Quilling Tips for Scrapbookers
by Alison from the About Scrapbooking Forum
Part II: Quilling Tips

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Article Navigation Page 1: Supplies Needed Page 2: Quilling Tips Page 3: Storage and Organization Page 4: Ideas & Inspiration

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Related Resources • Quilling Basics • Other 3-D Techniques

From Other Guides • Quill a Scrapbook Page and Greeting Card: From Paper Crafts Magazine

Elsewhere on the Web • Quilling Explained

Quilling Tips

Because there's already a wealth of information available about how to quill in books and on the internet, I won’t be going in-depth on this topic.  If you’re reading this, chances are you already have a basic idea about how to quill.  I’ll offer a few tips based on my experience with quilling, and you can find more information elsewhere.  Just keep in mind that quilling isn’t something you can really learn from a book or article.  The best way to learn how to do it is by…doing it!  In other words, practice, practice, practice.

A few tips:

• Don’t use scissors to cut your strips of paper when you want them shorter.  Instead, tear the paper.  This leaves a softer edge that is easier to glue and blends in better so that the seams are less noticeable.
• Always make extra pieces for a design so that you can pick the best looking pieces to use.  There always seems to be a few pieces (or more than a few!) that don’t turn out well.
• The insides of your quilled pieces should echo the outside edges in shape.  For example, if you pinch a loose circle into a marquise shape, be sure to pinch it enough so that the inside of the piece is also marquise-shaped, not just the outer edges of the piece.  This makes the finished design more uniform and pleasing to the eye.
• If you need a longer strip of paper than what you have, tear the ends of two strips and glue them together to make one long strip.
• Don’t worry about your designs getting smashed (for example, in a closed scrapbook or on a card you send through the mail).  Quilling looks delicate, but it’s actually very strong, especially in a finished and mounted design.  I have personally taken a quilled item, put it on the floor, and stood on it.  It looked completely unharmed afterwards.
• Don’t expect perfection in your work, especially in the beginning.  I’ve been quilling for a little over a year and am still regularly displeased with how my work turns out, sometimes to the point where I end up throwing out finished pieces and starting over.  However, I’ve learned that even a less-than-perfect quilled piece seems to awe people.  It’s a beautiful craft, even when it’s not executed “perfectly”. 
• You need time and patience to quill.  It’s not something you can just throw together in a hurry and have it look good.  That’s not to say that it’s a difficult craft, but if you’re looking for something that doesn’t take a lot of time, this isn’t the right craft for you.
• The majority of quilling work you see will probably be floral in nature, but you need not be limited by this.  There’s more to quilling than flowers.  You can quill almost any subject you want to, from zoo animals to hot air balloons.  Personally, though I think quilled flowers are beautiful, I’d be bored silly if that’s all I ever made.  Make things you find interesting.
• Feel free to play and experiment, and let your style of quilling develop over time.  Don’t feel that you have to do things exactly as others have done it before you. 

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