Quilling, on a roll... letter-wise, that is. I was thrilled to run across more quilled lettering, this time on Flickr. Serbia's Suzana Ilic is the creator of these impressive Cyrillic designs. She tells me that letters are her very favorite subject to quill. Look closely for her signature nest... it holds three tiny birds, representing a sister and her brothers. And how fun are these little cars, trucks, and stoplights?! Suzana enjoys quilling on small bases such as cards or miniatures. She prefers to use a needle tool and says though it takes more time, she appreciates the result. Bright and colorful - this card, like the road scene, would be really cute framed and hung in a child's room. So graceful... Suzana says that in her country quilling is a totally new way of expression. "People just can't believe you can do something like that with paper." "At first I had difficulties finding the right weight of paper, made some tools on

If you're familiar with the traditional Danish heart basket Christmas ornament that's been around since the 1800s, PaperMatrix offers lots of clever variations and makes them easy by providing templates. Well, perhaps easy is the wrong adjective... at least for abstract reasoning-challenged me. It just might be Christmas before I get the weaving sorted out! But if you're the type who takes to paper engineering like a duck to water, the eye-catching hearts would be perfect as favors filled with treats for a wedding shower, baby shower, or birthday party. Thanks to Pam at Gingerbread Snowflakes for sending me the link. She wrote a tutorial [edit: no longer available] that shows how to construct the original woven heart and it's honestly fun to do - give it a try even if these look too complicated. I remember having a great time making red and white ones for Valentine's Day and filling them with Hershey's Kisses when my boys were in kindergarten.

The random number generator at mathgoodies.com has selected Eunice Robertson as the winner of the magazine. Congratulations Eunice! Please email me with your address and I'll get the issue on its way to you pronto. Thanks so much to everyone who entered. I loved reading your comments and wish I had a copy to send to each one of you!

Earlier this month I spent an afternoon at the convention of the North American Quilling Guild in New York. It's great to meet up with so many people who share a common interest and is always fascinating to see the quilling that's been entered in the annual competition. Lois Bandt Weber has won several NAQG awards in the past, hosted the convention last year in Florida where she lives, and brought along quite a few of her framed pieces to display at this year's event. She is devoted to quilling and with her outgoing personality and sense of humor, perfectly suited for teaching and generating interest in the art. In 2000, Lois says she wandered into a quilling class in her retirement community and remembered that she had made snowflakes for her children's teachers years ago. At the time, she wasn't aware it was called quilling. Upon returning to Wisconsin for the summer, Lois experimented with techniques, looked at pictures for inspiration, and generally enjoyed t

Back in January I received an email from Madeleine Lapke, who asked for quilling advice about a project she was planning to do with the sixth grade class at Holy Family School in the state of Washington. Each year with the help of parent volunteers, the school hosts a series of fundraising events that culminates with an impressive silent auction. Madeleine had it in mind that the class of thirty students could learn to quill and use their new found skill to embellish a piece of artwork as their contribution to the auction. The evening was a big success and the students' quillwork brought in a high bid of over three thousand dollars! Madeleine said, "There were ohhhhhss and ahhhhhhhs all night long! It turned out to be a perfect project to do with sixth graders and was something that all of them felt successful at (and some even got addicted to!) The best part was the meaning behind it... each individual coil was not so special, but when they were all put together the magi

Designing cards for guys can be tricky, especially if you like to quill (usually flowers dominate the scene), so here's an idea for the next time a card is needed for any male/any occasion. Father's Day, birthday, graduation, retirement - just change the sentiment. The quilling reminds me of a compass, fitting for all those events that lead one in a new direction. A stress-free way to line up coils for this design, as well as when making quilled snowflakes, is to assemble them on a clear, acrylic sheet placed overtop a sheet of graph paper. My pattern is in the May issue of CardMaker Magazine along with lots more card making techniques. I have an extra copy and would love to send it to a lucky reader. To enter, leave a comment by the end of Monday, May 24 [edit: the giveaway has ended] and I'll select a winner at random the next day. Need more Father's Day ideas? Here , here , and here .

I've been curious about the terms paper yarn and paper string recently. This beautiful River Aurora necklace piqued my interest, so an investigation was in order. Soon I came upon a treasure trove of supplies and information... Vienna's Linda Thalmann creates captivating jewelry pieces that feature fine, industrially spun paper yarns that are available from her Etsy shop, PaperPhine . Trained as a textile artist and textile designer, Linda enjoys experimenting with paper yarns, both the industrial, cellulose (wood pulp) variety, and those she sometimes makes by hand from long fiber Japanese and Korean Washi, Nepalese Lokta paper, as well as Western industrial papers (newsprint). Linda says ever since receiving the book, "Paper: Making, Decorating, Designing" by Beata Thackeray when she was a young girl, she's been hooked on paper. She opened PaperPhine as a resource for those who are interested in trying their hand at creating unusual,

To finish out a quilling trifecta this week here at all things paper , take a look at these cards made by Meg, another brand new quiller. Guess what? They are her very first quilled projects ever - further proof that you don't have to be an expert to make something that will knock the recipient's socks off! I love the way Meg chose to make designs that aren't routinely seen in kits and books. She just gathered simple supplies from around the house and dove in, inspired by the bold graphics on some ribbon strips and swirly vellum. That's one of the things about quilling that intrigues me... even without special tools, each of us can bring something unique to the creative table. If you've been thinking of giving quilling a try, I bet you'll be surprised at the results. Cut strips of paper from whatever you have on hand. While rolling coils, be thinking about the way you'd like to arrange them, and then see what falls into place when you faff about with a

Ready for some more fab lettering? Today's examples were created by a quilling newbie who was inspired by Yulia Brodskaya , as was Kara from Monday's post about her quilled monogram . Erin Casner quilled Everything is Awesome as her very first project! While expecting a baby, she wanted to make colorful wall art for the nursery. Not having proper quilling paper and tools certainly didn't stop her... Erin snipped the end off the eye of a needle to use as a rolling tool and cut strips of lightweight cardstock from her stash. She says she learned a few lessons from this piece - such as making the lettering larger than just an inch tall (larger makes it easier to be more precise) and using colored paper instead of white for the letters.   Consider these rainbow paloozas as Erin calls them - love that! - as further proof that sensational quilled designs, worthy of being hung as framed pieces, can be created even by those who are brand new to quilling. Next,

I was thrilled to come across Kara Henry's tutorial about quilling a beautiful Yulia Brodskaya -inspired letter. The graceful scrolls add so much interest to the stately H. Kara, of the blog Craftastical , captures the hallmarks of Yulia's fabulous designs... precise, square corners and lovely swirls of color. The excellent tutorial takes you step-by-step through the quilling process with helpful tips and photos. If you decide to give a monogram project a try, I hope you'll send me a picture of your finished masterpiece - I just might feature it here on all things paper !

Last autumn I remember seeing a novel idea of packaging tea in a bag that had been folded into a graceful origami bird. Recently a friend came across the link and sent it to me (sadly no longer available), thinking I might be interested. Yes, I was! I enjoyed scrolling through the many comments from around the world that had been left in the intervening time - there are lots of tea enthusiasts out there. Although the Russian designer, Natalia Ponomareva, hasn't posted that she's found someone to produce and market the tea bags (the box was just a prototype), with any luck origami birds will soon be winging their way into our teacups.

Jenny Jafek-Jones of The Crimson Poppy [edit: no longer available] in Stillwater, Oklahoma discovered just how much she loves flowers and flower arranging last year while planning her May wedding. cactus flower (it's paper!) While searching the internet for inspiration, Jenny came across kusudama folded paper flowers and also a Martha Stewart tissue paper flower kit. Her wedding decorations were a mix of kusudamas and silk flowers... just a taste of what would come once she had time to thoroughly explore the world of making flowers from paper. paper iris and orchid arrangement Jenny then discovered Leone Em and Susan Tierney-Cockburn's examples of punch flower art and expanded the flower sizes to make them more realistic via the use of a Gazelle cutter. One idea led to the next and amazingly, within a relatively short period of time, Jenny taught herself to make a beautifully realistic crepe paper rose. rose At first she focused on cardstock floral embellishment

The random number generator at MathGoodies.com selected Jansie as the winner of a $10 gift certificate to CustomQuilling [the shop has closed as of March 2022]. Have fun shopping, Jansie! Denise of CQ will email the certificate to you.     Thanks so much to everyone who entered - I really enjoyed reading your comments.

How astonishing are these paper shell sculptures by Australian artist, Rosie Miller ?!     To my eyes, their beauty is as subtle as the silent words on a page. Somehow Rosie manages to sculpt books into perfect shapes - I wish I could watch her work.      The pieces were part of Paperback Series II, a collection of eight books, installed on mirrored shelves for DEBUT IV, a 2008 exhibition featuring the work of newly graduated art school students at Blindside , a gallery space supported by the city of Melbourne.