Quilled Nursery Decor + New Quilling Work from Yulia Brodskaya

I had the nicest message from Gina Palha in Portugal who told me that after she spotted the work of Yulia Brodskaya, she began looking for more quilling inspiration and found her way to ATP... daily bliss, she calls her visits here - made my day!

Trying out various quilling techniques led Gina to a passion for creating rolled paper designs. She sent along a link to her blog (edited: no longer active) where I admired these framed works she made for family members and friends who, like her, have a new baby. Reminiscent of Erin Casner's Imagine piece, Gina surrounds a child's name with staccato coils that express the joy a little one brings.

 

Gina is quite new to quilling and is still perfecting her technique, but I think she has a sweet style that makes the framed names just right to hang in a baby's nursery. Even the use of a manual paper shredder to cut strips adds to the charm, as the fuzzy edges lend a softness to her designs.

Before becoming a mother, Gina worked as a marketing assistant for a Portuguese NGO, but at the same time recognized that "Creativity rocked my days and I needed to pursue my heart, my inspiration."

After coming across the quote, A year from now I'd wish I'd started today, she felt it was time to make things happen in her life. She began building an online presence; quilling appeared in the middle of this great change. I've started working as a creative virtual assistant. It is what I want to do! Paper Design + Creative Virtual Assistance + Lifestyle blogging... that's me now and that's me in the future.

Stay in touch with Gina via her website and Facebook (edited: no longer active)

And now we turn to the opposite end of life's spectrum...  I noticed this touching portrait created by Yulia Brodskaya, titled Headscarf Left Behind. The collage of vivid paper shards is a haunting depiction of loss as it surrounds the on-edge paper face with its deeply-lined features.

Yulia explains: This paper work is my reflection to the subject of things people leave behind when they die. When it's someone close to you, it might be unbearable to look at their things, and yet, you don't want to let any of it go because things are all physical that you have left of a person.