Have you quilled your paper today?
Quilling is the art of rolling paper strips to form intricate patterns, flowers,
animals or whatever your imagination and fingers can achieve.
I remember doing this many years ago ... it was simple and fun. There are endless
possibilities - notepaper, cards, collage - to name a few.
Suitable for ages 8 and up, although little ones will need to be supervised with sharp objects.
What you'll need
• long strips of coloured paper, about
15cm long and ½ cm wide
• knitting needle
• multi-purpose glue
• toothpicks
• cardboard or craft paper of your choice
Instructions
Wind the thin strips of paper with a knitting needle into small rolls; it helps to moisten one end first. Use your hands and fingers if you find it easier.
Remove the roll from the knitting needle and place in on your workboard.
Allow the roll to expand slightly. Hold the free end of the paper strip with tweezers and put a small dab of glue on the end using a toothpick. Smooth the end into place on the roll. This is a loose coil (roll). A tight coil would be rolled
on the knitting needle and the end glued into place before removing it.
Most of the shapes in quilling begin with the loose coil, which is then changed into different shapes.
The rolls can be made long like a leaf - just squash it down the bottom and leave the top part wide and rounded. To make a heart shape, roll a very loose round roll and pinch one end into a teardrop shape, and push in the rounded end a little to make the heart shape.
Once you have quilled the paper strips, start positioning and glueing them on the cardboard to create your design.