Quilled Picture - Leaves & Berries

Today, it's quilled berries with an emphasis on the quilled compound leaves, inspired by a pic I took some time back.

I have seen many beautiful leaves, but wanted to try out a compound leaf  with tiny leaflets. I had the option of using leaves like in my tutorial on compound leaf, or my tutorial on looped compound leaf  but I wanted the leaves to be solid for this one, as the emphasis would be on the leaves. So,  I have used beehive quilling to create these leaves.

I prefer to used outline leaves in floral frames for a delicate look or most of the time, for landscapes.

Here, the leaves are made very similar to the compound spiked flower for which I posted a tutorial in my last post. Take a closer look,

As you can see , the sub coils have been glued slanting and facing upwards and I have used a combination of greens and browns. I used beehive as it was much quicker than quilling individual leaves and then gluing them to create each leaf.

As you can see,  a simple variation of a method can give you a very different outcome and  open out so many options. I find the main thing about quilling different themes and designs is to be imaginative and innovative. Another trick is to keep a quilling eye open !! If I like something, I always look at it with the intention of quilling it without repeating the same old technique.

I have made the branches in 3d and mounted them on the backing.  I generally look at similar leaves and try to imitate nature so it looks more natural and real.

The berries are simple pegs with some glued on top of others.

I hope you like this frame as much as I enjoyed quilling it. And thank you all in advance for taking the time to comment. You are my inspiration.

New Quilling Technique Tutorial - Compound Spike Flower

 

As promised a tutorial on quilling compound spike type (inflorescence type) flowers which I used for the quilled Black Maned Lion  ,  Behind the Picket Fence and  Lilly White. The one here has been quilled densely with more coiling.

Beehive Quilling Tip - simply insert your quilling tool away from the end of the strip and roll either clockwise or anti clockwise, the desired number of times . Make the second coil by inserting the tool an inch or less away from the end of the previous coil and continue as before making several sub-coils using one continuous strip. It will look like the pic below. If you turn the tool clockwise for one coil and anticlockwise for the next, it will look like the second one in the same Pic.

 You can find beehive quilling tips through the search button on the side bar just like you Google stuff.

Method

Take 3 shades of red or a combination of red and orange 3mm strips.  The darker shades should be about twice the length  ( I used 2,  9 "strips and a 5' orange one) of the lightest shade.

Tear the 2 darker shade strips in 2, then glue in the following order :-

 darkest, dark, light, dark and the darkest to make one long strip as in the 2nd Pic.

Now start beehive quilling and start the first coil about .75 inches away from the end of the strip as shown above. Turn clockwise about  5 to 6 clockwise turns and squash it  in the middle as shown above. If you want it to be lace like, make only 3 turns and do not squash.

  Continue to make about 6 more or any number of coils ensuring  you have an odd number of coil. Tear off the excess strip and glue the first and last coils shut. Then arrange  it as shown above.

 Now glue 2 strips together to make a thick stem and tear a 3' piece, then apply glue to one side as shown and glue 3 marquee coils to that side. Now leave one on top and glue the final 3 coils to the other side as shown in the pic. For the lacey flower, you have to glue the coils shut  and shape only the top most coil.

 Once glued it should look like the above..  Now press the 3 coils that are pointing upwards, down and allow to dry. Also glue the top most  coil shut .  If your marque are opening out too much glue them lightly.

Your finished spike flower should look like the above. This may not be that easy for those who have no experience with manipulating beehive quilling but try with newspaper strips till you get the hang of it and then it is a breeze.

If you enjoyed this tutorial please leave your comments to show your appreciation. 

Quilled Lanscape Picture Flower Frame - Behind The Picket Fence

Today's Landscape Picture is inspired by childhood memories . The picket fence always brings back joyous memories of my childhood home and all those wonderful flowers in full bloom which , beauty was enhanced by the white picket fence.

I have made this in 4 layers and the fence is the bottom most. I have used 3d cones. beehive quilling , quilled roses, fringed flowers and various types of leaves for this project.

The yellow flowers are the same grass flowers I used for Black maned Lion and Lilly White. I love the lacey look of it and they are quite easy to make.

The red flowers are the same as the white veronica  I used in Flower Shower. The white bell flowers are 3d cones and I have glued them directly onto the backing unlike all the other flowers where I made the plant and then glued it onto the backing.

The little pink roses are made from 3mm strips and look very dainty. I have used this extensively in my landscapes like Quilled Tree .

I hope to do a tutorial on the yellow flowers so those of you who have not done so already, click on Join to get Updates or  Get e mails. This blog is for You  to look and learn.

Quilled Nature Landscape Picture - Black Maned Lion of the Kalahari

Today's post is a quilled landscape picture of a Black Maned Lion, which though rare are found in the Kalahari Plains. I think he turned out rather handsome and I'm glad I have done justice to this beautiful beast who is a king among Kings.

Previously I had quilled a cartoon lion which I call A lion share of Love, but till now I have not dared to quill a lion, as  I wanted to do it justice when I really got down to it. However, I did quill a Tiger very early into my journey into quilling  which turned out pretty well considering the fact that I could hardly quill at that time and the basic shapes are all too loosely quilled in my opinion.

I have quilled him, my style which I think is quite unique so far, using various basic shapes that look like hair rather than coils.

Here is a closer look

Click to enlarge image

I used a picture of the lion to get the colors right and have combined colors to get a more natural look.

The grassy plain has been glued on top so that the lion looks like its standing behind at a distance and I have not put many leaves on the tree in order to get the viewer to focus on the lion rather than the background.

I would love to hear what you all think.

New Quilling Technique Tutorial - Mold Quilled Petal Lilly

As promised a tutorial on quilling 3D flowers using mold quilled petals. It is not as hard as it looks!!  All the flowers in Filigree Flowers on Trellis and Lilly White were made using this method.

 This method is just an extension of mold quilling which tutorial I have posted  here.

What You Will Need

A plastic or any non stick curved surface such as a spoon, a ball or a cylindrical object placed in a manner that it will not roll away. I use a plastic spoon or the rounded head of my massager!!

Method

Make 20 marquees for each petal using 2 or 2.5" 3mm strips. You will need 100 marquee for each flower with 5 petals.

Now you are going to make the petals on the mold or curved surface as shown above as follows:

R 1   3 marquee                R4  4
R2   4                                R5  3 
R3   5                                R6   1     where R is for row.

Glue each marquee onto the adjacent marquee and do not apply glue to the top or bottom surfaces. Start with 3 for the bottom row and then for the next row, glue the marquee by fitting it into the spaces first like building a wall and then outside making sure you apply glue, only to the portion you are gluing at that time ( i.e the sides of the  bottom half of each marquee) . Continue using the above grid.

Once completed you will get a petal as shown in the pic, molded to the curvature of the surface used as shown below. The steeper the curvature the more time you will have to spend ensuring it is stuck properly.

Make all the petals and allow them to dry well. Meanwhile, cut small circles of 1/2'' diameter. Then make 6 slits to about 2/3 the way to the center. This will give you 5 petals.

Now place the slit circles on rubberized foam or on the underside of your mouse pad ( semi soft surface) and with the rounded end of your quilling tool rub it repeatedly in a clockwise motion till the circle cups in . Then take each petal (you will have 5 if you made 6 slits) and rub the underside of the outer edge of each petal till they curl out like flowers as shown in the pic below. ( the paper curls in towards the surface you are rubbing). Each petal would have opened out if done correctly.

Now if you want your flower to be firm, glue the sides of the petals together up to half way up. Leaving the opened out section unglued gives you the option of shaping the flowers later.

Now glue each molded petal to the paper petals as shown above and allow it to dry. When gluing always allow the glue to become sticky before you bring any two surfaces together.

Once dried well you can shape the flower as desired using the paper center. If desired make stamens and glue it onto the paper center.