Quilling & Paper Jewellery FAQs

Hello All,

Here I try to answer the most frequently asked questions related to quilling. It is virtually impossible for me to reply to all the e-mails, messages and blog comments (specially when no e-mail addresses are left behind) asking about various quilling supplies and methods. This list might not be comprehensive (it mostly is a compilation of questions I receive often), so I'll encourage the readers to please use their resources to answer the questions themselves. If it truly usn't working out, I will give it my best shot to answer their queries.

1. Which paper should one use for quilling?

There are no "shoulds" here. It is purely a matter of personal preference. Some people prefer heavier paper, some light. I almost exclusively use 80 gsm Fabriano paper for most of my non-quillography quilling. For quillography, I use whatever higher  thickness paper I get my hands on. The range is from 160 gsm to 300 gsm.

2. Where do you buy your quilling paper?

Where you buy your quilling paper depends on what paper is your preference. I am heavily biased towards (purely a personal choice) Fabriano tinted paper. This option, however, is beneficial only for heavy duty quillers. The paper is available as a bunch of at least 30 sheets per colour. So, unless you have a usage of that volumes, pre-cut strips might work out as a better option.

I buy my paper from a local stationery store that, fortunately, has a wide range of paper qualities available.

3. Is shredder paper better or pre-cut paper?

Once again, a matter of personal preference. For most of my quilling needs, I use shredded paper. The reason is pretty practical, pre-cut strips cut through my skin easily. Also, I find shredded strips more "malleable" and they open better and more uniformly inside the circle sizer. For jewellery, however, I lean towards pre-cut strips as they lend a much neater look to the finished jewellery.

So, choose your paper depending on your needs and working style. I would suggest, try everything available and choose your optimum.

4. Which shredder do you use? How much it costs? Where can I buy it from?

I have a Ryman MA4 manual shredder but any strip cutter of the "linear" kind (mind you, steer clear of cross cut shredders) should serve your purpose. When I bought the shredder, it was for 5 GBPs (pounds). You can check the latest price at www.ryman.co.uk. When I bought it, the company wouldn't ship international, but I am not aware of their latest policies. Please check on the website.

5. What glue to use for quilling? Where to buy it?

Glue to be used depends on the application. For most of my work, I use Fevicryl Fabric Glue. I like the consistency, not too runny, not too tacky. It dries to transparency and dries really quickly. For 3D molding, I sometimes do use the PVA glue (by Camlin) for giving a smoothe finish.

6. (most fequently asked) Which varnish to use for paper jewellery?

I might sound repetitive, but this again is very ad hoc and personal choice. Depending on the kinds of elements I use in the jewellery I make, I change the kind of waterproofing I do. There are no cut and dried answers to this one. But the materials (in general) that I possess are: Asian Paints Touch Wood varnish, Asian Paints Clear Transparent varnish (both are available at any round the corner hardware store), Daler Rowney artists' fixative (bought from Holland), Winsor & Newton permanent fixative for charcoal (bought from Venus Traders, Pune but this is 'really' expensive) and Arfina Artists' Fixative (I strongly advise against using this, though it is cheaper, it leaves a very bad whitish residue on the jewellery). Depending on the kind and colour of jewellery, I mix and match my waterproofing. I've already written a very elaborate tutorial about the waterproofing procedure....

7. Which quilling tool do you use and where do you buy it?

I use Panduro quilling tool, manufactured by Panduro Hobby, Sweden. I don't buy them myself anymore as I bought a good number for myself from Stockholm. But you can buy them from Neha Gala of A1 Craft Supply

8. What paints to use for quilled jhumkas/jewellery?

We have a whole range of paints with us and we used everything from sketch-pens to acrylics, depending on the design. A good answer for this question would be: Whatever works! We have Acrylic colours from Fevicryl, Camlin, Daler & Rowney, Pebeo, The poster colours are Camlin and Fevicryl, again depending on application. Pens, Sketch-pens and sketching pencils are from Faber Castell, Koh-i-noor, Staedtler, Uni, Yasutomo, Gelly Roll and Daler & Rowney. The 3D effects are achieved using Fevicryl/Camlin 3D outliners,  depending on the requirement. There are a whole range of pens also available for drawing. We have, once again, a whole range available with us. From Uni to Staedtler to Archival Inks, we store everything and pick and choose. The metallics we use are invariably (and almost exclusively) Yasutomo gel pens (available with A-One Craft Supplies). These tools take time to master, so experiment with what works best for you and then, practice, practice & practice

9. Where do you buy half-pearls/rhinestones/ball-chains/diamond chains/other paraphernalia related to jhumkas?

Our one stop destination is A-One Craft supplies (including flat and round nosed pliers, for jewellery making). Please post your queries to them at a1craft2011@gmail.com. If you have some specific requirements, they may be of more help than Art'zire as we are not suppliers of any of the materials, whether it is quilling or jewellery.

10. What paper do you use for paper jewellery?

Once again, whatever works. We have a whole range of papers, be it 80 gsm or 400, plain or patterned, plain or textured, we mix and match depending on the customization request. There are no standard answers to those questions, unfortunately.

Most of our paper jewellery relies on papers heavier than 160 gsm. 200 - 250 gsm is the most frequently used one, unless we have a compelling reason to use something else.

11. What type of resin to use and where to buy it?

We use Amazing Casting Resin for most of the high end work. It is a really expensive resin, so for beginners, we recommend the local version available with A1 Craft Supplies. For the tutorial on using resin, head to this link. Everything we know about resin is available here as a series of free tutorials. Beyond this, you will need to work out on your own please.