamlined shaping of paper coils provides the effect of veins in flowers and the fur and feathers of animals and birds. Sandra says this process has taught her to 'see again' as she goes about creating each scene, working to get the most effective color shading. She begins by designing the cut out, then transfers the outline onto a background mat and fills the space with quilling. Sandra uses an exacto knife, changing the blad