Quilling Flower Pattern Update

3 years ago I offered my open style quilling flower patterns on Etsy. I’ve wanted to update this tutorial for quite some time and have finally been able to finish this project. What’s new? Double petals, stamens, larger and smaller flowers, 8 petal flowers, and a super easy-peasy guide for measuring each strip. For those who dislike reading manuals, there are more step-by-step photos to show each stage. The new quilling tutorial/pattern will still be $5. All 2012 purchasers will receive the new pattern free. Clients up to Dec 31, 2011 will be emailed a coupon code for a 50% discount.

I’ve had such positive response over my previous “heart full o flowers” that I chose to do it again, but bigger to show off all the flower types. I used 2 strips of 11″ Bazzil scrapbook paper because it’s thick – I prefer to have a stronger “fence” as I filled in the elements. Here are some stages as I went along. I started at the bottom and just nestled some next to one another, seeing what fit in terms of size, color, and style. Loose scrolls would be added after to fill in some blank areas too small for flowers. The final size is about 5″ x 6″.

My previous PDF pattern included 5 card designs to be used as backgrounds and 1 envelope. I’ve decided to offer these printables for free on my blog. Download here. Your feedback keeps me going – thank you!

Tricked your Treat!

Who won the "What's inside the coffin contest?" No body. The answer is fish skeleton! Make no bones about it - I even put the answer in my Etsy listing! Please, no booing! Thank you all for playing! I had a screech :)

One more if you dare? Why couldn't Dracula's wife get to sleep?  Because of his coffin.

Crouching Spider, Hidden Candy

OK so it wasn't hard to guess what was coming, but I hope you've enjoyed the unveiling of my die cut Halloween coffin boxes. This one has a spider web made of black vinyl hidden on the inside of the coffin's lid. A small length of fishing wire is attached to the spider so kids will get an extra hidden surprise as they reach for the goodies inside. I have always loved shiny black on matte, a subtle and entrancing effect.

Here are some of my prototypes. Can anyone guess what's inside? I'll give you a hint - it's white and emaciated. Please be very specific - only FULLY correct guesses will qualify.

I will email a free SVG or DXF spider file to anyone who guesses correctly by next Monday, Oct 10, 2011.

Knuckles

Pale knuckles grip the coffin's edge... 

my latest trailer for an upcoming die cut bundle for Etsy.

Quilled Butterfly Keepsake Box / Card / Gift Tag

 

Found this keepsake box at Daiso for $2. It's covered with a diamond patterned paper. 

The embossing is subtle enough to accept quilling pieces easily.

Strathmore blank cards are my favorite type to glue finished quilled pieces on because I like the contrast of having a textured paper as my background. The deckled edge also gives it a handmade quality versus having the typical straight cut.

 The free background on this gift tag came from Shabby Princess, Spring Breeze theme. The font is called Fling. After hole punching the tag, I threaded the two ends of a tied bow through, which allows the bow to sit front and center and the ends are free to be tied any which way behind.

A huge thank you to Nancy Babb for helping me edit my latest butterfly quilling tutorial PDF. Having her insight made the "how to" instructions easier to follow. 

I thank everyone for their input and helping me improve. Your comments on this blog encourage me to keep doing what I love.

Butterfly Quilling Pattern / Tutorial

During our moves (renting in between), I found it hard to focus on crafts. So I am impatient to finally launch this new quilling pattern for butterflies. Varying the colors, one can easily change the type of butterfly. The monarch is easily identifiable, but would you believe a teal and brown butterfly actually exists? I found the inspiration here.

This pattern first appeared in the book I contributed to, The New Encyclopedia of Techniques for Crafting with Paper. 

However since then I realized written instructions are slower to follow. Instead of writing out the measurements and instructions, I give diagrams - even where to glue and in what order. I hope this inspires you. I'd love to see what you make with my pattern, sold on Etsy for $5. 

Quilled Butterflies

I made these butterflies as a mock up for the book publisher’s presentation last year. Sadly, on its return to me, they did not use a very strong cardboard box and the push pins were squished into my lovingly crafted coils beyond recovery. They had asked me not to glue down to a surface, so they were obviously fragile. I had hoped to unveil photos of them in better shape, but c’est la vie.

They ranged from about an hour up to four hours to make. The monarch was the hardest to quill. I think it would have been easier if I could glue down the frame of the wings to prevent moving. Anyway, I hope they give you inspiration to make new designs – let me know how it goes!

Here’s a photo of the one I finally settled on showing how to make in the book (yes, a quilling tutorial pattern is coming soon).

Silhouette Pen Comparison

Found a pack of 12 Mini Gel Pens from Staples for $4 and hoped it would fit my pen holder from Silhouette. I was disappointed to see the pen won't go into the holder all the way. The Pentel Metallic Gel Roller fits though!

I took Staples and Silhouette pens apart and realized the Staples pen length was longer, but other than that it was about the same as Silhouette's pens. So I stuck the cap on top and taped the whole thing to prevent it from moving. After my Silhouette pens run out, perhaps I'll just cut down the Staples length and that will be my instant refill.

Here are the comparisons of all 3. Just click on the thumbnails to see a good enlargement of the details.

Transformer Birthday Card (Vinyl)

My most complicated die cut vinyl card to date – 5 colors and tiny details that added up to a card I hope my 11 yr old neffy-poo will remember. I got the vector file at Vector Junky but some of the details were so fine I had to open up the areas, as it kept getting caught in my blade.

DIY Soccer Jersey Placecard

Since blogging about the soccer themed place cards made for my nephew’s baptism, I’ve been asked about them numerous times. I used an electronic die cutter (Silhouette) to cut them out, but there’s no reason why it can’t be done by hand.

I’ve made a PDF with fillable name and number to print out. You can cut them by hand or use the SVG and DXF files on your electronic cutter. All 3 files can be downloaded here.

Please credit my blog and I’d love it if you could comment with a link to your blog or a photo of how your project looks. Your enthusiasm keeps me inspired!

Die Cut Jersey Place Cards

These place cards were cut in the shape of soccer jerseys, with each name and table number showing the guests their seating.

A hazard of printing all the way to the cutting edge on coated card stock is powdered toner flaking off. A nice way to pick up all the toner is to wrap packaging tape around your hand with the sticky side out. Gently skim the surface of your paper, picking up the toner before it has a chance to coat the adhesive mat of your die cutter, thereby ruining future adhesion. Note to self: leave a white margin next time!

If you’d like to cut these jerseys, here's a link to download a zipped file containing fillable PDF (yes, it'll look just like the font you see here), SVG, and DXF files.

Ice Salt Shaker

Winter has come to Vancouver and instead of reaching into the plastic bag of salt (which is always in a threatening state of spilling because we’re too lazy to re-tie), I decided to poke holes in the lid of a a plastic container (held nuts) to make myself a large scale salt shaker. I was given an industrial strength hole puncher used in shipyards – it cut through the 1/8″ plastic lid like butter. Of course, I just had to customize it with my die cutter. Note: don’t leave it outside, as salt can solidify into a single block.

Gigi Cat Halloween Card in Vinyl

I loved the animation Kiki’s Delivery Service which featured a cat who had to pretend it was toy, and stay still even though a dog was nearby. In this scene only his eyes are warily moving which only made it funnier. I imagined it would make a great Halloween card with the inside greeting “Watch out! Halloween is coming!” Some readers have asked to see what the process is like to cut vinyl and assemble. In this case, since I made more than a few, it is best to cut many of the same shapes at the same time to save time and material (even though it’s reclaimed scraps of vinyl).

The 110 lb weight of black card stock was purchased at Opus, an art supply store and cut down to 10×7, then folded to 5×7. The paper came with the deckled edge, which I thought was appropriate for a spooky feeling.

Red Bow: Small shapes like the circle in the middle of the bow get plucked up while removing unwanted areas.

White Eyes/Ears: I flipped them upside down and amongst each other to again save material.

Body: The plus signs you see all over the place are registration marks. They help me align all these elements, which can be difficult to see through when using transfer tape. Transfer tape is like masking tape – less tacky, but tackier than the vinyl. After placing this tape on each element at a time, rub to pick up all elements, then put into position on the body, then remove transfer tape. The shiny black vinyl on matte black card stock is a wonderful effect, kind of like the Black Magic box of chocolates.

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

Die Cut Dragonflies

I envisioned a dragonfly cut from translucent paper to allow light to pass through the wings. The wings are supported by a base to give it varying heights. The body is glued on top and the tail is slight curved, which hubby assures me is more realistic (he knows from catching enough of them). I wonder if it would make a nice mobile or wall art – fragile though.