Showing posts with label Paper. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Paper. Show all posts

Monday, September 8, 2014

A blog hop with a difference

Hello All,

After a long long break from writing, I am back with a very unique blog hop, where I got involved, thanks to my College classmate and an avid crafter, Kripa Koushik. The number of years I've known her can't be counted on the fingers on our hands! We did Graduation together and then, recently got back in touch through the world of crafts.

She works magic with her mixed media layouts, and unlike me, cards! She has a distinct style, which often begs careful examination, for there are so many tiny details that add up to the big picture :)

I agreed to be a part of this hop because of the different format! This hop actually helps us all get to know each other better, as people and as crafters.............idiosyncrasies included! :D


More about me:


1. What am I working on?

A lot of things, like always. Quilled jewellery is something that always adorns my table. In addition, there are a couple of frames in various stages of non-completion. I just finished this jewellery piece (which took quite a bit of time, split over 3 days, to make). This is my attempt at recreating the ancient jewellery making technique - Thewa




2. How does my work differ from others of its genre?

I don't know if there is a lot of difference between the work I do and the others do, but I try to play by my strengths, namely, free-hand drawing and an understanding of the chemistry of the materials. The combinations of materials become a lot easier to devise once you know how they work in tandem. I try to exploit that information to get better at my work.




3. Why do I write/create what I do?

The simple answer is: Because that's what I can see myself doing day after day, for years to come. My husband once asked me: Where do you see yourself five years from now, and the only vision that I could come up with was: In a giant craft workshop, doling out really good craft pieces. I craft, because I live for it :)





4. How does your writing/creating process work?

This is a complex question to answer. Most times, the most difficult/tricky part is to come up with an idea. Often, ideas strike seeing something completely unrelated. And sometimes, something similar sparks an incremental idea. Often, it is the craft material itself that makes me think about how I can use it in a different way. 




Once the idea is in place, the first thing I do is a strength test. In my mind, I run through the process of creating it (earlier, I used to draw them but with experience, I am able to visualize them now). On the way, I look for loopholes like a hawk. I've an almost manic obsession with sturdiness. If my work is not sturdy, I take it as a  personal insult. So, making designs sturdy or devising processes to introduce sturdiness is what comes next. Often, I modify the design/idea to keep strength a priority. Once the process is clear in my head, I start with the actual execution. There have been rare times when I have been stumped by hurdles (largely, because of lacunae in my information database) but mostly, I've been able to foresee mistakes. If some mistakes get the better of me, I restart the whole process, subtracting the mistake.




I'll give one example. There was this one time I was making a yellow jhumka and no matter what I did, the yellow colour kept "leaking". It'd separate into a pale yellow part and dusty brown part. It took me 4 trials to figure out that it was the problem with the yellow paint (which I figured out after trying three different and top-of-the-notch brands) and the 4-step process finally because 7-step process to eliminate this pigment separation. 





To pass this baton on, I choose two of my favourite crafters: Manuela Koosch and Cecelia Louie.

Although neither of them need any introduction to crafters and quillers alike, I'll go ahead and introduce them (pardon me if I sound like a star struck teenager, but both these women are my role models!)

Manuela (or Manu, as I call her) is a crafter with superlative capability to transform the mundane to magic and if you think I am exaggerating, drop by to www.manuk.ro and see for yourself :)




Cecelia redefines "Design isn't when you can't add anything more, it is when you can't take anything away". She gives simplicity an elevation the way I haven't seen anyone do. Minimum talks maximum is a quote written for her.




Happy Hopping and thank you for dropping by!

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........:-)

Thursday, March 6, 2014

Off-beat...........bead soutache again :)

Hello All,

When I saw Lulupu Craft Lounge's second B'day challenge notification, I so knew I had to participate. Not being a card-maker, I am more or less away from challenges as most involve cards. Add to that the inability to meet deadlines due to personal commitments and we have a recipe for non-participation in time-bound challenges! BUt this time, Lulupu has made it easier for us all. The challenge was to create something with the alphabets L, U, P, T, C. A minimum of three had to be incorporated. So, here is my take on it:

L - Layers (layers of paper used to make the 'base' for the soutache jewellery)
P - Paper (use for making the backing according to this method) and Pearl (flat back pearls used in the centre)
T - Thread (used to hold the beads together while arranging the beads)
C - Concentric circles (of beads in the jewellery)

I hope I qualify with this piece in Category 3 (everything else) :)



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........:-)

Thursday, August 29, 2013

Peacock Edition 2

Hello All,

Back from an illness break and here we go - yet another peacock.........

When work has already started but the order gets cancelled, one doesn't quite feel like abandoning it! So here goes a project I loved making and had generous help with :) Thanks to Richa for being a backbone throughout :) This was to be my second blog anniversary post, so a bit belated, here comes the National Bird of India, the second time around. The first one made the life so easy, because I had finished struggling with the feathers already! :D


And some more details:



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........:-)

Saturday, June 15, 2013

Tutorial - Dimension addition to quilled flowers

Hello All,

I'm sure most of us have seen quilled flowers that are neatly off the base and look like you could pluck them off the board :) There exist methods to make such "dimension added" flowers. One of the methods is to use silicone (it's not silicon peoples, silicon is blackish blue in colour and very hard) glue. I, as a crafter, find it messy. Even as a researcher, I never found it an easy material to work with. Having cured silicone for almost a year for a research project will keep me away from it for life! :D

A sample of how flowers made using the technique demonstrated below can be used to make a frame:



So, I used a technique I had learnt in class II as a replacement, namely, using a paper cone. Here is a photo tutorial to demonstrate how.........this one goes out specially to Manjit Kaur Bhalla, who asked me for the tutorial :)



















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........:-)

Friday, March 15, 2013

Microquilling.........a tough but enjoyable experiment

Hello All,

I am back after an eternity...................apologies. I haven't been well and then, there was tons to catch up on. And there has been a bit of restructuring of my life. More is to come but due news will be posted as and when there is something to post about :)

One fine day, I get a call from Delhi, an enquiry for a quilled album cover. And the client was very clear about what she wanted me to do. She sent me example photos and told me exactly how the cover had to be made. All good. I asked about the size, it was 6" x 6". Ahan! For a change, I get an offer for a 'small' project (basically, my mind refuses to function while working with anything smaller than 10" x 10")......I agree. The album cover was sent to me by courier and imagine my shock! The 6" x 6" was the "total" area of the album. It has rivets on it AND the area where I had to write text was a mere 2.5" x 2.5"!!!!! I nearly considered telling my client I can't do it but then comes Katarzyna (whom I lovingly call Kate) with her coffee inchies, to prompt me into believing that I could do it. She even came up with a cute name for it: Microquilling! Oh boy, you can't really beat a scientist out of me (not yet, at least) :D

I rolled my sleeves up and got started! But well, the reference images the client had sent me were Yulia's work! And it is NO joke to emulate that. I was honestly reluctant to even attempt it because of my inherent respect for people's originality........so, I just cursorily looked at the images and set off on my own! Luck had never presented an opportunity for me to try alphabets in this style and I did try it. I can't say I am happy with them but a 2.7 cm by 1.7 cm alphabet is hardly a place for me to try to boost my confidence! :( I must attempt something bigger soon :)

After a lot of back and forth with the client and "editing" in quilled text (my first actually), the piece is complete. It's a 60th B'day gift for my client's father! I sure hope he likes it as I've never before spent 11 hours in making a piece that fits in my palm :) (none of my projects so far have had the fortune to fit in my palm really :D)........

I couldn't stop clicking the images and hence, the barrage :D









I love microquilling for the fact that the entire project took precisely 23 A4 size strips AND 11 hours of work :) Fascinating, isn't it? And even more, my sister thought that those "blue streaks" were pencil shading! I think, THAT is crowning glory :) :)


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........:-)

Tuesday, January 8, 2013

Punch craft rose tutorial

Hello All,

My hands had been itching to write a tutorial and I finally found time to do so! Some of you may remember that I had come up with how to make a rose some time ago. An image to refresh your memories :)


This rose is made using shading but you can essentially make a monochrome one (I am making a tutorial for monochrome one, you can shade and mix and match colours).

Things needed:

1. Coloured paper (white is included in 'colours'). Preferably between 100 - 160 gsm
2. Heart punch 
3. Glue
4. Something to curl the petals (I use a needle tool, you can use toothpick also)

Step 1: You will need 25 punched hearts  for making one rose of the size I mention here (I have an inch wide heart punch by Martha Stewart). Feel free to expand on it and try variations.


Step 2: Shading - If you wish to make a shaded rose, as per the image shown below, the top part will need the darker tone shading (this goes inside) and the bottom part will need lighter tone. e.g., in the opening image of this post, pink went on the lower part and yellow on the upper part.




Step 3: Where you put the glue is of great importance to the final finish of the rose. Please note where the glue is put on the hearts. Always put glue there as towards the outer edge or scalloped edge will lead to bad finish.



Step 4: Stick three heart together with  their tapered corners exactly at one point and the scalloped parts aligned. Please refer to the image for clarity of instructions.


Step 5: Now, glue 4 hearts but with the tapered ends not exactly meeting but slightly far apart. Make sure you align the scalloped edges always.



Step 6: Make a series of 5, 6 and 7 hearts, progressively altering the angle of gluing.



Step 7: This is how the whole series will look after gluing. I've put them next to each other to make clear how they are to be glued. Notice the progressive change in angle of gluing.


Step 8: Using the back of a pen or a painting brush, curl the joined hearts as shown here.


Step 9: Glue the open ends, taking care to align the scalloped ends properly.


Step 10: Do this to all the joined hearts and this is how the series will look.


Step 11: Using a scissors, cut off the scalloped edge and make it level.


Step 12: The tapered edges aren't glued, because of the way the glue was put on the hearts. Using a needle tool or toothpick, curl the open edge gently, as shown here.


Step 13: Do this to all the whorls in the joined hearts series.


Step 14: This is how they whorls will look after gentle curling.


Step 15: You will need a "base" paper in the same colour as the paper used for the rose.


Step 16: Paste the outermost (5th) whorl on the paper first, followed by the innermost (1st), followed by 2nd.





Step 17: Paste the 4th whorl and then, gently push in (it will need a bit of effort but be patient, don't rush) the 3rd whorl. This is how the rose will look :)


Step 18: Cut the base paper along the outline of the rose and here is your rose :) I am still working on a "free-standing" version of this rose. Maybe, a tutorial will follow once I figure it out. For now, this rose needs to be pasted on a flat surface. Complement this rose with quilled/punched leaves and see your projects taking a beautiful shape :)


Hope you will try it and find it as useful and easy as I do. Initially, it WILL be difficult to make. It takes a bit of practice to get the whorls right. But you will learn them and be able to make them effortlessly soon :)

GOOD LUCK

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........:-)