Quilling or paper filigree is the art of rolling thin strips of paper into different shapes and using the shapes to form designs. Quilling has been around since the Renaissance era.
Tools
The tools needed for this craft are very basic.
• Paper strips. Paper comes in many different weights. You select the weight according to what you want your finished design to look like. The strips of paper are usually cut anywhere from 1/8" to 1" wide with 1/8" being the standard. Even ordinary construction paper can be used, cut into 1/8" strips.
• Something to wind the paper around. You can use a toothpick to wind the coils, but some prefer needles, pins, hat pins or some specially designed tools for quilling.
• Ordinary clear-drying white glue is good for most projects. If you are using a paper that has been sprayed with metallic paint, a heavier clear-drying glue may be used.
Other tools that may be helpful
• A small plastic cap or plastic bottle to hold a few drops of glue so the rest of the bottle won't dry out.
• A ruler is used to achieve uniformity in the size of the pieces.
• You can use a piece of corrugated cardboard covered with waxed paper as a work board. A pattern can be slipped between the cardboard and the wax paper and if glue gets onto the wax paper it can easily be peeled off. Another alternative is styrofoam covered with plastic wrap.
• Tweezers and a muffin tin are good to have handy for organizing by different size or shape and the tweezers will help you pick up or place the smaller pieces into position.
• A damp sponge or washcloth is helpful to keep your fingers free of glue and to moisten the strip when you start a coil.
Items You Can Order
• Special card kits that contain
everything you need to make the card, EVEN THE ENVELOPE!
• Packages of precut strips
• Special quilling tools
NOTE: Cards are blank inside except W61.
A division of Stamping Etc.• A Canadian Company