A simple wall clock

Hello All,

A very quick post to write about a very simple quilling + punch craft clock I literally pulled out of the hat! :D It was too short a notice for me to do anything more elaborate :) Feedback welcome........

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........:-)

Bead Soutache jewellery base tutorial

Hello All,

I am sure it has happened to many of us that we set out to make a quilled (or otherwise) jewellery but don't have the correct size base. I faced it many times and decided to solve it the punch-craft way. This is the kind of backing that went into this kind of a piece:

and it can be used like this:

 and this:

Following are the step-be-step images of the tutorial.....

These are the things you'll need: Glue, base paper (I've used 160 gsm black paper) punched in the shape of your choice (I've punched 1" circles using Martha Stewart circle punch), scissors, tweezers, a wire "blank" (to create a gap in the jewellery base) and elements to stick on top. It could be half pearls, beads, quilled elements etc.

Stick 4 layers on top of each other (increase or decrease the number depending on the thickness of the paper you're using) by applying glue throughout the surface.

Fold one circle in half

Cut a thin strip from the centre 

Make it as thin as possible, it only needs to be thick enough to accommodate a wire in the centre of the base.

Cut two circles in that manner, creating 4 semi-circles

Apply glue on the semi-circle and stick on the 4-paper-thick disc ready. Make it a point to align the edges properly.

Two layer thick semi-cricle stack will begin to look like this.

Do a similar step on the other side. Now, the 'groove' in the centre is ready for insertion of a wire.

The idea to insert the wire while making the base is to avoid the "weakness" brought about by sticking the wire to the back of the base. :)

Put glue on the ready base and stick the other 4 layers one by one (the total thickness of the base is 10 layers of 160 gsm paper)

Stick the "central piece" (I've used a 10 mm half pearl , bought from Craft Universe) 

Start sticking your elements in an "outside to inside" manner. 

And this is how it will end up looking :)

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........:-)

Make your own half-pearls - Tutorial

Hello All,

This post may sound specific to Indian crafters but essentially can be used by crafters anywhere. In India, I find it particularly difficult to find large half pearls. In Pune, I still haven't been able to locate one single source. And besides, their colours are limited. So, what do I do? :D Make my own pearls, obviously! ;) Necessity is the mother of invention, after all! :D :D

Here is a picture tutorial.

Materials used:

1. Children's colour palette (available for Rs. 6 in Venus Traders, Pune). It should be easily available practically everywhere!
2. Air-dry clay (I bought mine from Panduro Hobby in Stockholm but it should be easily available in most stores. M-Seal and Polymer Clay are other options that should work).
3. Fevicryl pearl paints (I have used pearl metallic white here, but feel free to choose from nearly 25 shades available with them). In addition, you can create patterns on top as well! Feel free to experiment.........

These make very exciting flower cores, according to me :) So, whether it is a quilled flower or punch flower, this core will make it very easy for you to choose exactly what shade of the the "pearl" you want in the centre :)

Some follow-up pictures..........you can use a 3D mini-mold to make pearls in a variety of sizes. Like this:

And they end up looking like this (these are crude still, unpainted)

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........:-)

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........:-)

A quilled picture frame - worth a million words

Hello All,

After a big gap, I am back. It has been a manic busy time! And a GOOD manic busy time. After a spurt of illnesses (yet again!), I am back full throttle and making a comeback with  this project that has kept me sleepless for more than a few days :D

The sheer size of the project was a challenge! At 16 inches by 20, it was a "task" to fill this up without clutter or without glaring open spaces, and yet retain the "completeness" look. I pulled it off, or rather, so I think!

Here it goes, a picture frame, made memorable with quilling and punch-craft. I'd like thank the client for having such a clear idea about what she exactly wanted. It makes my life much easier :)

And some close-ups, for details of the amount of work that went in to it.......

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........:-)