Quilling or twirling?

Ever since I was a child I coveted paper, love isn't a strong enough word here. My mom was a preschool teacher at the church's preschool when I was in Middle School. She had a parent that owned a printing business and she came home with a stack of scraps from them. Colors of paper I hadn't seen before like coral and lavender. Michaels and AC Moore didn't exist. After much begging she gave me the little stack after taking what she could use. I sat and carefully used bits of it sparingly for various projects. I'm a paper hoarder as well....I might as well come clean. Somewhere up in my stash that little stack exists to some degree. I've used most of it, but I guard my pretty paper as well! I love the textures, colors and patterns of paper. I love that it is natural and I feel a connection to something when I create with paper. It sounds crazy I'm sure, but the fact is I love trees and nature and knowing the paper I'm using was once a living thing makes me have some reverence for the product. Crazy, I told you.

My crazy stash of quilling strips and fringed ones I sit and cut for flowers.

So now you can see my obsession with paper. I've cut, pasted, drawn. painted, glued, decoupage and printed on it. I can't imagine life without it's versatility. Recently I took up a craft I did as a small child with my grandmother and great- grandmother. Quilling (or as some people call it paper twirling) is a very old art form.

my mess is all contained in a 12x12 box. Looks messy doesn't it? Part of the fun I guess!

I love the way I can take small strips of paper and transform them into eye candy!I'm sharing some pictures of a heart I made for our front mirror and an initial piece I made to frame in our entry.

Enjoy and please check by again as I will be adding many more quilling projects for this new year!

a sideway shot of the heart I made for the mirror in the entryway.

Close up of the point

I added lots of swirls and flowers to give dimension to this heart.

"K" initial that I'll frame for the entry

My connecting strips aren't perfect here. I still need to improve but it was my first try! Practice makes perfect.

So there you have some shots of some very beginner work in quilling. It's tedious, time consuming and fun. I love projects that require precise work and time and this is a perfect medium for me. I also do Scherensnitte or paper cuttings. I am working on a project right now that combines both of these mediums and hope to show you that piece next week!

Enjoy and please email me with any questions you might have. I love feedback and especially sharing ideas in the crafting world! Thanks for reading.

Until next time Dear Reader,

Chatty Cathy

Sharing this with

the girl creative

and 

ninth street notions

and At The Picket Fence