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Quilling Designs - How to Get Started With Quilling Designs

This is a short guide to making your own quilling designs.
Quilling is the art of making pictures and designs by rolling thin strips of paper into shapes and coils and gluing them to paper or card.
It is a craft that lends itself to a range of designs.
Flowers are always popular of course, but birds, animals, scenes, landscapes and symmetrical patterns are all possible.
Firstly, it is a matter of recognising that most quilling designs comprise a combination of a basic quilling shapes.
These basic shapes are made by coiling thin strips of paper into tight or loose coils.
Theses are then manipulated into a range of shapes.
These shapes are then combined to form your design.
In order to come up with a design you could start by tracing a picture you would like to reproduce, or if you are more confident you could draw a picture out freehand.
One way of matching up the shapes to your picture, you could draw them out onto card and cut them out.
Then it is simply a matter of placing them onto your drawn picture in order to see how they will fit together.
Remember that although you may be making a flat picture, quilling is essentially a three dimensional art, so you add texture by using a variety of shapes.
Don't forget the importance of color in your design.
Don't be too ambitious at first and start with small simple pictures.
As you become more confident and accomplished you will be able to tackle more complex projects and will be able to come up with quilling designs that are truly original and captivating.


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