Favorites to Start the New Year

A belated happy 2022 to everyone! Below are a few favorite sites I want to share, plus quilling conference news.

Miriam's Quilling

This is my new favorite channel to visit often if not daily. Miriam's creations are amazing and her videos are very brief. She demonstrates how to create everything in the entire project. She lives in Romania. Check out her last 2021 video, first. 

Lively Paper Creations

This is the Etsy store where I purchased 1mm paper strips like Miriam uses in some of her projects. YES 😲, one millimeter wide paper strips. This is the store Miriam recommends on her channel. 

Yulia Shorts

Yulia Brodskaya's YouTube channel of "shorts" from her fabulous paper illustrations is a must see. Her last masterpiece included a large open ended loose coil, so she does continue to use quilled shapes other than her colorful tight rolls. There is so much to see in her very short videos.

NAQGCON 2022

Finally (yay), there will be a quilling conference this year after two years of covid restrictions. It will be held May 13-14 in Springfield, Illinois. All information is on the website.

Be well, stay warm!
Molly 🌹

Quilled Snowflakes

Snowflakes are very easy and fun to make. All you need is one loose roll for the center and three basic shapes in groups of six. Nineteen pieces as big or small as you like, and you have a lovely six-point snowflake! 

On my website HERE there is a variety of different shaped examples and patterns to copy, instructions, tips and project suggestions.

Blog archive of Photo Examples showing 1-inch to 12" snowflakes. 

Quilled Snowflake Humor😅 

This short video is only 1:18min long.

Have a wonderful Christmas holiday.

Stay safe and be well.

-Molly

Happy Fall Y'all

From the archives:

I don't make many cards but this is a favorite autumn card. I used paper from The Autumn Splendor Stack (DCWV). The piece leftover after trimming, fit perfectly as the envelope lining. I used spiced marmalade Distress Ink to cover the core white edges of the card and layer pieces. The message piece is raised.

Both papers have a gold foil print on them.

I also used quilled sticker leaves from my Provo Craft Stand Out line (no longer available). I have project ideas for those exact quilled leaf motifs, 8 different shapes & colors and basic instructions how to make the quilled leaves.

Quilled Fall Leaves

Quilled Leaves Instructions

Have a great week :)
-Molly

Easy Quilled Hat

One day while experimenting, I realized that I could make large quilled shapes if I used wider paper and crimping it before rolling. It was easier to work with and control the tension.

This is a photo of the first crimped quilling project I submitted that was published in a book (2003). They wanted an easy, framed quilled project that would take less than one hour to make.

You only need two loose coils. One shaped-half circle and a shaped-marquise. The instructions say I used a 1/4" wide by 68 inch  (.635 cm x 160 cm) crimped strip to make each shape. I made two circle templates with the same paper that I dropped the coils in to release. One 1.75" (4.45 cm) diameter for the top and 2.5" (6.35 cm) diameter for the brim.

I have also used this design to make red and purple hat motifs for cards, tags, scrapbooking (The Red Hat Society) and a wedding hat. The possibilities to embellish the hat (the fun part) are endless!

Thanks for looking.

Have a great day!

-Molly

Stepping Back in Time

Happy September!

A long time ago when I started quilling, I could only find kits by Quill It, Inc. (1974) owned by Barbara B. Maddox. They were sold at a Fort Worth, Ben Franklin Craft Store. From the information included in the kits, I could soon order via mail by catalog. Later in the 80s, the kits were sold at MJDesigns in the Dallas-Fort Worth area (the M stood for Michael, as in the Michaels Stores, Inc. started in Texas.)*

Most of the kits included printed card stock to cut out and use for leaves and other motifs. They also included a printed saying to use as the background. I bought as many kits as I could find and still have several unopened. I continue to collect and buy the original Quill It kits on eBay when I can find them.

As you can see, my mat cutting skills were horrendous! LOL I collected strawberries in my kitchen for about a year, but didn't like how the reds never matched and seemed to clash. The fact that I had bright yellow and brown (70s) wallpaper in the kitchen didn't help with the decor.

I cannot remember the reason for doing this, but I always covered the backs with coordinating paper, probably gift wrapping paper.

Bright colors have always been my favorite. I collected parrots in the 80s so this is one of my favorites. (I am a huge Jimmy Buffet fan, an original parakeet.) In today's quilling standards, I believe these cut-out leaves would be quilled, along with the beak. The same with the sun below.

You guessed it! I also collected rainbows. Back when these kits were sold you couldn't purchase individual packages of quilling paper. So I saved every piece quilling strip leftovers. I did break into other kits to use the paper when I started quilling my own little pieces. I regret that now.

These three projects are in poor shape from not being stored properly and kept in a hot Texas garage for all these years. I clean my old, dusty quilling pieces with a can of air and an old, soft shaving brush. I'd like to think some of the age spots show character :)

Thanks for going down memory lane with me.
Have fun quilling!

-Molly

*Michael's dad, James Dupey, bought the Ben Franklin craft stores. I taught quilling at MJDesigns in 2002. They filed for bankruptcy 10 days before Christmas and I never got paid for teaching the classes. I was devastated, but looking back I am glad for the experience (it gave me much needed confidence) and the teacher discount was nice.

Simple Valentine's Day Cards

Happy Valentine's Day

The heart is two eccentric teardrops using a 1/8 x 24" strip for each shape.
The balloon heart is curved at the tip and a 3" triangle added to the bottom.
The font is Courier New 60 pt.

Have a great week!
-Molly

Autumn Card

I don't make many cards for show, but I did make this card over the weekend for a World Card Making Day live web cast. I used paper from The Autumn Splendor Stack (DCWV). The piece leftover after trimming, fit perfectly as the envelope lining. I love it when things like that just happen. I used spiced marmalade Distress Ink to cover the core white edges of the card and layer pieces. The message piece is raised.

Both papers have a gold foil print on them. You can see the shine in the photo below.

I also used quilled sticker leaves from my Provo Craft Stand Out line (no longer available). On my web page I have project ideas using quilled leaf motifs, photos of 8 different shapes and colors and basic instructions how to make the quilled leaves. 

Quilled Fall Leaves

Quilled Leaves Instructions

Have a great week :)

-Molly