Some reviews for quillers in India

Hello All,

A disclaimer first, I get nothing financially out of providing these reviews. If you find them objectionable, please write to me. These are just my personal opinions about the craft tools available around us.

1. Fringing scissors by Claro: Reasonably good for fringing and cutting both, the lever looks a little fragile. I am not sure how sturdy it will be for regular and prolonged use. You'll need to try it out. But for 35 rupees, I feel it's a good buy

2. Fringing scissors by Maped: Handy, small, safe and comfortable is how I will describe it. It is no Fiskars but it is good enough for fringing work. The lever looks very sturdy, it has a comfortable grip and I would say, it looks really cute.

3. Pie-Lane slotted quilling tool - Metal: So, I drop in to Venus and spot this quilling took by Pie-Lane and I am pleasantly surprised. It is ergonomically designed and it works well. I've tried it already and it works well. It is no Panduro tool and my hand ached after about an hour of quilling (Panduro is painless even for 7-8 hours of non-stop quilling), but it functions ok. So, if you are not eyeing the BEST quilling tool and are looking to save some money (I am a HUGE Panduro fan, I'll any day recommend that tool for professional quillers), this should work. The metal body will ensure longevity, I suppose and the grip on top is useful. It is priced at, I'd say very reasonably, at 150 rupees.

4. Pie-Lane slotted quilling tool - Plastic: Compared to the metal quilling tool, this pales. But it is still better than the older routine lot available otherwise. The needle in those was lousy and left an ugly nip in the centre of your coils. The lack of grip on top is sorely felt (my hand slipped once I was sweating a bit in my hands) but for 50 rupees, it is a good buy for beginners. Eventually, I'd recommend graduating to the metal tool and for professional work, Panduro has no match.

Happy Quilling

Pritesh

PS: If my posts inspire you to create something on similar lines, I feel highly flattered. But please, do respect the effort I take in conceptualizing and executing, please give a direct link to my work when you are inspired by mine. Thanks for understanding........:-)

Pen away from the artist

Hello All,

I've been a quiller one year now but I've been a painter for as long as I remember! :) You can take the pen out of my hand but not out of my head :) So, this time, here are some quilled+drawn creations that I made recently.........

It's a busy week as my usual family support system is away............hoping to be able to do more substantial work the coming week :)

Happy Quilling

Pritesh

PS: If my posts inspire you to create something on similar lines, I feel highly flattered. But please, do respect the effort I take in conceptualizing and executing, please give a direct link to my work when you are inspired by mine. Thanks for understanding........:-)

An Italian Affair and a piggy tutorial

Hello All,

When Editorea Europea approached us for an article, it was just too good to believe! But true to her word, Barbara got back, followed up and I was more than happy to be of help. A special note of thanks to Sarah Yakawonis for the reference to Editorea Europea :)

I know, I know! The tutorial is in Italian........so, here goes the photo tutorial in English :)

Materials Required:

(a)    Baby pink and bubble-gum pink quilling strips (3 mm width)

(b)   Slotted quilling tool

(c)    Curling coach

(d)   3D molding tool (optional)

(e)    Scissors

(f)    Red marker pen

(g)   A pair of wiggly eyes

(h)   15 cm organza ribbon

You will need white glue for gluing the paper and clear PVA glue for moulding the 3D coils.

The lengths of quilling strips required for the piglet are:

Body – Two strips of baby pink 20 feet each (made by joining 20 strips of a foot each, end to end)

Snout – Six feet of bubble-gum pink strips (made by joining 6 strips of a foot each, end to end)

Legs – Four strips of baby pink of 1 foot each

Ears – Two strips of bubble gum pink of 3 feet each

Stick one end of the 20 feet strips into the slotted quilling tool through the curling coach, as shown in the image. Remember to leave a little ‘tail’ before you start rolling. This will hold the strip in place while you roll. Make a tight coil and stick the end of the strip with a little white glue. Release it from the quilling tool and flatten it out. 

Make a similar tight coil using the other 20 foot strip of baby pink. These two tight coils [shown as (a)] will make the body of the piglet. Repeat for snout (b), ears (c) and legs (d). Use a slightly tapered bubble gum pink strip and make a spiral for using as a tail (e)

Mould the baby-pink tight coils into hemispheres using either the quilling mould or your hands (be careful so as not to spring the coils open). Proceed very gently if you’re using your hands. Fill the hemispheres with PVA glue and spread evenly on the inner surface. Allow the glue to dry completely. This hardens the hemispheres and makes them easy to handle. 

Mould the coils for legs and snout similarly and allow drying. For making the ears, pinch the tight coils into an approximate triangle AFTER moulding as shown in the image. The coils are very hard to mould before moulding. Allow the moulding glue to dry completely before you start gluing the parts together.

On a foot long baby pink strip, paste the organza ribbon in a U shape as shown in the inset. Start rolling using a quilling tool, keeping the open ends of the ribbon towards your hand and U loop away from your hand. Make a tight coil and glue the loose end. This will be the “hook” for the piglet ornament.

Once the two baby pink hemispheres have dried, join them keeping the “hook” attached in the middle, as shown in the image. If need be, cover the joint of the two hemispheres sticking a baby pink strip throughout the perimeter. Allow to dry completely. This is the ‘body’ of the piglet. 

Paste the ‘snout’ tight coil on one end of the ‘body’. Paste the googly eyes right above the snout.

Glue the two ‘ears’ on either side of the organza ribbon joint. Draw two black dots for nostrils on the ‘snout’, as shown in the image. Draw a “smile” using a red marker pen in the lower half of the ‘snout’. Paste the legs on the underside, as shown in the image. Your cute little piglet Christmas ornament is ready. Decorate the Christmas tree with this ornament or gift to a little child for decorating his/her room. A little personal touch to gifting........

Enjoy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Happy Quilling

Pritesh

PS: If my posts inspire you to create something on similar lines, I feel highly flattered. But please, do respect the effort I take in conceptualizing and executing, please give a direct link to my work when you are inspired by mine. Thanks for understanding........:-)