Instant Download of Tutorials

Last week I was super excited to get an e-mail from Etsy for one of their updates.  I have been waiting for this update for a LONG time!  Finally when you purchase a digital file on etsy (like my tutorials) you can instantly download it instead of waiting for the store-owner to send you your files.  Now if someone buys my tutorials in the middle of the night they can have them right away!!  I have uploaded all of my tutorials onto the etsy server, so all can be instantly downloaded.  Since then I’ve had a few sales of tutorials and it still feels strange (but great!) not having to send the files.

Click here to go to the tutorials section of my shop.  Most listings there are for my PDF tutorials.  However, you’ll also see some ready-made kits there (not made by me).

Tutorial for Making Paper Quilled Earrings and Pendants in Teardrop, Marquis, and Paisley Shapes

I have another tutorial to share today!  This has been in the works for quite some time, and finally I took photos of the finished pieces this week so I could finish up the tutorial.  And it’s ready!  This tutorial has patterns for seven different designs.  They come in teardrop, marquis, and paisley shapes.  The paisley are some of my favorites!

As always, my tutorials have MANY clear photos of the process of making them.  This tutorial has in total more than 125 photos!!  Even if you’ve never done paper quilling before you can make these earrings following the directions in the tutorial.

 

 

 

The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack – Magnets

While I’m on the theme of magnets (I already shared my Dilbert & Dogbert and my carrot magnets) here are a few more!  These again were family gifts, this time for my sister and her husband, who are great fans of this cartoon.  The Marvelous  Misadventures of Flapjack is a funny cartoon that used to be on Cartoon Network.  When I asked my sister what I could make for her and her husband, she suggested magnets of these characters:

 

 

She made a few little sketches for me as to what she wanted them to look like, and here’s what I came up with:

Captain K’Nuckles

 

Bubbie the Whale

Flapjack!

 

Just a little disclaimer: I know that these ( and the Dilbert and Dogbert) images are copyright.  I do not make these for sale, they were only gifts for family.

 

Paper Quilled Carrot Magnet

 

Yesterday I posted about the Dogbert and Dilbert magnets that I had made for my brother.  Here is another magnet I made as a gift, this time for my father.  He is an avid gardener, so I thought this was fitting.  Again I made quite tight rolls, but let them expand just enough so that the could be shaped.  I had to press quite hard to get them into the right shape, but it worked!

Dilbert Magnets made from Paper Quilling

Handmade gifts were a norm in my family when I was growing up.  With ample time for crafting and little money for spending, it was the best way to give a thoughtful gift to a family member or friend.  Now that I am adult I enjoy sometimes being able to shop for gifts for family and loved ones.  However, I still very much enjoy making gifts for them as well!  Sometimes there is nothing better than being able to make that perfect gift.

My older brother has been a long time fan of the comic strip Dilbert.  So a couple years ago when I was sitting down to make gifts for all of my siblings, I had the idea to make Dilbert magnets for him from paper quilling.  It took some time and patience (as quilling usually does!) but I came up with these designs that I was very happy with, and he was too!

 

To make these magnets I wanted the shapes to be as solid as possible.  Yet I still had to be able to shape them.  Dilbert’s head was probably the most difficult part of this project.  I had to let the paper expand just enough so that I could shape it into a rectangle, but still have it mostly solid.  It just so happened that there is a tiny gap that looks like a crooked smile  haha!    Dilbert’s glasses and nose were solid circles and I pressed reeeeaaaaally hard to get them into the right shapes.  Same with Dogbert’s glasses, hands, and feet.    I was quite pleased with the way Dilbert’s tie came out.  I cut out the shape with red paper (I used 3/8″ wide quilling paper) and made it a couple layers thick.  Then I used strips of 1/8″ wide black quilling paper to glue on the strips.  I bent it the way I wanted it and then put on a couple layers of sealant so that it would stay stiff.

I sealed these magnets with glossy topcoat so that they would be nice and sturdy.

For tips on sealing your quilled items, read this post and this one as well.

Paper Quilling For All Budgets – FREE

I’m starting a series of posts about paper quilling for all budgets.  Paper quilling is one of the few fantastic crafts that can be done on ALL budgets – all the way from FREE to SPLURGE!

Today, in part 1, I’m going to talk about how to do paper quilling for FREE!

I know this can be done because when I started paper quilling at age 10 I had no money for tools, paper strips, etc. I checked a book out of the library and used all of the below supplies to get started for free!  It wasn’t until a couple years later that I got my first quilling tool, and it wasn’t  until I was 19 that I bought my first pre-cut quilling strips!

So here are the supplies and techniques to get started with paper quilling at the most minimal cost as long as you have all of these supplies at home:

1. Tool – Use a slender pointed object to twirl your paper.  I used a toothpick, but you could also use a hatpin, a skinny knitting needle, a long sewing needle, etc.
2. Paper - Cut your own paper strips.  When I first started I had only lined school paper.  I would color the paper with markers or paint it, and then cut on the lines with scissors.  This is fine for kids, but for a more professional look, I graduated to this method: Choose a piece of colored paper.  Using a pencil and a ruler mark off increments along one side for how wide you want your strips.  I usually did 1/8″ or 1/4″.  Mark off the same increments on the opposite side.  Place your paper on a cut-safe surface such as a cutting pad, a thick piece of cardboard, etc.  I used to use the back of a notebook. Place a ruler on the paper, following the marks you made, and use a razor blade or exacto craft knife to cut the strips.  Keep moving the ruler and cutting the strips
3. Workboard – A thick piece of styrofoam board works well as a quilling workboard, or a few pieces of corrugated cardboard taped together.  Put a piece of wax paper or a plastic sheet (like a page protector) over the board so that the glue won’t stick to the board.
4. Glue – there are many glues that work just fine for paper quilling.  Here is a post about different glues.
5. Circle Sizer – There are several things you can do to help make sure your coils are the same size.  The most simple (but not easiest)  is to make one coil the size you want. When you make the next coil, let it expand to the same size by holding it on top of the one that is the size you want.  When they are the same, glue it shut.  You can also make yourself a circle sizing board as I did when I first started.  I took a piece of heavy duty styrofoam board and traced circles on it in various sizes.  I traced several of each size.  Then I put four pins around each circle, trying to keep the pins either right on the circle I drew, or right outside, but keeping them all the same.  When you make a circle place it inside the four pins and let it expand.  It will expand to the size of the circle you drew!  Glue it shut and then remove a pin to get your circle out more easily.  put your pin back into the same hole.    One reader said that she uses a screw sizer that she got in the mail for free.  How handy!  There are some rulers and stencils you can buy that also have various size circles in them.
6. Patterns – Youtube, blogs, the internet is full of free quilling patterns and wonderful inspiration!  Here are some free patterns here on this blog.

So you see, even if you don’t have any money to put into paper quilling to start off, that’s no reason not to give this awesome craft a try!  So go ahead and cut some strips, grab a tool, and get started!

Tutorial for Paper Quilled Animal Jewelry – Dolphin, Seahorse, Elephant, Turtle

 

 

Finally, the long-awaited and long-worked-on tutorial for these awesome paper quilled animals!  I’ve had several requests for a tutorial for these animals, and finally it is finished!

These paper quilled dolphins, seahorses, elephants, and turtles are great for jewelry (earrings and pendants), magnets, pins, frames, gift cards, and anywhere else you’d like to showcase these cuties!

This detailed pdf tutorial has 18 pages and more than 100 photos!  There is a printable page with the patterns for the dolphin, elephant, and two sizes of seahorse.

Although these designs are more difficult than beginning quilling designs, the instructions are detailed enough that even a beginner (with patience and practice) can make these!

Get this tutorial now in my Etsy shop, Honey’s Quilling online shop, and Meylah. 

 

Love the designs, but don’t want to make your own?  No problem, I have them available as jewelry in my etsy shop!  You can even custom order them in any colors you’d like! Click on the photos to go to the different listings in my etsy shop: