Friday, September 28, 2012

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........:-)

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

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........:-)

Monday, September 3, 2012

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........:-)

Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Jewel Thief @Work

Hello All,

This must be the first time I'm posting the photos of my creations that were sold before I got around to posting their photos! :D I'm just beginning to catch the pulse of working women - nice, subtle, personal. That is how a working woman wants her jewellery to be.

So, I gave my designing a new twist and had to bring it down to its simplest, yet most striking elements.....so here comes, Jewel Thief @ WORK :)






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........:-)

Monday, August 27, 2012

A huge thanks and blogoversary challenge results..........

Hello All,

Today is such a memorable day for me and my Art. I'd never even thought a year ago that I'll be doing this for a profession. Goes out to say, life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you got next. :)

I have a HUGE thanks to say to all the blog readers, for their interest, support, encouragement and enthusiasm. It's been a wonderful journey where I've gathered friends along the way...........I can't believe it was just a year ago, honestly...........

Now, to the challenge........I know I set a tough one but my oh my! People rose to the occasion and HOW! I loved every single entry, I could see people's determination for trying the untried...........thank you ALL for participating.

Among all the participants, I DID have a tough time choosing! But choose someone I must. It was so difficult that I decided upon an addition to the winner. The most creative idea! The winner of this will get a pair of hand-made earrings, specially designed for her and never to be reproduced :)

Here goes the winner of my super tough challenge: Anama Lily with her creation "Kida Revealed".....the hard-work in that is so apparent that I'll save myself the words. :) Congratulations Anama and I can't express my gratitude for participating in my challenge :)


The winner for the most creative idea is Gordana Mudri with her "Creactivity"! I loved it from the word go!




Here are all the amazing entries to the challenge:

By Madalina Dirdara
By Uma Iyer

By Manasee
By Karin
By Aparna Magotra
By Gordana Mudri
By Kavitha
By Manasa Bhat
By Sujana Sarath
By Tanu
By Beelyana Platnobelska
By Smita Satish
By Anama Lily
By Swarna Manoj
By Shylashree
By Nandini Karmakar
By Sindhu
By Natasha
Thank you all once again, for taking the time out, meeting the challenge and indulging me. It's been such a pleasure.............lots of love and hugs to you all

Happy Quilling

Pritesh

Sunday, August 26, 2012

Midas Touch

Hello All,

I don't know how many of you have this tick, but I sure do. I have this truck loads of stuff that sometimes gets forgotten and relegated to a corner. And then, one fine day, I find it and go berserk! I try every possible craft with it1 :D Today's "refind" was my gold pen which is a treasured possession from Stockholm. Since I was anyway considering doing a pair of earrings with a terrific finish (after I found someone's picture on the Net where the design was way toooo similar to what I had made but only the finishing was 100 times better). The "Midas Touch" pen came in handy and I painted the town (ok ok, just the earrings :D) gold.......so here goes: Midas Touch :)



And ya, I was asked why I always have that one strip surrounding my entire earring? Reason: Sturdiness. I am a very mechanical engineering obsessed crafter. My earrings have to have that sturdiness element. Just a tight coil on top will come off in a snap and I can't bear to spoil my hard work because of that ONE weak link :)

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, August 24, 2012

Featured in "Best of the Web - 26"

Hello All,

Some days just make you so thankful for all that God has granted you. And today is another one of those days where I just take a moment, sit down quietly and say thanks to Him. I'm not religious or anything and I never pray. But I do believe in this cosmic power that has been more than fair to me in life. Whoever or whatever you are, a huge thank you! :)

I was honestly very jittery when I read the words, Best of the Web. I don't count myself there but I felt so blessed that Susan of The Craft Corners thought so. Craft Corners is a website one should check out, for it brings together not only some very talented crafters from all over the world, but also has some fun and practical DIY posts.

I was featured in Best of the Web - 26 and I thank Crafters Corner again, for featuring me. It's an honour I shall cherish..........



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........:-)

Best out of waste :)

Hello All,

Just as I started making an attempt to declutter by impossibly cluttered desk, there were these bits left from punching that I didn't have the heart to throw away. After a bit of thinking and analyzing, this is what I came up with, a simple pendant. I've used the leftovers from a MS punch I used for something else and just added one droplet bling in the centre. Let me not encourage you to keep your desk cluttered for coming up with ideas but don't throw those punched bits away (be a hoarder :D)..........put them to use :) Just as I was making this, I was reminded of this series that used to be aired on DD National, called Best Out of Waste :) I hope I am making the best use of waste :)



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 23, 2012

Messy desk and output :D

Hello All,

If there is anyone who can spot a square inch of free space on my work desk, I'll give that person a hundred bucks instantly! :D Such a mess I work in the middle of!

As I've maintained, Who says my desk is cluttered? I am a generous crafter who didn't say no to a homeless cyclone ;) If it wasn't for me, it'd roam around in the city, IMAGINE! :D

But well, here is the result of the "mess" on my desk (somehow, I need to see many things together, in one place, to come up with a design)...........








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........:-)