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Friday, January 6, 2012

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

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17 comments:

  1. Wow, those are AMAZING!!! Seriously, you are very talented, they are so intricate. Beautiful!

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    1. Thanks Elizabeth! I've so enjoyed visiting your blog as well :)

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  2. Hello from another quiller! Your projects look really pretty and I have to say my strip stash looks just the same as yours. :) I love being able to make something neat out of my tangled pile.

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    1. Thank you Ann for the kind comment! I have plans to make that stash neater with some binder clips! LOL Every time I go to organize it I start twirling instead. I'm sure you can sympathize! Thank you for visiting my blog!

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  3. Wow, that is gorgeous! I would love for you to share this at my Valentines Party @ www.cheapcratymama.com!

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  4. Wow! These are really stunning. You should be so proud. You're not the only craft supply hoarder around to be sure. I hoarded stickers when I was a kiddo. It's a shame. I should have used them. That's what stickers are for, after all! Use your paper! The things you're making with it are so much better than paper sitting on a shelf :-)

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    1. Thank you for such a kind comment. I really enjoy hearing back from readers. Glad to know I'm not alone in the hoarding area! I collected stickers as well!

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  5. Seriously so...so....beautiful!! I think you should totally scan and create cards with that heart!!

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  6. I just found your blog by mistake and I am so glad I did! I too just started quilling and it's so addicting to see what you can do with just paper! I am still checking out your wonderful blog!!
    Jennifer at
    www.jenster-Notjustanothermom.blogspot.com

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  7. This is beautiful! You are very talented. I love how different this is. Stopping over from your mom's blog.Pinning and following you now!

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