Update on 6-9-2017 Check out my new quilling how to video here
Hello,
Thanks for stopping by. I have a lot to get through today so I had best get started.
I wasn't sure whether or not I was going to mention this, but it has been troubling me for the last few days and while I would like to be above such things, I just can't quite shake my hurt and indignant feelings. A couple of weeks ago I posted a tutorial for woven magazine baskets. Some of you left me lovely comments on my blog post. THANK YOU so much for that. I have also recently started posting my projects on Hometalk which has brought some traffic to my blog and also gotten my work lots of views on the Hometalk site.
I guess that it is inevitable, with more people looking at your work, you are bound to get some comments that are critical. But I am still troubled by the mean spiritedness that makes a person feel the need to say unkind things to a person they have never met.
I am sheltered I know.
The upside is that there were many readers on Hometalk that came to my rescue. I have yet to respond to the accusatory comment myself. I prefer to stay out of it and only discuss it here with you my friends.
The jist of the comment was that I was plagiarizing Target because they apparently are selling baskets woven from magazine paper and I did not give them credit for the idea. I have not seen them in Target but I have seen them in different places over the years. It never occurred to me to give credit to anyone for inventing basket weaving (I am pretty sure it wasn't Target) as it is one of the first things we humans figured out how to make after arrow heads and along with clay pottery. In my post I certainly did not imply that I had invented basket weaving or that I was the first person to try weaving with magazine paper. But, since I am feeling a little bit gun shy now, let me segue into today's project by saying, I am not the inventor of quilling. I am not the first person to make earrings. I am copying so many people that I wouldn't have the foggiest idea who to give credit to. My work is not intended to offend anyone. It is always inspired by things I have seen and is never completely original.
Alright then.
Onward.
I like trying new techniques. I have never done quilling before but have seen a lot of lovely quilled projects on line. Most of them use different colored paper to make their designs but since I like to use paper headed for the recycle bin, I decided on making some simple earrings rather than some elaborate design.
I started with on old recipe magazine. One side of the page was text and the other was edge to edge photo. This paper was a little bit heavier than a standard magazine page. So it may have been a little bit easier to use.
Once the paper is selected it needs to but cut into uniform strips. I used my paper cutter to make 1/4 inch strips.
They make special tools for quilling but I don't have one so I made do with a toothpick.
It is a little tricky to get the roll started but once you have a couple of wraps tightly around the toothpick the rolling goes fairly quickly.
To make the the strips longer use a glue stick to connect one end to another and continue rolling until your disc reaches the desired size.
To check the disk size, draw a circle and poke a hole in the middle. (I am using a circle the size of a nickle in this example)
To shape the disk I pressed it over on of my dapping tools but a marble or a small rubber ball would also work. Or there are inexpensive quilling molds that you can purchase.
The paper should hold its shape once you remove it from the mold.
Once I got the shape I wanted I coated both sides with Elmer's glue.
And then repeated the process three more times
Once the domes had dried they were ready to assemble.
I used Elmer's glue around the edge.
And then added one more strip of paper around the seam to secure the two halves together.
There are many products available to seal the paper, but since I had some clear fingernail polish that is what I used.
I like the fingernail polish because it is very shiny but also because it dries really quickly.
To assemble the earrings I used some 20 guage wire, fish hook earrings, a few small beads and some round nosed jewelry pliers.
I cut two short pieces of wire and used the pliers to make a ring at the bottom.
Then I inserted the wire through the paper bead added a couple of small beads and the fish hook and made another ring with the pliers.
It was a fun project so I decided to make a few more.
Happy Upcycling,
In other news, that I am happy to share.
I received my advance copy of Green Craft Magazine the other day and I can now say that I am a published writer / crafter. That sounds pretty weird.
But I guess it is true.
Cuz that's my name right there on that article.
And that's my dress in those pictures. :-)
You can find the original basket weave dress post here.
It is somewhat ironic that this project is also about weaving but to the best of my knowledge I don't think you will find this dress at Target.
If you like Green Craft Magazine pick up the Spring 2016 issue at Barns and Noble or on line beginning in February.
***
And now if you are still with me the news on the puppy front is:
after one week we have an additional 6 and 1/2 pounds of of dog in our house.
That's 3 plus pounds for each puppy.
They are wonderful.
I still miss our kitty's and other dog painfully more than I want to but the two new pups have been good for us.
We took them to a place called the Watering Bowl yesterday. It was a beautiful day and a great time for all five of us.
As I finish writing this Roxie and Holly are downstairs watching football with the hubby and Shiloh is sleeping at my feet. I am listening to her little puppy snoring and it is pure joy.
Take Care Til Next Time.
