Quilled Golden Gate Bridge
I was happy to come upon this quilled wedding gift created by Christine Nguyen for a friend and her soon-to-be husband. Christine incorporated their names and wedding colors (coral, fuchsia, and teal) into the design in such an effective way. The lines of the letters mimic the curves of the bridge and waves, while the weathered shadowbox adds to the unique look.
The idea for quilling the scene came about because not only did Keiko and Alan meet in grad school in San Francisco, but he proposed while they were on a climb to the top of the bridge. (Can you imagine?!) Christine said the water took the majority of time because it was a two-step process - first she outlined the letters in white and then filled in the waves.
I asked Christine whether she might have some quilling tips to share. She replied that she uses a size 0 knitting needle instead of a quilling needle tool. "Since I own knitting needles in a variety of sizes, I can use them to wrap my strips around if I need to make different-sized hollow circles. I know most quillers use strips of paper that are 1/8 inch in width, but I prefer to cut my strips to 1cm. The extra width makes it a little easier for my fingers to manipulate the paper without using tweezers all the time, and I like that the larger width creates more shadows."
Christine also paints and does paper maché and paper cutting. This colorful phoenix and dragon artwork is another wedding piece she made... it was an engagement gift for a friend.
She cut the figures from cardstock, construction paper and foil, and used adhesive foam to assemble the scene in varied depths. The eyes and highlights were handpainted, and the phoenix was covered with feathers cut from gold foil origami paper - no doubt it's even more stunning in person.
Christine blogs and is on Flickr.
It's time to wish you a great weekend, but first let me say an enormous thank you for your comments, shares, and messages about the new book. You are the best group of loyal readers any blogger could ever wish to have!
The idea for quilling the scene came about because not only did Keiko and Alan meet in grad school in San Francisco, but he proposed while they were on a climb to the top of the bridge. (Can you imagine?!) Christine said the water took the majority of time because it was a two-step process - first she outlined the letters in white and then filled in the waves.
I asked Christine whether she might have some quilling tips to share. She replied that she uses a size 0 knitting needle instead of a quilling needle tool. "Since I own knitting needles in a variety of sizes, I can use them to wrap my strips around if I need to make different-sized hollow circles. I know most quillers use strips of paper that are 1/8 inch in width, but I prefer to cut my strips to 1cm. The extra width makes it a little easier for my fingers to manipulate the paper without using tweezers all the time, and I like that the larger width creates more shadows."
Christine also paints and does paper maché and paper cutting. This colorful phoenix and dragon artwork is another wedding piece she made... it was an engagement gift for a friend.
She cut the figures from cardstock, construction paper and foil, and used adhesive foam to assemble the scene in varied depths. The eyes and highlights were handpainted, and the phoenix was covered with feathers cut from gold foil origami paper - no doubt it's even more stunning in person.
Christine blogs and is on Flickr.
It's time to wish you a great weekend, but first let me say an enormous thank you for your comments, shares, and messages about the new book. You are the best group of loyal readers any blogger could ever wish to have!
