Quilling birthday cards 3

Quilled birthday card for a guy this time.

Quilling birthday cards 2

Another quick and simple quilled birthday card.

Quilling birthday cards

I have a few birthdays coming up. Felt like doing something spring and vibrant.

Happy birthday 3D paper cake

Wishing our niece a happy birthday with a bubbly cake. She was into pink for years and now that she's on the brink of becoming a teenager, I thought I'd give one last shout-out to pinkness. Somehow the years of coloring with her made me really aware how well pink and purple go so well together.

The purple confetti and curls on top were made of quilling paper. The text is cut from vinyl. Everything else was cut with my Silhouette die cutter. I designed the 3D cake pattern months ago but got sidelined with a huge project, so I'm relieved to finally re-visit this in time to use it myself.

3D Cake Card

Here's an idea I've been toying with – a paper 3D cake. I love the feel ribbon instantly gives to cakes. The chocolate shavings screamed to be made out of quilling strips. The platter/stand is cut from metallic green card stock. I even made a cake box to protect it, since it'll get crushed in an envelope.

Each tier is made separately in case they need to be varying paper stocks representing different flavors. This 3-tier cake is obviously for a wedding, but take away the top 2 and there'll be more room for a message for birthdays or anniversaries.

Birthday Cards in Vinyl

Saving these scraps of vinyl from the landfill gives me a total thrill because something so nice can be made from nothingness – kind of like a MacGyverism. Still learning which fine lines don’t cut well on vinyl. I was shocked brushed metal (kind of like heavy duty aluminum foil sticker material) is offered in vinyl and couldn’t wait to use it on the blue card – it just made it!

I used Adobe Illustrator to layout the elements, and Sillhouette/Craft Robo to cut vinyl, then manually aligned as straight as possible. The vector illustrations are free and found via these links: Lovely Flowers / Happy Space Pack

Birthday Card in Die Cut Vinyl

Fell in love with this birthday design sold on the Silhouette Die Cut store – it inspired me to make a similar one for my nephew who just turned 8. I’m lucky enough to know someone who gives me vinyl scraps from their sign shop, destined for the landfill. Too small for commercial work, these scraps are the perfect size for cards. Each empty space is a piece of vinyl that must be “weeded” out by hand – something infinitely more challenging to do when it’s small text. It’s such a thrilling feeling when they say “You made this? I thought you bought it.”

Quilled Baby Card

Welcome to the world Kayla!

This card was actually quite difficult to make. I cut the letter out of a stiff sheet of card, then let that be the frame as I filled the inside. I used paper clips to add height so the frame was off the surface, letting the quilling paper have something to push up against.

When it came time to make the outer ring of burgundy, the insides were too fragile to hold the shape on it's own. It may have been different if I had chosen a font that had sharp cornered serifs. Usually when I frame something, my outer quilling paper is the thick version sold at Michaels, but this burgundy (my fave) is not sold in a heavy weight. In any case, it wasn't as smooth sailing as I imagined in my head.

Glueing the entire letter was a challenge too - done in 3 parts, because the middle connection area allowed too much movement. Not sure how to approach this differently...

Ginkgo Biloba #3 + 4

After my client received her quilled ginkgo leaf, she requested two more – one is for her mom's birthday and another in the colors of fall. I was pleasantly surprised by how the ivory/gold metallic edging turned out.

I’m on Etsy now!

It may be blasé in a high-tech computer age to be listing on Etsy, but for me it was a huge step.

When I quill, I’ve made items without thinking about length of strip or where the elements will be – they take shape as I go and if it doesn’t feel right I reach for another strip. When I try to re-create something I enjoy and write down a pattern, the two sides of my brain conflict. To create instructions to make my flowers or lay them on a card has been quite a process – not to mention how to photograph my hands when both are glueing pieces together!

Anyway, I have been buoyed by friends and comments here on this blog to put instructions together. Thank you always for your encouragement!

Cecelia

Quilled 1 year old Birthday Card

Our adorable little niece is turning 1 and we’re celebrating all her firsts – smiles, crawls, steps…

Hapy Birthday Mom

My mom treasured my hand-made cards when I was a kid, and it’s been a while since I’ve made one for her. It was inspired by the gates of La Vie En Rose.

Quilled Wine Glass and Bottle

Birthday card to a whino who, just like his alcohol, only gets better with age. I wanted the wine glass to look transparent, so have intersected the paper with the bottle.

Quilled Baby Shower Card

Best wishes to the newbie.

Quilled House and Garden

Home Sweet Home was my wish for this birthday girl who’s now getting into gardening, with the purchase of her new home.

Quilled Garden

Helen’s garden is so full of flowers, my eyes can’t take it all in. It’s a smorgasbord of colors, textures, and smells. The inside of the card says:

I need more room! Everything’s starting to bloom!
Everyone, make way. It’s Helen birthday!

Quilled Tea Time

This person loves tea, and peace and quiet, especially with two little boys around. I wish this for her birthday.

Quilled Monkey

My friend’s birthday card, who’s born in – you guessed it – Year of the Monkey!

Quilled Dog

A friend who loves German Shepards also loves those nodding head ornaments placed in the back of a car. This is his birthday card, complete with nodding head attached with a fishing line, which is hidden by the collar. I wish the video turned out so you could see it nod – well, more of a shake of his head.

Quilled Birthday Card: You're one in a million

Just playing with different types of flowers and somehow a multi-circled scrapbook pattern came to mind – different versions of the same thing. It was difficult to line up the circles on the front and on the inside, so I don’t think I’ll be doing this again. Certainly was fun trying to make it happen though.