Dimensional Quilling _ Paper Ikibana

This is a 3D flower arrangement  is quilled to look like ikebana. I have made the stems with one inch strips and have made it look gnarled and twists like the twigs used in ikebana.

The flowers are made using multi strip technique and the leaves have been made with moulded Quilling techniques which I have used in lilly white.

I have 2 tutorials on moulded Quilling and like to use this technique for life size leaves.
The tutorials are quilled bell and quilled 3D flower frame .

I use this Quilling for my dining room table which is round.

I would love to know what you think.

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.

Quilled Picture Landscape- Red Hooded Cranes By The River

Here is a quilled landscape picture of sand, water, stones, greenery and birds. Nature is my favorite topic for quilling and, combining diverse techniques to make something different from others, is something I have always striven towards.

I have used graphic quilling for the water and sand. The stones are made with 3d quilled shapes. The grass is hand husked and stands above the birds' feet and sand. The cranes' feathers are made to look realistic with shaped 3d quills.

The design is typically Chinese/Japanese. and the idea came to me from stencils.

Its been a long while... but I hope you find the time to visit my blog and tell me what you think.