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...so, thank you for being here and reading mine. 😊

Happy Spring to you and hello April !

I've linked a quick YouTube Short (30sec) from Miriam's Quilling. All you need to know is the simple shape. Loose roll (coil), pinch and shape into a teardrop and make two. 

The leaves are big loose rolls*. I use different size medicine bottle caps-lids as templates for big rolls. Roll, then drop it in a cap, after it has released remove with tweezers and glue. Shape into long skinny leaves. Even just one of these tulips would be awesome on a card or gift tag. Remember, make odd numbers of elements for balance.

Making Spring Tulips - YTube Short

You can make any size for any reason with any width of paper.** 

This 15" tulip is on my craft room wall. I used 1" (25mm) wide, 12" long construction paper strips.*** I often use a paper crimper on all the strips before rolling, gluing and shaping. There are only seven pieces to this. 😮

Tulips, quilled tulips. There are tens of ways to make pretty ones with paper. Check out Pinterest. 

All Miriam's Shorts

Miriam's Quilling

*Miriam uses the side-loop technique.

**Miriam uses thick 5mm wide "on-edge" paper. I think it's hard to use but she's a master at it.

***Michaels has a pack of 10 colors 50 total sheets for $2.50. If you are going to try and buy the 9"x12" construction paper, be sure it is heavyweight and not the thin tissue paper looking stuff. 

Amazon has 12 colors of 9"x12", double the white-- $88.99 for 2,200 sheets. 😋

Enjoy every day and be safe. 

Molly xo 🌷

PS - This blog post is sponsored by my Zazzle Stores. 😉

Life Is Really Simple, but We Insist on Making it Complicated. ~Confucius

 Hello! 

A bit of quilling news first.

The 2024 Annual NAQG Conference "NAQGCON" will be held in Oklahoma City, OK, on Friday, May 31 and Saturday, June 1 at the Embassy Suites by Hilton. This location is only 5 minutes from the Will Rogers World Airport. There is a huge discount on rooms when you book as attending, and for the first time, an "early bird" discount if you register by February 15. There is so much information on the website here North American Quilling Guild.

Positive Daily Affirmations

I haven't posted this link in a while. Real Simple magazine online is very inspiring, even if you only scroll through and look at the pictures.😄 I hope you will take a look and find something entertaining or helpful or both. It will renew each month.

Real Simple Magazine

Enjoy the magic 💖 of February and stay safe.

xo ☕

~Molly

Dreams, Hopes & Happiness

Hello! 😊

Paper To Petal

A short 3:25min video for ideas and inspiration. At :40 seconds, ManuK slows down and shows many how-to shapes she uses for her creations. She has individual videos on her channel for how to quill all these flowers.

Happy crafting or doing what you love. Have a very warm & safe end of the year. 

May the New Year bring you and yours new dreams, hopes and happiness. 

xo 🎉

Molly 

P.S. This blog post sponsored by my Zazzle stores. 😉

November Quickie

Hello there, ☕

I have a few links to share.

This is a longer video than usual but Miriam has added a Playlist in the description. You can click around and find a design you may want to quill and give. 🎁

NEW Christmas simple card ideas (for beginners and advanced) | Paper Quilling

10 Fall Self Care Tips For Stress Relief

Hi there, 👻

Have you ever been looking for something and ended up on a completely irrelevant webpage, but you can't resist taking a look and reading on, clicking on and on? 30 minutes later you are taking some kind of silly test? 

I hope the info below is a small nudge to make more positive me time for you, even if it's only half a day. This is totally unisex. 

Searching for my store, I landed on the article below. It piqued my interest and I skimmed through the 10 suggestions. It made me realize a lot, so I want to share with you. Nope to 8. as I can dance in my own living room for free. 😁

10 Fall Self Care Tips For Stress Relief

Made a few notes, then went back up and clicked on the hygge link I noticed at the beginning. Never heard of the word... clueless to the meaning. 

While reading the history of this hygge lifestyle, I saw an advert and it made my night. Know that blanket people knit with their hands or huge needles with big thick yarn? I've wanted one for years but never made one. Walmart sells them starting at $22, in many colors.  

About an hour later my search came full circle with positive new ideas. 💖

hygge lifestyle link

US link, search Chunky Knit Blankets

Happy Autumn!

xo 🌻

Molly

P.S. Just a thought, 😉 speaking of hygge, head on over to my mug collection.

Paper Quilling is Easy, We Make it Difficult.

Hi there, 👻

I hope you find this video inspiring. Daisy starts at 2:20 mark and is a little more than 4min long.

Miriam's Challenge for Beginners

I love the daisy. She uses regular 1/8" (3mm) wide strips and the coils are loose. I like shaping loose circles. You don't need any of the tools she uses. Put your circles on a flat slick surface to release as you roll them. When you glue them, try to make them the same size. The circles > flower petals do not need to be exact. If you ever do a commission like Miriam is doing, YES make them exact. 😉 Always use odd number of petals 7,9,11... even numbers look unbalanced (unless you are doing a 6-point snowflake).

The center yellow doesn't need to be as big as hers to be awesome. In fact, you can do a tight roll > dome center if you don't want to do the fringing. I noticed she fringes 2 strips at a time.

It looks like she uses a peg to lift the daisy when gluing to the surface. A peg can be 1-3 tight rolls glued on top of each other and then to the back of the flower to prop it up.

To make the tight circle berries, use a round tool to shape them into a dome... be sure to coat inside with glue after shaping and let dry. I use round jewelry and wooden beads, with a toothpick glued in the hole. They work perfectly. Lots of pens and markers have a rounded end. Look around and you'll be surprised what you have.

The green wheatears are quick and easy looping of the paper. Make the number and length you want. It looks like she folded and glued two green strips together and glued on the edge to start. The same with the brown berry stems. 

Happy October!

xo 🌻

Molly

P.S. I think this design would look good using 1/4" wide strips. I may try it. You DO NOT need a slotted tool to quill. I used a slim toothpick and then a hat/corsage needle-- to begin, for 20 years. 😁 If you do try these two tools, lick the end of the paper like you would a thread, and this will make it easier to start rolling. 

TODAY IS, Look at Extraordinary Paper Quilling, MONDAY

I decided to look at Yulia Brodskaya videos for a bit of inspiration... and this one caught my eye, WOW. 😮 A paper quilling portrait of Joanna Gaines of Waco Texas, the Fixer Upper show lady. The Magnolia Empire woman.

Yulia does more folding paper art now, along with a gazillion multicolor tight rolls, and oh my gosh, she is increasingly AMAZING at what she does. 

In the beginning, I noticed it wasn't Yulia's hands, and I saw a different way of rolling 1mm strips, with the same tool I use, for the magnolia flowers. So excited, no more slicing my thumb. 👍

As it turns out, Yulia asked Manuela Koosch to do the gorgeous paper magnolias added to the Joanna portrait.

I went to Manuela's channel and discovered she is ManuK who is a subscriber and was active here years ago. Very HAPPY to find her again. Manuela's quilling is so impressive and inspiring. 

I hope you will enjoy Yulia's short video and visit Manuela's channel Paper to Petal . Tell her I sent you. 😊

Have a fabulous week!

xo 🌻
Molly

P.S.  Yulia's Portfolio 💖

This low-quality screenshot is dated 2011. Yulia had her own MS Browser theme.