Week Fifty-Two: Framed Christmas Piece FINAL WEEK!

We've done it! We're skating over the finish line, we've got the medal clutched in our fist, we're tired and need a rest. But no! There won't be rest yet, not until after Christmas, as I have quilling to do for loved ones for that day.

It has been a long and very rewarding journey. I have at least tripled my loyal viewership, I have about doubled how many views this page has had, and I have a massive, massive pile of stuff ready for my next market. It's been wonderful.

To my Pinterest followers, you are a delight and I get a huge thrill out of seeing someone pin one of my projects and they didn't pin it from me, it's been on a magical journey to find them without me. Art can move through the channels of our web community, isn't that inspiring? Makes you just want to make and share more stuff I say. Speaking of which, I will be starting a new board for my quilling and leaving the challenge board to sit with its contents as is, I've called the new Board PDPD Quilling, so come have a look and follow it to keep up the fun and inspiration! Seriously, I thought I would be out of ideas and totally over this whole quilling thing after this challenge, but I'm not, I've got ideas pouring out of my little ears and I'll be going strong long after this challenge.

You'll see I've changed my blog header and Facebook page banner to display all the quilling challenge, or at least one thing from each week.

Anyway, enough gushing and happy-ranting from me, let's get on to our last project of the quilling challenge!!This week we're ending on one last framed piece and it's Christmassy to boot.

Santa is off on his busiest night of the year, with his trusty steeds ahead. There are only five visible, but let's just agree that magical flying reindeer are probably so in tune with the reindeer they fly beside that their movements are matched, and all nine reindeer are there, with Rudolph leading them all onward.

Perhaps this is part way through the event, Santa's tummy looks like it is full of milk and cookies!

I used the husking technique for all of these, with the one reindeer drawing to create all five, but they still came out with slight differences and I like that, Rudolph obviously having one very intentional difference.

This is a lovely way to depict the magic and wonder of Christmas.

I'll be back soon, some time in the next couple of weeks to show you the stuff I've made for loved ones for Christmas and get some pins in that new board on Pinterest.

Until then, Merry Christmas to all, and to the Quilling Challenge year, a goodnight.

xnata

Week Forty-Eight: Poppies

In Australia today is Remembrance Day, 11/11, when we remember all those who have died in battle to protect others.

See you next week,

xnata
 

Week Forty-Seven: Bees

I'm back! My university studies have delayed my challenge by three whole weeks, but at least that means there are six more projects still left, and lots will be Christmassy as we head closer to December! I'm finished with uni for the year, yay! Now I can focus on quilling in my son's nap times instead of desperately cramming information into my tired head. It's going to be a lovely three months.

This week we've got some sweet little 'buzzies' as my toddler calls them...

Bees are lovely. So interesting and colourful.

Five quilled bees, and the rest are drawn on, and then the hive is made of quilling paper too. I put some shimmer and glitter on their little wings to make them extra special.

They make me happy, and they're in short supply these days! My husband and I want to have bees when we're old and our kiddies are all grown.

Next week we've got a flower that is very important this time of year...


So happy to be back!

xnata. 

Week Forty-Six: 3D Koala

This week we've got one of my favourite Australian animals, the koala.

He's delightful, wouldn't you say?

This was fun to make and I'm already halfway through another, I want to keep one because they're just so cute.

This project was inspired by a spontaneous meeting I had with a koala a few weeks ago not far from my house. They're a precious animal and we all need to take care of them as they're a threatened species, so please go right now and Google your area's koala rescue service, and put the number in your phone just in case you find a koala in need of help!

I was going to glue his eucalyptus leaves in place, but I like having it so that he can hold it or go without or whatever looks most adorable.

Have I given you enough cuteness yet? Next week I'm going to have to postpone thanks to my uni studies, as my sanity is hanging in there by a threat, but I promise I'll be back with something fantastic.

xnata

Week Forty-One: Peacock

I'm a week late again, and this time I'm not going to try and catch up. My university courses are demanding a lot of me right now, like too much, and if I try to catch up I will compromise the quality of what I am making, and that wasn't the point of this year long quilling challenge. I wanted to make good quality stuff that would improve my skills and give you all some pretty things to look at and for my buyers to take home, so the one per week thing is the only part I'm willing to modify. I won't be catching up, I'll just add an extra week to the end date each time this happens, which could happen a few more times as one of my teachers seems to think that I can simply quit sleeping if I'm having trouble keeping up.

Anyway, moving on to the project! I have made a peacock card before, a very long time ago and it was a very simplistic design, so with this one I went detailed and as real as my paper supply would allow, and I just love him. He's gorgeous, elegant and dignified.

Isn't he magnificent? I just love when an idea in my head actually comes out right on the page.

Here's a little look at him as he was being made, you'll see I started with the head and worked my way down.

There's a zoo not far from by house in which there used to be peacocks that would frequently escape, there was a number of times that I had to stop as I drove past to wait for ones like this to cross the road...I haven't seen any out in a couple of years, I assume they have worked out how to stop this for the safety of the birds,  wouldn't want one to get hurt!

The colours are so vivid, it's wonderful that nature creates these colours, and wonderful that my quilling paper managed to mimic them too!

He took a long time to make, time I didn't have, but he has been a wonderful creative outlet and I'm sure will catch people's eyes at the next market.


See you for week Forty-Two, whenever that turns out to be!

xnata.

Week Forty: Puddle-Wonderful

Only one day late, I'm catching up!

This week's post is inspired by the quote included, using words from a poem called 'Just In' by E.E. Cummings, and frequently paraphrased thusly: "The world is mud-luscious and puddle-wonderful".

We have a little kid under a big umbrella, walking through the rain and enjoying the puddles.

 

 

This technique for water was a bit of a practice for me, for a big special piece involving water that I will be working on as soon as I've ordered a lot more of these shades of blue...

 

 

 

It's a good reminder to try and see things from a positive perspective as much as you can, and enjoy the little pleasures in life.

 

 

Okay, so that's cute, and it was good fun to make. This week's project will be up as soon as I can fit it in to my annoyingly full schedule.

xnata.

Week Twenty-Nine: Imagine...Create!

 I've done something a bit different this week, it's a framed piece that involves an inspiring quote...

The quote is one I've seen many times, though from what I understand it's actually paraphrasing what William Arthur Ward said, because he was quoted saying 'achieve' rather than 'create'. I particularly wanted it to say create, so I've gone with the paraphrased version, but I've still listed his name as the credit for the quote.

The silhouette is drawn by me, as are the words, so it's a bit of a mixed media piece. I decided to give her flowing curly hair and a bit of a wintery outfit as I didn't like her to look scantily clad and I wanted a sense of movement in her and the hair and stance got that working. I threw in the not coloured in headphones on a whim and I really like it.

The idea is that she's walking along and just trailing this amazingly colourful creation behind her, letting it out of her hand. I liked that because it's like she imagined it, planned it, and then let it out into the world on this confident stroll while she listened to music.

 

Here are some shots of it as it was being created...

I've already got ideas for a few others like this, one involving a little girl, the other involving a dancer...I'll see what people think of this one first, but I'm pretty sure I'll make the other ones whether this one catches people's eyes or not. It's my art and I imagine it I can create it ;)

I really like the idea of this being bought by a crafty person or artist who finds it inspirational. There's nothing I love more about quilling than the thought of it inspiring someone else to make more beautiful things. That's why I loved my quilling teaching gig, and I think one of my students was keen enough that she'll have taken it up as her new hobby, which is amazingly excellent and just what I was hoping to achieve.

I think it looks better when it isn't behind glass, but I wouldn't want to have it gathering dust for its owner (whoever that may be) so I thought it needed glass to protect it and keep it easy to dust.

So there you have it, and I might make more like this but different designs in a couple of weeks. I've got less than two weeks of the uni semester to go, so I'll knuckle down through that and then get into this theme again.

Next week we're going for a 3D project again!

nata
 

Week Twenty-Five: 3D Quilled Mouse

This week I've tried to add to my 3D quilling collection, with a sweet little fellow that I hope no one would set a trap for.

I don't know why I decided he should be reading, but the idea grew into him reading The Lion and The Mouse of Aesop's Fables. The book actually does contain that story, though it is just that one over and over. I went to far (as I tend to do) and even made it an inside cover page, which no one will ever see without destroying it, as I've glued it so that his hands hold the pages open.

I imagine he's a mischievous chap, seeking wisdom and information from one of the great mice of history. Perhaps it's his favourite story.

Here's a look at the book before it became the permanent belonging of the mousey.

 

He has to lean up against something, because in my magical mind he would be leaning up against the trunk of a tree, reading in the sunshine one lazy afternoon. I don't have a small tree at my disposal though, so I've put him up against walls mostly.

It's nice to have a mouse about the place that makes me smile rather than scream and leap up onto a chair.  

 Would you welcome this little guy into your home?

 

 

This month is the month in which my son was born, so next week's project is baby themed (also partly because I'm all out of baby cards and I need to replenish my stock!).

 

xnata

Week Twenty-One: Treble Clef

This week's project was actually a lot harder than I expected!

To make the outline I used berry pins in styrofoam with my design drawn on paper and covered with baking paper, but it was very fiddly, as was adding in filling such as the lines behind the musical notes. It required tweezers, so you know it was serious.

Despite the difficulty I am very happy with the result and I think with practice I would get good at this one.

For colouring I didn't want it all black, or just black and white, so I added in a few shades of grey and one duck egg blue type shade. I think it gives it the softer look I was hoping for that black and white just wouldn't have given it.

Next week we're going Up!

xnata

Week Six: New Year's Celebration

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas, and if you're like me the Christmas celebrations are still ongoing! I hope all of your celebrations are wonderful.

This week's project is in honour of the next special day we're all heading towards at a rapid rate, which of course is the New Year!

To welcome in 2013 I went for a cityscape with fireworks

 

I went for nice bright colours to make the fireworks nice and celebrate-y

 

 

So, I wish you all a Happy New Year and hope you have a great time celebrating the beginning of 2013! See you next year/week for a project that might flutterby...

xnata