Quilling Technique Tutorial - How to cut thin strips by hand

This tutorial is on how to cut thin stips to make 3d quilling. I have tried using a paper cutter but feel that the wastage is high. So I now cut them manually even though it takes more patients. So here goes.....

Things required
A cutting mat with mm markings for accurate cutting.
A metal ruler. It's better if heavy. If your ruler is curved, straighten it and have the curve facing down on the mat for a better grip.
Sharp box cutter. Make sure only the tip juts out and that it is sharp. If blunted sand paper it sharp. Sand the flat side holding sand paper flat, and for the angled side of  the blade hold the sandpaper with the angle to get a razor sharp edge.

Next, align your paper using the grid lines on the cutting mat.

Align the ruler on the paper leaving the required size margin. First align the top part. Of your paper. Make sure your light source is to the right if right handed so there is no shadow.

 Then slightly pull the bottom and align it while not changing the top alignment. Lay your hand flat on the ruler with you thumb and forefinger at the bottom and top of the ruler.

For accuracy you may mark the required interval at the top and bottom of the paper and use the markings and the grid of your cutting mat to align the ruler.

Your hand should be as shown in the PIC when aligning and cutting.

Just use your thumb and fore finger to align the ruler. I eyeball the size keeping a strip by the side for guidance.

Once the ruler is aligned make sure you spread tour fingers as wide as possible over the length of the ruler and you fingers are away from the edge of the ruler and press down to hold the paper steady.

Place the box cutter above the start of the paper (see PIC )

Stand with your body's central axis in line with the ruler so you can push down on the ruler without straining. Hold the box cutter further away from the blade with you index finger on the ridge to make the blade steady.  

The blade should be held vertical  with the edge of the ruler, press your hand vertically down on the ruler, apply just enough downward pressure and cut in one sweep or stop halfway and slide your hand to the bottom half of the ruler without moving the ruler and cut again.

Do not shift the ruler till you can lift the cut strip with the blade, and if there are uncut portions cut them and lift the strip and keep it aside before adjusting the ruler. 

Continue process till you have all the strips you need. 

Watch a YouTube video on cutting strips with craft knife if you require it.

Hope this tutorial was enlightening.

If you liked it please leave your comments.

Quilling Technique Tutorial - Adding Dimension to Flat, Quilled Landscapes and Pictures

This tutorial is posted at the request of one of my followers. The question was what I meant by " gluing the basic shapes to follow the contours of the object being quilled.

This concept is demonstrated clearly in my quilled sunset project.

Nevertheless here is a pictorial. 

As an example let's say we are Quilling a curved object in a landscape picture.

First of course we would draw or print the picture. Then we would make the basic shapes.

 I have made 2 types of basic shapes here. The straight marquis for a circle that looks flat or 2dimensional and the half moons for the circle to which I want to add the appearance of 3d. The word appearances being the salient feature here.

 As you can see  from the PIC, I have a used the curved shapes on the left and the straight shapes on the right in the same oval shape to highlight the difference in appearance.
I have glued the curved shapes to follow the contour of the oval so it appears rounded in contrast to the right side where I have glued the marqee straight lengthwise not following the curved contour thus making it appear flat and 2dimensional.

 After adding a few more shapes to fill a larger area the difference ic clearer.

The light yellow shapes are more curved and have been added to highlight the increased curveture.

Here is another PIC which shows how you can achieve different depth and effect using the same shape just by changing the direction they are glued in.

The object to the left looks more rounded and smoother bringing out a softer look just based on the direction and shape ofwase quilled basic shape .

This is what I am talking about when I say use the quilled shapes to bring out  3rd dimension , which is depth, same as in painting.

Hence, when quilling birds and animals or any other object,  you can acheive a more realistic appearance if you use the quilled shapes to follow the shape or curves of the object being quilled.

I hope this tutorial was helpful and clears up whatever confusion that some of you may have had.

Quilled landscape Picture Frame_ Paper Panted Cat Portrait

This quilled landscape nature frame was done a while back. I have used my unique paper painting technique using 3mm strips for the fur. The eyes too are created to give a more realistic look so I have not used pegs.

I have described the technique in some detail in my
Little Robin Redbreast
Bird in bower
Projects. You can see most of my tutorials using the links on my blog posts. So spend some time revisiting this blog and going thru each post and you will learn all my techniques. Enjoy my blog.

Hope you like this kitty as much as I do.

A Quilled Nature Scene Landscape Painting - Autumn Forest Waterfall

I love the colors of autumn. The hues of red and yellow are so vibrant and full of life. Autumn to me is the very lifeblood of the seasons. Winter somehow seems such a waste, sort of a season of waiting for a new beginning. A time to gather strength and rest before the whole cycle of life begins again. But autumn is when the flora goes out with a bang in all its glory and majesty!!

This quilled painting is in honor of my favorite season. 

I have used folding and beehive techniques in combination for this project.

I read somewhere that the grass in the foreground should be long and the farther grass short to show distance , so that is what I have done. I have added a dark shade to give depth to the foreground grass.

As for the water, I have added green and brown to make it dark and give it a hint of reflection to the left. The waterfall has more white and I did not use beehive for the froth as the shape does not blend well with the waves. So I used strips to create the contours.

I have used beehive quilling for almost all of the background work. And this time I have got 2 layers for the trees.The shading comes through better as I have used darker color for the first layer of trees.

I have been using textured board for my backing paper but this time I thought I'd try may hand at creating the sky myself. I didn't want to quill the clouds, like in Flowing  River,  as I wanted the viewer to focus on the scene . So I have used oil crayons and colored the sky.

I looked up a video on YouTube and then drew the sky. Since Oil pastels smudge, the layering of the sky had to be done in the proper order and I don't have a clue about painting. So as always, I did a bit of research and analysis!! ( Old habits die hard I guess!!) I am glad it went well with the whole scene.

Initially I thought of using an orange sky but then thought blue  would bring out the quilling better, so that is the color I used and  I am glad I did.

Some of my other scenes are
Palm Beach
Cherry Blossoms
Flower Fields
Forest Walk
Flowing River
Tree and Water
Waterfall 
Sunset & Silhouette
and One Tree Hill

As always I'd love for you to take time to comment. Don't think you are too new to quilling or to young to comment. We are always learning and are rookies at something which in time we master. All comment are appreciated.

Quilled Dimensional Nature Picture Frame - Chickadees on a Pine Branch

Well, I posted a tutorial on making pine branches in my last post and you may have been wondering how I came about making pine branches when I had not used it in any of my posts. Ta Daaa!!.... here it is!! I was so excited at the way they turned out I could not resist posting the tutorial ahead of the quilled frame.

 I saw some pictures of Chickadees and thought I must quill them. Since Christmas is almost upon us I decided to use pine leaves. Further I wanted to  give it dimension and this gave me the opportunity to go on a journey of creative discovery.

Here is a different perspective to show the dimensions in this frame.

I have used fiberglass cloth for the background and was forced to use the glue gun, much to my dismay as I could not get the PVC glue to adhere to the background.


In order to shape the pine branch and have it come out of the picture, I used very thin gauge wire for the skeleton of the branch.

As for the Chickadees, I have used black, white, grey and orange 3mm strips.The method is the same one I have been using  for quilling my birds for some time now and involves folding the strip to get the thread like effect. The finished product looks like embroidery with paper strips in place of thread. This method allows me to grade the colors when required.As you can see in the lower bird,  I have got a light orange shade at the breast between the white and the orange.

I have made the feet using quilled stems as in my tutorial here . Take a closer look.

All in all, I am thrilled at the results. I would be honored if you take time to comment  on my posts.

Quilled Flower Frame - Tree Nymph Butterfly Among Butterfly Flowers

I wanted to try my hand at using shaped pegs for petals so I decided to do this frame for which I have used  one shaped  peg for the lip petal. The rest of the petals are basic tear shaped with spiral centers. The flower is shaped like a butterfly and the stamens are curved above the flower.

here's a closed look:

For the stamens, I have cut a 3mm strip in 4,  lengthwise.

Shaping The Petal
I used 3, 3mm strips of dark and light purples to make the pegs. When rolling I ensured that it was not too tight so that it is easier to shape. First I rolled the coil between thumb and forefinger as detailed in my tutorial on shaping pegs and made a convex shape which I shaped  to a tear drop by pinching on end; It's much easier to shape the peg, after pushing the peg out to a convex .

Once I had the petal shape, I pushed the coils near the pinched end up to convex it while pushing the coils at the rounded end down. (See pics)

lip petal

For the leaves, I made curved, moulded leaves using marquee shapes. You can see the shadow of the curve in the close up below.

The fruit is made by making cup shaped pegs which I have detailed in an earlier tutorial. For more rounded cups, thinner strips should be used.


For the butterfly, I have stuck to basic shapes and the body stripes are created by adhering  strips of the relevant colors.

I have made a curved cone for the stomach and have glues the butterfly so the wings are at about 30 degrees to the horizontal  and not flat on the surface. The butterfly is elevated above the level of the flowers.

The whole arrangement is created by gluing the different elements  at multiple levels in order to get a 3D  effect.

 I generally dislike the side view pics as I dislike the tapering appearance created by this perspective. Hence I do not post this view to show  how the flowers are laid out.

I would love to have your feedback.  I have been remiss in visiting your  blogs  to admire your work  as I have very limited  time on the net at present, but will drop by your blogs as soon as I get a chance. Till then Happy Quilling to you all.

New Quilling Technique Tutorial - Folded Strip Leaves 1 of 3

This tutorial will be in 3 parts as I am hoping to cover several types of leaves using folded strips.

 

Bamboo Leaves & Long Grass

For bamboo leaves, take 2, A4 size 3mm strips of two shades of green and start folding as shown in the pic below. Make sure you start with the dark color and fold each  mountaim fold higher than the previous one at both the top and bottom ends. Make sure it tapers more at the top of the leaf and only slightly at the bottom.

 When you are reaching the end of the first strip insert the second strip as shown below and fold the longest mountain fold then taper it down to complete the leaf.

Once completed it should look like the pic below.

Now apply glue to the bottom mountain folds and glue another strip around the bottom of the leaf. At this point  you may create the stem by extending the strip beyond the bottom most fold the folding the strip back on itself and gluing it.

Now cut the mountain folds at the top o and straighten them so they do not bend and look like loops.

 

Now glue the strip up to the longest strip which would be half of the leaf. Then apply glue to a bit of the strip that extends beyond and then fold it on itself and paste it to create the tip of the leaf after which apply glue to the other side as shown below and glue around the rest of the leaf to complete it.

Once done your bamboo leaf should look like the one below.

For long grass use 2 strips of 22 or 24' and taper more by increasing the distance between mountain fold at the top. The bottom should taper slightly just to get a curve.

I usually fold the paper so that I can get thickness at the bottom of the leaf unlike in husking where the bottom pivots at one point.

I hope you found this tutorial useful. If you did, I would love to hear from you.

New Quilling Technique Tutorial - Giving Dimension to Single and Muti Rowed Flowers

I have seen many a beautifully quilled flower frame with quilled flowers glued with only the front perspective as I guess you find it difficult to affix it to a calyx, so here is a tutorial of my method, to help you make your quilled petaled flowers 3d the easy way.

To learn and understand quickly, look at the pictures to get an overall idea, and then read this tutorial in full to comprehend the steps and concepts involved. Next, read it again while you follow the instruction. Finally, try making it without looking at the tutorial and better still use your own ingenuity if you think of an easier way.

I cover both single row and multi row flowers in this tutorial so it may be long.

 

Single Row 3d Quilled Flowers

The first step is to make the tear shaped basic shape. Refer my tutorial here if you do not know how.

Then make them into a flower with a small hole in the middle. You apply glue to the sides of the pinched end and not to the tip.

Now allow it to dry enough to be able to pick up the flower without it falling apart. Then make the calyx cup as in my tutorial here. Make sure it is larger than the hole in the flower and it covers it comfortably. If you wish to make flowers with narrow tubes or calyx, then you can try my tutorial here.

Allow it to dry well after gluing the inside so it does not get pushed back flat when you press it. Use a hair dryer to work fast with PVC glue.

Now apply glue  very lightly around the center of the  flower where there are spaces between the tips of the tear shaped petals and to the top and a short distance inside the cup. Allow to dry till the glue becomes a clear liquid and becomes sticky. Then with the quilling tool or the back of a brush push the flower into the cup as shown and coax it to stick to the calyx. If required use a hair dryer to dry the glue.

You can push each petal in and sideways towards the wall of the calyx if you want to increase the curvature. Make sure it remains  pushed in while it dries.


Now take a 5.5"  4mm yellow strip and a 2.5" 3mm red strip. Then fold the red strip in half length wise and apply glue as in the pic.

 

Then glue it to the top of the yellow strip with half covering the front and the other half covering the back. the red will cover only a portion of the yellow strip. This will act like the pollen once cut. Now fold the strip into as many folds as you like and fringe it as thin as possible and unfold it. It should look like the pic below.

Now starting at the yellow end, make a fringed flower and glue it to the center. If you have a thin pointed forceps or a needle forceps you can push the center into the hole to get more curvature to the flower.
Once done, your flower will look like the first image in this section.

  Multilayer 3d Flower

 

This follows the same method as the above, so make 3, 8 petaled flowers using A4 size, 3/4 A4 size and  1/2 A4 size 3mm strips.

Make 3 flowers as shown with holes in the middle and a calyx which diameter is larger than the hole in the largest flower.

 Now glue the first  flower to the calyx and push it with the back if your quilling tool and allow to dry in the curved position. Use a hairdryer to quicken the drying if required or use a glue gun.

Repeat the process for the 2nd and 3rd flowers. Make sure the petals of the 2nd flower is positioned between the petals of the 1st flower. Allow the PVC glue to become clear before you do the pasting and if necessary push the pointed end of the petal down with a toothpick/ quilling tool and  let dry to get more curvature. Do not be scared to manipulate the petals the way you desire to get the shape you want. A natural flower is never perfect so do not aim for perfection if you want it to look natural. In case the petals come out apply glue and stick it back.

Alternate Method For 2nd Row

Once you have made the flower with one layer you can glue the petals individually between petals to the middle of the flower so that you can control the slant of each petal if you wish and complete the flower with a fringed yellow flower for the middle using a 4mm strip fringed fine.

 In the above pic the flower to the right is made by arranging the 2nd and 3rd row petals, separately as in my first tutorial on dimensional flowers  after the first row was glued as explained above. You should adopt the method you are comfortable with.

You can also make 3d flowers by adopting the method given in my coil rose tutorial and then affixing the calyx to the flower making sure the paper base is not visible.

Hope you found this tutorial useful and easy to follow and  can take the time to tell me what you think.

New Quilling Technique Tutorial - Shaping Pegs For 3D Flowers & Butterflies

This tutorial is on how I shape pegs (tight coils) to make receptacles for flowers, thorax and abdomen for butterflies. You do not need special molds or tools and as you can see you can get cone or bell shapes very easily.

To learn fast, read this tutorial in full to get  an idea of the steps and concepts then read it again while you follow the steps creating the item. Then try the item out without looking at the tutorial and you will remember it without effort.

 


Tools That Are Useful

I find the above tools invaluable for quilling small items and for shaping pegs. The narrow tip glue applicator is an empty fabric 3d paint applicator which I filled with glue. When I want just a tad of glue I merely use gravity and do not press the bottle. When not in use cover the tip with wet sponge or a cap.

A toothpick sharpened with a blade is useful for rolling the pegs without large holes in the center.  I sharpen it to increase friction so that I can turn the toothpick to roll the strip . Roll the toothpick over the end of the strip, applying a little pressure so that the strip rolls around the tip, then roll the strip around the sharpened end using thumb and forefinger. Once a portion of the strip is wound round the toothpick you can roll the toothpick to finish the peg and glue it. Ensure that you do not wind it too tightly. What is most important is the tension which should be neither too tight or too loose. If you find the inner coils are too tight allow a minute unwind and then glue it.

You will need to practice a bit if you are using a toothpick. You can even wind it with your fingers to complete the peg. The toothpick is only required to ensure the inner hole is small as in the pic below.

Always use 2 strips to make the peg for stronger more shapely objects. Once you have rolled the peg and glued it, roll over the top with your quilling tool to flatten it uniformly.

Now to shape it. Slightly concave the peg with the ball of your finger, then hold the peg between thumb and forefinger as shown.

Now press the peg a little and move your forefinger forward and backwards and as you do that, the peg will start cupping downwards.
Then move you fingers a tad lower on the cupped coil and repeat the action till about 1mm of each coil is visible.

 Now if you want a bell shaped cup,insert a cotton bud or a round ended cylinder that fits and you can keep it on top of a foam and  make anticlockwise turns while pushing it gently down. The anticlockwise movement makes it unwind and rounded so do not over do it as it will come out. When you push it down it will round the end like the pic.

If you want cones you can push the coils out with a narrow cylinder and the roll it clockwise slightly to tighten the coils.

Another point of note is the breadth of the strip. Thinner 1mm or 2mm strips make more rounded small objects while 4mm and over strips will make more cone shaped small objects.

Butterfly Body

If you want a cone shaped object which is rounded on top like in the pic for butterfly bodies, then you

 make the coils and first push the bottom part down with a toothpick like a cone and then roll the top between your fore fingers and thumb with short pushes forward (clockwise) and long pulls backwards.The long pulls will round the top coils while the short pushes will balance the tension.

Or, you can keep the peg on a soft surface and push it with your finger to make a cup shape and then once the top is rounded you can gently push the bottom with a toothpick to make a shape resembling a funnel. Then you can elongate the rounded top slightly by rolling a cotton bud around the surface from the inside.

Curved Cone

Make a cone or rounded cone and then work a toothpick or cotton bud from the inside rubbing one side  out slowly forward and backwards, so that the coils are exposed more on one side to curve the cone.

 Make sure you apply glue on the inside and allow it to dry well before using your shapes. If you have glued them well you can cut them open once dry and they will still hold the shape. Always use a paintbrush to apply the glue uniformly.

 The best way to learn is to make a few pegs and experiment how it shapes with various movements both on the inside and outside of the cones. You can always use molds or plastic palettes to make rounded shapes.

The use of cotton buds to shape has the advantage of allowing you to get any size by wrapping more cotton around it. The foam prevents the bottom from getting pushed out while rounding it.

Keep checking your coils to ensure that you have not pushed out any area too much and each coils exposes only half to 3/4ths of the breadth.

I hope this has been helpful. If it was, I would love to hear your comments.