Here are some of my favorite pieces that are perfect for Valentine’s Day:

Happy  Valentine’s Day!!

2011 was the first FULL year for this blog.  When I started in January I was averaging only 50 views a day on the blog.  Now there are almost 250 a day, wow!  I can’t wait to see what next year brings!

Here are the top five most viewed posts from this year:

1. Make Your Own Paper Quilling Hairclips

2. Handmade Paper Quilled Aqua Bubbles Jumbo Crescent Earrings

3. DIY Cute Paper Quilled Gift Cards/Tags

4. Butterfly Pendant

5. Lattice Earrings – Handmade Paper Quilled

So what’s in the works for the new year?  New designs of course, and new tutorials as well!  Can’t wait to share more!

Thank you to all who have read my blog and I hope I have been an inspiration to many.

Whether you are making greeting cards, a framed picture,  or jewelry, the silver  or gold edge can be just what you need to add that extra special touch to your project!

Here are some of the things I have made these special papers.  Some are for sale in my etsy shop, while others have already been sold.

If you enjoy creating your own paper quilled jewelry, hopefully this will give you some inspiration to try the gold and silver edged papers!

Indian design and feather dangle earrings

loop and nine pointed star flower design

Deepavali design and simple circles

Nine pointed star set and large loops

Black and gold loops, and small lattice earrings

“Owl eye” double circle earrings and seahorse pendant

Three circles pin and small loops earrings

Nine pointed star flower set and star set

Retro circles heart pendant and rabbit pendant

Large silver and burgundy crescents and black/silver retro circles set

And these two designs use both silver and gold edge paper in the same design.  The green/black set is one I made for myself to match an Indian outfit I have, and the white paisley set is for sale in my etsy shop.

Do you use gold and silver edged paper in your quilling?  If so I’d love to see what you’ve made!  This special paper is called A Touch of Gold or A Touch of Silver and is available from Lake City Crafts.  I carry it in my quilling supplies store.

I love the look that the gold and silver edge papers  give to these earrings!

While I was making them I was imagining they’d look so gorgeous for a bride and/or bridesmaids.  There is nothing like a one of a kind pair of earrings to go with your wedding outfit!  These would also be beautiful with a prom dress, or for any other special occasion.

I wrote a guest post again for Red Ted Art sharing a tutorial for making my small butterflies.  I designed this cute pattern myself.  I usually use them for earrings and hairclips, but they can also be used for greeting cards, gift tags, frames, magnets, and more.  Anywhere you want a cute little butterfly accent!  Click here or on the photo above to be taken to the tutorial.

I also have a larger and more detailed tutorial with all three of my butterfly patterns – small, medium, and large as seen below.  This tutorial is for sale in my etsy shop and also includes detailed directions on how to make them water resistant, and turn them into hairclips, earrings, pendants, and more!

I also have more tutorials in the works!!

When I first started quilling there were two glues at home to choose from. Regular Elmer’s school glue, and mucilage.  Both worked fine, but I did use mucilage more often than the school glue. It was thicker and it dried faster. The only downside was that it was quite goopy. It has a funny top on it that is great for smearing glue, but not great for quilling. But I liked it so much anyway that I’d just squeeze the top at the right angle to let the glue drip onto a piece of cardboard. I then used a toothpick to apply the glue to my quilling. It didn’t dry out as quickly as Elmer’s either, so that was another benefit.

For readers not familiar with Elmer’s school glue it is basically like white PVA glue as far as I can tell.

After awhile I actually switched back to usually using Elmer’s glue, I think I got tired of the gooeyness of the mucilage.  Also, I found that Elmer’s all purpose glue was a little thicker than the school glue, so I liked that.

Honestly, any glue you find for paper and/or crafts will work for paper quilling. It’s all about your particular preferences.

I would occasionally use tacky glue for quilling (there are many brands of tacky glue), but it was more expensive than Elmer’s and that was back when I lived at home, so I didn’t want to use up my mom’s supply of tacky glue! It did work well, though! It dried quickly and held the paper together really well.

Because I like to experiment and love buying craft supplies, I tried several more glues in the past ten years or so.

One that I found was great is Crafter’s Pick The Ultimate. It says it is a water based super glue. I really like this glue because it is nice and tacky, so it holds the paper quickly and dries quickly. It dries pretty quickly if you squeeze a bit out on paper to use, so I like to use it directly from the bottle instead. It would also work well in a fine tip bottle I’m sure, though I haven’t tried it. Although it claims to be a super glue, I find that it doesn’t work for everything. If you are gluing something to a shiny smooth surface it comes off easily. But for paper and porous surfaces it works great! The other benefit of this glue is that it is water resistant when dry.

I didn’t use The Ultimate for most of my paper quilling, though, because I only had one bottle that I had bought when I was in the US. I wanted to find something available locally that I could use. One local craft store suggested their glue, it’s a polystyrene glue, so I used that for several years.  It was nice because it dried quickly and it was tacky, so you don’t have to hold the paper very long before it sticks together.  I liked putting it into a little bottle with a needle tip applicator. Less glue wastage. The downside was that this glue was still tacky even when dry.  Not usually a big deal for paper quilling, but for some certain projects it was not desired.  Also, it easily plugged up the little glue bottle and was a pain to clean. My fingers would get quite sticky while using this glue. But it was the best I could find for a decent price, so I stuck with it.

Another glue I tried was the new Elmer’s craft bond glue, which I also now carry in my quilling supply store. I like this for  traveling and for classes. The bottle size is handy and it sticks well.  You do have to be careful how you tip the bottle when it is new or you can accidentally squirt out too much glue.  It is not as thick as the polysterene glue, so you have to hold the scroll a few seconds longer until the glue sets, but that’s no big deal.

I was still on the lookout for the perfect glue. I decided to try another glue out and stock it in my store as well. It’s called PPA (perfect paper adhesive). I gave it a trial run before offering it in my store, and it became my number one glue choice! The most amazing thing about this glue is that it does not feel sticky on the fingers! Even when it is wet, it is just smooth feeling.  No more sticky messy fingers!!!  It takes slightly longer to dry compared to tacky glues, but it’s no big deal, that just means I have to hold the paper scroll a few seconds longer than with tacky glue. I use it in a fine tip dispensing bottle and I have not had to clean it out ever in the past three months of using this glue!!  This glue is water soluble when wet, so when I use the metal tip on this fine tip bottle (optional, I only use it when I need a super tiny long tip like when making roses) all I do to clean it out is rinse it and then place it in a little cup with water.  The next day I shake it out and let it dry out.  The bottle itself has a fine plastic tip that has never clogged with this glue. When this glue dries it is not tacky. Plus it is water resistant! In fact, it’s not only a glue, it’s an awesome sealant! Perfect for coating your finished paper quilling projects if you want them to be water resistant (such as jewelry, accessories, and even magnets). Just use a tiny paintbrush to apply for using as a sealant. I’m so glad I found this glue as it is my absolute favorite so far! It comes in both matte and glossy. Both perform the same, but the glossy will give a shiny finish to your art if used as a sealant, quite a nice touch!  This glue has a shelf life of more than 10 years, so it’s great not to worry about it drying out in the bottle!  A little goes a long way as well.  I seem to use about 1/2 to 1 ounce each month, and I do paper quilling almost every day and sometimes use it as a sealant as well.

As I said, just about any glue will work for paper quilling. If you are an avid quiller, however, it’s great to have a glue that you love! Have you used any glues not mentioned here? Feel free to leave your experiences and tips in the comments!

Firstly, here is the top of my outfit.  I knew I wanted to make something black, teal, and with silver and gold.

So here is what I came up with!  I made no pattern, just made it as I went along.

I used the big silver/gold flower in the middle of the top of my outfit as the inspiration for the flower at the bottom of the earrings and pendant.  The silver circles are because of all the little silver jewels on the top.  I was very happy with how they  matched!  They are a fairly big set.  I will definitely wear them every time I wear the outfit!  Perhaps I can even wear them with a black top to dress up a more casual outfit sometime when going out.  Here is another photo of the earrings:

Hopefully I will take more chances to make jewelry for myself!

I have also created custom jewelry for others to match their Indian outfits.  If you are interested in having a custom set of jewelry that matches your outfit perfectly (great for Indian weddings, Deepavali, and other celebrations), send me a message and I’ll set up a custom listing in my etsy shop just for you!!

If you don’t have a quilling tool but you still want to try this out, just use a toothpick!  When I started quilling when I was 10 years old I used a toothpick as I didn’t have a tool until a year or so later.  It’s a little harder to start rolling, but after a few tries you’ll get the hang of it.  You just have to use your thumb to tuck in the end of the strip to start rolling.

Before I had a proper sizing template I made my own.  Use a piece of thick styrofoam and draw the circles on in whatever sizes you want.  Put four pins around each circle and you have your template!  put a scroll inside the four pins and it’ll expand to the size of the circle you have drawn.   If you really enjoy paper quilling you’ll want to invest in a proper sizing template.  They are really great and it’s so easy to use.  Plus they last forever!  I’ve been using mine for more than 10 years.

You can use any paper or craft glue for paper quilling.  It’s a personal preference what kind you like to use.  I used to just squeeze some out of a bottle and use a toothpick to apply it, but now I prefer to use a fine tip bottle so there is no waste!  My very favorite glue of all is PPA (Perfect Paper Adhesive) which I found this year.  Now it’s almost the only glue I use!  Well, in this tutorial I was using elmer’s craft glue, which is great as well.  I use it when I’m traveling because the bottle is so handy and small.  All the glues, adhesives, and sealants I use can be found here in my store.

I really prefer to pin these daisies while they dry so they are even and don’t get bumped out of place.  If you don’t have a corkboard, just use a piece of styrofoam with pins, or a couple layers of corrugated cardboard with plastic or wax paper on top and pins.  Like my sizing template I’ve been using my corkboard for over 10  years and it’s still in perfect shape!  I just change the plastic covering every few years or so to keep it fresh.  If you do paper quilling often it’s definitely a worthy item to buy!

For the sealant I used PPA (Perfect Paper Adhesive).  Not only is it the perfect glue, it’s an awesome sealant!!  I just use a tiny paintbrush to apply it to one side.  Let it dry and apply it to the other side.  Easy peasy and your paper quilling is water resistant!

If you try this tutorial out, let me know!  Have any questions, ask away!

Use coupon code CYBERMONDAY50 to get your discount.  Shop now, because this offer won’t come around again for a loooooooong time!!

Winner of the $30 gift certificate: Chhavi Sharma

Winner of the $20 gift certificate: Janina

Winners of the $10 gift certificates: Trupti Godbole, Libby Holleman, and Masha

Congratulations to all the winners!  The gift certificates have already been sent out.  Happy shopping!

To all those who didn’t win, I still have something special for you!

The big shopping weekend of the year is coming up and you can save a whopping 30% on any order from my shop!  Sale starts on Black Friday and ends on Cyber Monday.  A whole 4 days of crazy prices!  If there are any one of a kind pieces that you’ve been eying, make sure you get them while you can!

So how do you save 30%?   Make sure you enter this coupon code during checkout:  SHOP30

I’ll be announcing on facebook and twitter when the sale starts, so be sure you are a fan!