Crafternoon: Paper Quilling

Monday, September 8, 2014

September’s Crafternoon theme was Paper Quilling, though the end of summer is a busy time for everyone so only I had managed to get quilling supplies. No matter – we chatted and enjoyed snacks while we learned about each other’s WIPs.

I had ordered the Darice Beginner Quilling Kit, as I had expected to just make a lot of random bits and bobs as I was learning the process. However, once I sat down with google image search to find inspiration, I decided I wanted to make a tree. This one was my inspiration:

tree

I am not really a hearts person though, so I simply used circles in mine. I am pretty proud of the outcome, considering it was literally the first time I had ever tried quilling!

paper_quilling_tree_tire_swing4

Oh, my, is that a heart in the middle of the tree? How did that get there? Alright, so when I decided I was digging this project enough to quite possibly actually display it somewhere in my house, I thought about what artful trees mean to me – and they mean family.

Boy and I do not really have things around the home celebrating ourselves but I expect this to change soon. I have always planned to print photos of our elopement for our bedroom, but our current bedroom has been “temporary” (can I use that word still? for five years?) so once we move to the new room, I imagine I will finally get them printed. Plus I have had ideas for my dining room, but that has kind of been under construction for quite some time, too. Soon, the rehab contractor people will be out fixing this house up and afterward I think I will finally feel like it’s ok to hang some photos!

paper_quilling_tree_tire_swing1

My favorite thing was a true inspired moment. I was mentioning to the gals about how I like the look of mixed textures. Ink and quilling paper, for instance. So I had decided I wanted to perhaps draw a swing. But then the idea came: if this tree meant family, and I wanted a swing, well, at  my gramma and grampa’s, I feel like I practically lived on the tire swing, so ta-da! (Mixed media being a yellow cord – just like the one on their tire swing!) The tire – Goodyear whitewall and all –  dangles freely. I absolutely love it.

paper_quilling_tree_tire_swing2

What I did not expect was for my paper to get wavy from the glue’s moisture (I used Elmer’s glue on parchment looking cardstock). I think once I frame it, that will not be noticeable. In fact, I have a frame that once upon a time the glass got broken, so I think it will be a perfect pair.

paper_quilling_tree_tire_swing3

Of course, none of my spontaneous crafts like this are well-planned so the art does not fit the mat board. I’ll have to take off about a quarter inch on the left and right so it might be some few weeks before I find a mat cutter. Meanwhile, I will find a place to display it! Another thing that I try to not think about is that I ran out of greens, so in the top middle portion, I had to start spacing them out further than I would have liked, and the tree didn’t get to be quite as full as I had originally imagined. If I ever get more quilling paper that matches, I will likely add to it some.

I learned a few things too. One, paper quilling like this is actually fairly easy. Two, you get glue all over. Three, you get paper cuts, but I didn’t notice these til I turned myself into a prune after a long hot shower. Four, originally I had tried to keep the outline of the tree very straight and not curve around the individual circles. Sometimes, I failed at this and as it turns out, I like the bumpy factor more than the straight edge and wish I had done that all over. Five, talk about time consuming!! Although I liked the process and am very proud of the end result, I am not sure I would want to do it again. At least not for myself, anyway. Our crafternoon started at 4pm, and I wrapped this up around 1am. Yeah – that’s normal for me. Once I start on something I am really excited to see finished, you cannot stop me from crossing that finish line. I’ll even forget to eat! But there is nothing more of a stress reducer than focusing hardcore on something creative, I tell you what.

 

See more posts related to:

4 Comments

  1. Ashley

    It came out great! I love the tire swing, I enjoyed getting to hang and work on of the many projects on my list of to do’s. Look forward to next crafternoon 🙂

    Reply
    • CaLynn

      Yeah, it’s nice to dedicate time for old-fashioned socializing! Glad you could come:)

      Reply
  2. Alli

    That’s so pretty! I like your not-so-heart-y version! 🙂

    Reply
    • CaLynn

      Thanks Alli! I think the circles are less of a hassle too, but maybe that’s because I am such a newb.

      Reply

Submit a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Looking for more cases of the Crafties?
Update

Update

Just a summary of random things that’s been keeping me from posting.

read more
Stitch Club: Kaur

Stitch Club: Kaur

Saima Kaur led a TextileArtist.org’s Stitch Club designed to make us smile by stitching brightly bold and whimsical figures, and I was inspired by ancient South African rock art.

read more
Stitch Club: Edwards

Stitch Club: Edwards

Priscilla Edwards led a TextileArtist.org’s Stitch Club where we learned to make a wire frame and use batik wax to form a sculpture. For whatever reason, I decided I’d make a sailboat!

read more
A new era

A new era

My craft room has two new additions, Toby and Ollie.

read more
Hexie Dreams + Template

Hexie Dreams + Template

My Hexie Dreams quilt, which was carefully fussy cut and hand pieced by me, then hand quilted by my gramma, is finally finished after three+ years of work (and avoidance). The proof is in the stitching – persistence pays off!

read more
Stitch Club: Dias

Stitch Club: Dias

Cassandra Dias lead a TextileArtist.org’s Stitch Club workshop on embroidered landscapes, and I was inspired to recreate a honeymoon photo of France’s Pont Du Gard.

read more
Hello 2024!

Hello 2024!

For the start of 2024, I’ve been playing with drawing, paint, and watercolor pencils to get a feel for the media.

read more
Ida Andersen Lang’s Tutorial

Ida Andersen Lang’s Tutorial

I followed a water color pencil tutorial by Ida Andersen Lang to work through some techniques to set me up for a successful Mixed Media 2024 journey.

read more
Stitch Club: Boschert

Stitch Club: Boschert

Deborah Boschert lead a TextileArtist.org’s Stitch Club on creating a mixed media art quilt. I based mine upon a visit to a new town and restaurant.

read more
Finds and Things

Finds and Things

A random post about some art supplies, vintage finds, and an AI-generated experiment for future crafts.

read more
Stitch Club: Stone 3

Stitch Club: Stone 3

Sue Stone’s third workshop with TextileArtist.org’s Stitch Club prompted us to use text in our piece, so I recorded a trip to Shawnee National Forest.

read more
Stitch Club: Stone 2

Stitch Club: Stone 2

Sue Stone led a TextileArtist.org’s Stitch Club in her well-known portrait style, and I was inspired to capture a man in a hat in four variations.

read more
Hexie Dreams 19

Hexie Dreams 19

My hand sewn fussy-cut EPP Hexie Dreams quilt is all ready to go to my gramma for hand quilting. Check out a few of my embellished hexies, and come back in the future for the finished product!

read more