Sunday, August 29, 2010

quilled flower card





       Some time ago I saw a quilled flower in google images with this same petal but with a variation. The petal looked so like embroidery , I tried to get the same effect  with these flowers, sometimes I though I got it but other times I only succeeded in  crumpling  the strips further.


     I will try it again some other time with more practice . These flowers are beautiful too and with the leaves its right  for Regina's challenge .


Thanks for stopping by ,Have a beautiful day:)))

Thursday, August 26, 2010

quilled birthday cake





      My intention was to quill a birthday cake ,but the card turned out to be a huge birthday party. Just right for a small kid. I love making eccentric coils and balloons are my favourite.I enjoyed making this card, using so many different colour strips.


       Here's another view of my quilled cake.




      I would like to give some tips on quilling that I have learnt from lot of other blogs and also by my own experience.


    While making a longer strip by gluing two or more strips, it will be better if we tear the strip at the ends. This way the  place where the strips are glued will not be prominent. Tearing strips while quilling also will help make a neater coil.(Thanks Ann Martin for this tip)


    Take glue on a plastic surface, and touch your quilled elements lightly on the glue before placing it on your work(again ,I learnt this from Ann Martin). We can also use a toothpick to gently apply glue on the coils , If we apply glue only in one area sometimes some of the coils will stick out.


     I have learnt that much care has to be taken while gluing ,taking a second to see if the coils are in place helps. 
     


    Thanks for stopping by. Have a creative day!

Monday, August 23, 2010

quilled pookkalam




       Today is Thiruvonam ,one of the most important festivals of kerala. The celebration of onam marks the homecoming of the legendary king Mahabali .  As part of the festivity,large floral carpets(pookkalam) are made in front of the houses.


       Only last summer my friend who grew up in Kerala showed  how to make a pookkalam .She shredded the flowers and separated the petals. Flowers like Marigold ,rose and other flowers which have small petals were chosen and different colour petals were collected in different plates. A pattern is drawn with chalk and then the petals are taken handfuls and arranged according to the pattern. It is time consuming but the kolam turns out really beautiful and  fragrant. For green colour my friend chose leaves from a Gul mohar tree which have tiny leaves. Whole flowers can also be used in required areas.


      I have quilled this card to look like a pookkalam , I have crimped the strips to give the effect of small petals arranged in a pookkalam.


      Sunday morning in the front pages of the newspaper was the picture of an enormous pookkalam which has been named snehapookkalam ,a 17622 square feet floral carpet created with an aim of getting it into the Guinness Book of World records at Swapna Nagari in Kozhikode ,Kerala in connection with Onam celebrations.


    Thanks for stopping by ! have a joyous day!

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

quilled Anniversary card




       I have tried another husked flower here. I used the alternate loop method to make the petals.I have cut strips from colour papers which one of  my dearest students gave me this summer. She had brought some of her drawings to show me and I was curious where she got the paper she had drawn on which had such light and pleasant colours. The very following day she brought some unused sheets and gave it to me. 
    I have used kundan stones,red and green on this card and have also used a different background to shoot the picture. Hope you all like it.
    
    Thanks for stopping by, Have a great day!

Sunday, August 15, 2010

Happy Independence day





       A very happy Independence day to everyone. Since I started quilling I have included quilling also in all my celebrations and in that way I wanted to quill a card for independence day. I meant to keep it simple, it is a simple design but making the wheel with 24 spokes was a challenge. For the background I have used water colours .I have made the center wheel with 3mm Navy blue colour strips.
       This is an easel card ,I have quilled a small kolam at the base, again I have used only the colours in our flag .I have used 3mm width quilling paper for the kolam. I found the tutorial for easel card here. This card goes to Regina's challenge.






      My elder son particularly wanted me to take a picture in this angle to show how it is an easel card.





      This is another picture of the kolam . 
      
      We hoist the National flag early morning on August 15th, independence day at our local library and this year after the flag hoisting my younger son Akhil spoke about one of our prominent freedom fighters Va Vu Chidambaranar.


      Thanks for stopping by, have a creative day.

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

quilling comb



      I saw this exact design in the quilled creations gallery and wanted to try it.We need a quilling comb to create this pattern. I have used an ordinary comb to make this flower. I used this colour just to try out the technique but liked it and so have used it in my card.
    Its right for craftyJC challenge I think.
       

      To make one petal take a strip of 3mm width quilling paper.According to the length required loop it around the teeth of the comb as shown.



      
      Stick at the bottom now loop around a tooth lower than the first ( I have looped around the very next one) and stick at the bottom to keep the shape.




      Bring the loop to the alternate side and insert inside the gap between the two teeth to form a loop on the other side.




      This way alternate the loops on both sides and stick the end to the bottom of the petal when you are done.




       Now slide off the petal from the comb .All the while be sure not to stick the strip to the comb.






       I have stuck three strips two yellows and one red in the middle and have made a tight coil for the center.

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

quilled card



      In our local library, where I volunteer we conduct inter school competitions every year in the first week of August . The competitions start tomorrow. Its the job of my group to supervise the pencil shading competition and to conduct the preliminaries and the finals of the general knowledge quiz .For the past week I have been pouring into books and compiling questionnaires  .My head is so full of who did what when. I thought of taking a break and quill some flowers. Really a joy rolling and pinching strips to make these flowers ,seems I have been making open petal flowers for some time now.

      I also have to help judge the origami competition , so have to fold a crane or two before that since I have not folded for a long time. 

      





      This is my favourite quilling tool. I have a slotted tool , but have always preferred  a needle. I usually fix a handle to my needle but have never found it comfortable. I have had this silver pen for sometime, it can hold a refill of a very small size .I fixed my needle to the pen with some strong glue and it fit so well. I made this card with this needle . The long handle is a great help while rolling and also looks so beautiful . Really love my tool and thought of sharing it with you all.


Thanks for stopping by. Have a creative day!