Dhishkyaon - a quilled photo, my first

Hello All,

Whenever something new comes my way, it gets me excited. But it isn't always that I get to accomplish it as soon as I'd like to. When I was asked to make a quilled picture, I had no idea how much work will go into it and how complicated it will turn out to be. The photo itself needed special editing to make it quilling compatible. And I wanted to use beehive technique to pull it off. This considerably increased the size I had to work on. The final picture ended up being 10 inch by 10 inch but I'm not complaining. After endless beehiving, here is the work that has kept me busy for a long long time.......

Thank you Shylashree, for egging me on to post. As I had said, now there'll be a flurry of posts for coming two weeks :)

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........:-)

Simple punch craft flower tutorial - Video

Hello All,

A quick post (and my maiden one from phone) with a video for making a simple punch craft flower using a daisy punch. This is the flower I made for this frame:

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 year of "Power to Women"

Hello All,

At the outset, wish you ALL a very very happy 2013

............hope this year brings to you all that you wish and work hard for :)

Another year has come and gone! But by no means has this been an uneventful one! In fact, I can safely say that my life has taken a 180 degree turn. I have taken roads so off my chartered path that sometimes, I used to wonder if it was the right thing to do at all! :) But hard work and determination never fail to pay off. Having the correct set of friends, in-laws and last but not the least, husband go a long way! I am thankful 2012 happened and led me to untested waters. I choked, gurgled, floated and then, finally swam. Aadyaa Originals happened to me! Sayalee happened to me! And life happened to me :)

Though started in September 2011, Aadyaa took off in full flow in July 2012 and these 6 months have brought us such a long way from where we started!!!!!! 11 exhibitions later, we have our own office to usher the new year in! Moving in is in progress and a couple of days later, we should be able to post photos of what will be our workplace for some time! :)

Media took note of Aadyaa Originals as well..........we were recognized and appreciated for our work. It felt good, as a person and better, as a partner of a Studio that is constantly striving to upgrade, hungry for more, forever heading to newer territories, exploring new crafts, new people, new designs...........

Our New Year started with a feature in Mid-Day, written by Samriddha Banerjee. What a flying start to the year and confidence booster, we feel! :) Thank you Samriddha :)

Towards the end of last year, we got an early New Year gift, in the form of an article in The New Indian Express' Sunday magazine (it felt strange to be on Page 3, honestly!). Thank you Reshma Iqbal, for the article and for trusting us :)

At Aadyaa, we want to thank EVERY SINGLE person who believed in us, stood by us........I hope the coming year sees the same amount of dedication and hard work from us......let our blood and sweat be recognized :) Yo to Aadyaa! Yo to Women Power!!!!!!!

Pritesh

Indian Quilling History

Hello All,

Here I am, facing a question I truly don't know the answer to! And for a change, I am posting it online, hoping that my Indian quiller friends will pitch in with whatever information they have.

I received an interesting e-mail from someone who wishes to write about history of quilling in India. As luck would have it, there doesn't seem to be any consolidated link giving information about this. Or, I didn't find any, so to say.

So, I am taking it upon myself to gather as much information as I can about it, so that we can compile information about:

• When did quilling come to India?
• What were the materials being used earlier?
• Who were the people practising it initially (nuns in Churches used to practice it in Europe/USA)?
• Where does it stand now, as an art and as a profession?
• How many professional quillers are there in India currently?
• Is there a formal body that meets/interacts regarding quilling and its future in India?

If you're a quiller, I'd request you to answer these questions:

1. When did you start quilling?
2. What/Who introduced you to quilling?
3. Did you learn about it from a physical piece seen in India or online?
4. Who all do you know from India who did quilling before you started out?

If we are lucky, we will be able to go back in time and trace who were the first people who started quilling in India and when :)

I'd be VERY glad for any inputs any of you may provide for this...........

Thanks a LOT!

Happy Quilling

Pritesh 

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........:-)

Love to Kyoto

Hello All,

I have been unnaturally silent for a long time but Pune weather decided to be a pendulum between summer and winter and illness took a tight hold of our family. Now that nearly everyone is on recovery path, here comes a long pending post.

Someone said, I like the swooshing sounds deadlines make when they go past you! I must admit, I hate that sound and true enough, there was a pushed in the corner situation here. For past 2 days, I've alientated nearly everything and been working exclusively on the second half of the assignment.

It all started one fine evening when a very soft spoke Japanese gentleman paid me a visit. I couldn't hide my surprised but well, he had seen the sign boards we had delivered to Beaute Naturelle and wanted something on those lines. A brief talk ensued and within an hour and a half, I knew pretty clearly what he wanted. Work started, got stalled, thanks to illnesses. But well, about 1 day shy of the deadline, I've managed to wrap it up! Now, I know what the expression "My blood and sweat went into this" means! :D :D I've been up late nights, early mornings, skipping afternoon naps and working on these pretty much non-stop.

So, here goes:

Musical Tree: The wife of the gentleman who came to see me is a Music teacher and she employs a unique method called Eurhythmics to teach piano to children. Music holds such a sacred part in my life that I was all ears. I must confess, I'd never heard of Eurhythmics before and had to Google it. The name of the school she runs is Music Tree and the gentleman wished something quilled along those lines.

I was honestly at a loss about that but he solved my problem. He provided me with 7 choices (I love it when I can choose!) and well, I was idiotic enough to choose the most difficult of the choices he gave. So, here goes, the Musical tree. The total working time in the piece is close to 24 hrs of work alone. I faced a question about whether I painted the background for the tree 'stem'. Answer is no. I've hand-cut that paper, pasted it on a hand-made blue shimmer paper and then, quilled on it. The original idea was to make the entire tree black but it looked almost ominous that way. I wish I'd saved a photo of that. So, I decided to fill in colours. The G clefs had to stand out, so they automatically were assigned red (ah, I can never let go of my favourite colour, can I?). The leaves were an obvious green. The notes, however, took some work. I settled for red as my husband said, the notes are the cherries on the tree :) A Cherry tree to send to Japan? OH YES! :) So, that is how the colour scheme worked out. The background alone took about 1.5 hrs to prepare. There is a white base to the hand-made paper as the blue paper is quite translucent. So, a double layer background, with drying time and then, allowing the board to straighten out. Phew!

This project nearly killed me but as they say, you can't enjoy water if you haven't a parched throat. And I nearly walked a desert country reaching THIS water! :) Worth it in the end! The project stands 18"x18" - minus the frame.



AND

Attitude towards Sustainability. This project's text was the toughest I've handles so far. It just went on and on! The words were long, the font tricky! It took almost 10 hrs to just do the text. I am almost swearing to never touch this font again! :D :D

The ladybirds in the project are quilled but the leaves as a merger of punching, paper-cutting and 3D outliner (the MOST useful piece of knick knack any crafter should have, in my opinion!). The leaves are punched with hand-drawn veins and distressed edges (I am swearing off distressing as well!). The 'stems' are spirals in brown and the 'berries' are styrofoam balls in peach colour. The flowers are modified daisy punch with a 3D outliner core. The project stands 12"x18" - minus the frame.

And a rare one here, me with the finished projects (will give you an idea how massive these ones truly are)

Well, now that this hurdle is cleared off, we (as in Aadyaa Originals) gear up for our stall at the Pune Wine Festival, the first Wine Tasting experience in India. So, drop by and check out what all Aadyaa has to offer :)

Till the next challenge excites me, I'll sign off. Hopefully, I'll be back with something challenging and striking soon :)

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........:-)

Quilled bracelet

Hello All,

Long ago, when meg pointed out that I ought to try quilled charm bracelet, the idea planted itself firmly in my mind. I had thought about it earlier too, but sometimes, it takes a friend to post a challenge in your head. After a long long time,I finally had the time to try one out and I must admit, I am in love with it. All the women out there who have daughter 10-12 yrs old, here is a treat for your princesses! :) I dedicate it to Meg and to Baba (who will always be that wide eyed 5 yr old for me) :)

All the charms are properly water-proofed, a practical and fun bracelet :)

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........:-)

Quilled Logo - Mansi's Craftstation

Hello All,

I can't believe that in the middle of the Diwali rush of exhibitions, I managed to pull off a major project. I know I am posting it very late but then, Diwali was MAD this time! I travelled so much, met so many people I hadn't met in years and years! :)

When this order came my way, I was kind of wary about taking it up as it landed bang in the middle of our Diwali preparations at Aadyaa. But well, a challenge is always welcome at Aadyaa! We revel in them! :) So, here goes the logo for Mansi's Craftstation.........

It is so rewarding to hear from your client, "whoever looked at it couldn't take their eyes off it"! Thanks so much for this order dear Vaishali! :) It was a sheer pleasure to meet the time challenge :) Hope the recipient of the piece likes it too :)

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........:-)

I'm tagged, thanks to Kalindi :)

Oooooh the old-fashioned tagging game! :D Haven't done it in a while though.............here goes.......

1. Where is your cellphone?...................... Next to me, getting charged
2. Your hair?...........................................Needs a good round of oil and shampooing after all the crazy Diwali travelling
3. Your Mother?...................................... The genetic and moral source of all my creativity :)
4. Your Father?........................................ My Mom's biggest source of annoyance with his "helping" nature :D
5. Your favourite food?............................. Jackfruit sabji my Mom makes
6. Your dream last night?........................... Someone posted on my FB wall that you've not done any good quilling in a while :D
7. Your favourite drink?............................. Ginger Ale
8. Your dream/goal?..................Ah many, and they are too dynamic to be nailed down.....
9. What room are you in?........................... My bedroom (but I am in the craft corner part of it :D)
10. Your hobby?.........................................Reading.....it beats everything else hands down
11. Your fear?............................................. Losing my eyesight and not being able to craft because of it
12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? ............Somewhere where I gain respect for whatever I do
13. Where were you last night?.....................zombied and sleeping! The road trips finally got to me
14. Something that you aren't?........................capable to doing "nothing"! :)
15. Muffins?.................................................. Don't like them much honestly.....
16. Wish list item?......................................... Martha Stewart donating a piece of EVERYTHING to me, out of generosity! :D
17. Where did you grow up?.........................here and there, right now, here, in my chair! It is a forever ongoing process
18. Last thing you did?.................................Replied to long-pending work e-mails
19. What are you wearing?............................ I'd rather not say it! it's a random combination of clothes and I look like a gypsy! :D
20. Your TV?................................................I don't care much for it. Never watch it, so I don't know which one it it! :D
21. Your pets?............................................... don't possess one.
22. Friends?................................................... Life-line
23. Your life?................................................. Makes me smile every single time I look back at it :)
24. Your mood?..............................................Guilty right now, I left Sayali alone to handle all the Diwali madness! :(
25. Missing someone?..................................S'lee
26. Vehicle?........ Splendor Pro. I'd have liked a CBZ or something but well, I'm not 23 anymore :D
27. Something you're not wearing?...................Make-up. Don't miss it though. One thing I wish I was wearing was a lip-balm
28. Your favorite store?................................... Design Torget (I know an oblique one but their designs are out of the world!)
29. Your favorite color?................................ Red........any time
30. When was the last time you laughed?........About half hour ago when my son preferred to concentrate on his pop-corn over his Mom willing to cuddle him! :D
31. Last time you cried?....................can't remember really. Maybe a month ago..
32. Your best friend?...............................husband! ANY DAY! :)
33. One place that I go to over and over?........Venus Traders! Damn, the place is addictive!
34. Facebook?...............Addicted
35. Favourite place to eat?........................None really! I'm too much of a homie. Love to cook! But ya, I do like Mainland China....

Thanks for tagging Kalindi.............and my tags would be - Kate and Suganthi :) Get going girls!