Showing posts with label Modern Quilling. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Modern Quilling. Show all posts

Monday, September 14, 2020

Gothic Halloween Decor Using Paint Poured Canvases

 


I shared last week about the fun I had w/ my husband and son showing them how to do acrylic paint pouring. The canvases I did were always intended for Halloween projects so I'm excited to share what I did with them and am really happy with how they turned out! 




These were the two canvases I did last week. As I mentioned in that post, I was not happy with how the white paint mixed, especially on the bottom canvas, so I decided to do what Makers do and play with it until I was happy with it so here's what I did: 

Step 1: 
Using masking tape, section off where you want to make stripes on your canvas: 

Step 2:
I painted white stripes in the exposed spaces. I ended up using 3 coats to get an opaque white


Once the stripes were dry, I went over the edges with a black paint pen. I didn't care that either the stripes or the edges were clean given the swirled nature of the canvas and I like a "messy" look anyway. 

Step 3:
I found this silicone mold at Dollar Tree last year and used it to create the skull out of hot glue. 


Step 4: 
I debated about doing the whole skeleton but decided to just go w/ the head. Once that was set, I painted white, then dry brushed it with silver. 


Step 5: 
I pulled some stuff out of my stash, little poison bottles and a small frame that I'd picked up a pack of 2  for $1.47 at Michaels on clearance. I dry brushed some silver on the frame and then added rhinestone eyes to the skull. 



It already had some gold so it matched the colors on my canvas perfectly. 

Step 6: 
I added the poison bottles on either side, added some Tim Holz chipboard Halloween themed words and finished with a few silk flowers. 





For the other canvas, I decided to go w/ a Frida Kahlo inspired Quilled Sugar Skull as the focal.


Step 1
I recently ordered some quilling strips from Quilling.com and the colors worked with this project so I gathered my quilling supplies and then cut out my base image on my Cricut Explore Air 2. 




Step 2
As I've been doing with my quilling projects, I cut two images and layered them together with foam tape. I like the depth and sturdiness of doing it this way. I lined the eyes and nose with black. 


Then went around the edges: 

And then started filling in with different swirls and coils: 


In my "Quilling Quest" I've figured out that if you have some spots that aren't perfect you can always stick another coil in to resolve it, so I don't worry about getting the base image perfectly clean. 

Step 3: 
Once I decided I was done gluing my coils in , then I finished by making some coiled roses from crepe paper I had in my stash. "I had in my stash" appears a lot on my blog and should tell you all you need to know about "my stash"! 


And now, despite not being happy when I did my paint pouring, I am thrilled with how these both turned out! 

Stay tuned...more Gothic Halloween fun to come! 


Supplies Skull Canvas
  • Painted Canvas ( I used one I'd already paint poured)
  • Coordinating Paint
  • Paint Pens
  • Masking Tape
  • Silicone Mold , Hot Glue and Glue Gun or Melting Pot
  • Embellishments ( I used Poison Bottles, Frame, Silk Roses and Halloween Words from my stash)

Supplies Frida Sugar Skull Canvas
  • Painted Canvas ( I used one I'd already paint poured)
  • Sugar Skull Base ( I cut mine on my Explore Air 2 or you could use a pre-cut diecut)
  • Quilling Papers ( Quilling.com, Astrobrights Black)
  • Glue (Aleene's Turbo Tacky and Elmer's)
  • Crepe Paper for Flowers ( Lia Griffith Aubergine and Gold) 





 

Monday, September 7, 2020

Quilled Sugar Skulls

 


Happy Labor Day where I hope you're all getting a day to rest. My quilling adventures continue! Living in the Southwest and in what was formerly Mexico, it's no surprise that Mexican cultural influences are everywhere, for example Sugar Skulls. I decided to interpret them into my quilling! 

I'd also been curious about cutting my own quilling papers. There are tons of sources for actual quilling papers but many quillers also like to cut their own. What I learned is that you want to make sure you use papers that are dyed through and through so that you don't end up w/ white edges when you  make your coils. You also want the right weight. I took a chance on Astrobrights paper and it's PERFECT.

Supplies: 
  • Astrobrights Paper
  • Paper Trimmer or Cutting Knife ( XActo, Huskie, etc.)  
  • Glue ( I use Aleene's Turbo Tacky and Elmers)
  • Quilling Tool


I used the "Spectrum" pack which as you can see has tons of colors! I used my cutting knife and ruler and cut several colors in 1/2 inch strips. I like the depth that this width gives me in finished projects. I also cut my skull image on my Cricut Explore. This is the basis of your project, that you'll outline w/one strip and create a border to fill in. 


Like Makers are known to do,  we can find our tools anywhere from home improvement stores to the office supply aisle or office supply store. Binder clips are my friend! I use them to anchor stringing projects when making jewelry to keep the beads from falling off to, as you can see here, holding my cut strips together! 

I cut two skull images per skull and layer them using foam tape. I like the depth but you can use just one layer. Once your strips are cut, all you need is your imagination. Make your coils in various shapes or all the same shape and you're off! 


For this one, I went with a combination of leaf green, turquoise, black and white. You can fill in as much or as little of the open space. 

I filled this one completely. 


For this one, I went with a bunch of colors (this one ended up completely filled as well). 

This one, I left toothless :) 

As you can see, I had a lot of fun playing with color combinations and of course, I had to do one in my go to comfort zone of black and white ( cream ). I haven't yet decided if they're going on cards, or will become a wreath or a banner. 

"Las Calaveras"











Monday, August 17, 2020

Quillermania Continues: Monogrammed Letters

 


I recently made three different gifts for three different friends. As my quilling mania continues, this time I made coordinating gifts and cards. 


Left to right: A monogram for a friend's daughter who recently moved into her first post-college home. Her initial done in colors to match her bedroom.  Middle: A gift for a friend in her furbaby's colors. Right: A monogram for one of my BFFs daughter in her brand new son's initial. 


For this one I used this fun bow themed background paper, cut the letter using my Cricut, and then quilled in colors to match her bedroom.  For the card I made to go with, I stuck w/ the same color theme but did a dog paw for her furbaby. 


I used the same background paper for the paw card and then coordinating quilling strips for the paw. 


For the paw hoop, I used a bone print background paper and then used different shades of brown to make the paw. Did the reverse as the hoop above and did the paw print here and the monogram of the furbaby's initial on the card. 


For the last one, I used the nursery colors and made the monogram, again cutting the letter using my Cricut Explore Air 2 and then made quilled "baby feet" and a rattle for the card. using a chipboard letter sticker to finish. 


For this one I used a navy paper layered with a vellum paper with silver dots. 

My husband is almost ready to stage a "quillervention" because I keep popping out of my craft room with new projects. Almost. Because he keeps claiming a few of them! 

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Monday, July 6, 2020

Back Into Blogging With A New Craft Addiction: Quilling


Now that I have some unlimited time on my hands, I'm excited to get back into sharing some of my creations. Not that I had stopped making things but the past couple of years have been hit or miss on consistency and time to post regularly. I'm excited to share a new love I've discovered, thanks to one of my oldest and best friends: Quilling. Really "Modern Quilling". Last year for my birthday, she surprised me with a book and box of supplies and I sat down last week to play with them. 

Quilling is thought to go back to the 15th century and started by English, French, and Italian nun and monks. Traditionally, quilling, similar to embroidery, recreated images of nature etc. Modern quilling still does that but can also be more fluid and abstract. This appealed to me. As is my nature, I looked at the basic process and then just kind of went where I went with it. 



I had several embroidery hoops in my stash so they came to mind when I wanted to start my first project (shown above).  Stayed w/ my often used colors of black, grey, and white. 


Supplies: 
  • Embroidery Hoop
  • Lightweight Chipboard
  • Quilling Tool ( available at craft stores or online)
  • Tweezers
  • Glue. I just used Elmers but PVA glue is recommended.  I had this package of precision tip glue pens in my stash which worked great! 
  • Quilling strips

I traced the shape of the embroidery hoop onto the chipboard, cut out, and glued together w/ hot glue. As that set, I made a bunch of shapes. Pinterest and You Tube have great tutorials to show the basics!




I made a collection of loose coils, tight coils, teardrops and the "eye" shaped ones as shown ( loose round coils w/ each end pinched). Once I thought I had enough to fill in my hoop, I started gluing them down to the chipboard base. 


Since I'm an intuitive crafter, I just started filling in space w/ the black, then moved to the gray and the white ( really cream). Where there were big, obvious spaces, I just rolled some tight but smaller coils and filled in. 



I had so much fun with it , I decided to play with some other color combinations. For the next one, I chose browns and purples. 


I found it was helpful to have something damp to store my glue tip in to help keep it clog free as I was working and also to clean off my fingertips which get sticky as you seal the ends of your shapes. I put a couple pieces of paper towel in a small jar and wet them and they actually stay wet for a few days. I didn't close the jar because I didn't want mold to have a chance and you can just re-dampen if it dries out. 


I repeated the same process with the embroidery hoop and a piece of cardstock, then made my shapes and glued down, again in no specific pattern, just as I went along. 


Once again I filled in some spaces w/ tighter coils but the intent wasn't to fill in completely which is why I went w/ a coordinating piece of cardstock as the base. 


For the first two, I used 6 inch hoops. I was having so much fun I wanted to do another one and play w/ some other colors and only had 8 inch hoops so went w/ that and trust me, that little increase in size makes a difference in the number of coils you need! Not a bad thing mind you. It goes pretty fast once you get the hang of using the quilling tool. Law & Order SVU marathons or music make the time fly by! 


I am hooked! I cannot wait to play some more. I want to do monograms, and cards and, and, and ...