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 Thirty-Five: Butterfly Nursery Mobile

This week I have attempted something a bit different, and I gave a clue a week or two ago on the Facebook page, and I must say I'm quite chuffed with the end product, it is gloriously sweet.

A Rainbow of pretty husked flutterbies for little babies to watch as they fall asleep!

 

 

The fantastic thing about these husked butterflies for this purpose is that they are so light and seem to catch the teeniest tiniest breeze, so it's basically constantly moving, which is perfect for the little bubby watching, it's quite mesmerising and so happy and bright.

 

 

I've used the classic husking technique as displayed in Week 7, in various sizes and all the basic colours of the rainbow.

The frame is made of the inside ring of embroidery hoops of two sizes, and I've painted them with a pearlescent white paint, then it's all put together with white embroidery thread, nice and thick to hold up the rings but one strand thick for the pretty butterflies. I've sealed the knots with fabric glue to avoid it unravelling, and I've sprayed the butterflies with 'preserve it' to avoid colour fading and make them a little tougher. And it's all held up by a simple silver ring.

I've seen ways to make the structure to attach it to a crib, but as it's so delicate I would suggest hanging it from a hook in the ceiling would be much better, and you can add string to the ring to have it lower down without it ending up within reach of your little munchkin/s as even a baby would crush these within seconds.

Here's a shot of what the little ones will see...

It was hard to pick a photo of this nursery mobile, as the breeze changed it so often that each picture was different in a lovely way. Getting this to hang evenly was the hardest part of this project I must say, it took a few tries and lots of wasted thread, but now I've got the hang of it I am sure I won't have so much trouble in the future.

So, that was lovely wasn't it? Makes you wish there were more real live butterflies around. We should do something about that. Having said that I found one in my kitchen last week, perhaps she saw these others and knew we were butterfly-friendly. Anyway, next week we're going to see something really purple!


xnata

Facebook Fan 100 Likers Giveaway!

Surprise, it's finally time for a giveaway!

Well, not quite. I haven't quite hit the 100 likers mark, but as a favourite tv quote of mine goes, I tried being patient but it took too long.

I've made a blue version of the butterfly I did last week (well, a bit different actually, but a butterfly using the husking technique), and if you like my facebook page and the giveaway picture, you could win it!

Here's some pics of it being made...

I decided this one belonged resting on a nice big leaf...here it is being propped up by the frame of my glasses while the glue dried   :)

And here's the finished card that could be yours!

this is the exact photo you'll find on the Facebook page.

So, now we just have to wait for the facebook page to hit the 100 likers mark, and then you'll all have five more days to 'like' the photo of the blue butterfly, and then I'll draw the winner out of an umbrella (for reasons that should be clear to you all) and then I'll announce the winner! Remember, if you want to win it you have to 'like' the page AND the picture of the butterfly that will be marked 'GIVEAWAY!'


Good luck!

xnata

ps - stay tuned for this week's project!

Week Seven: Husked Butterfly

I always fret about posting on a Saturday as it usually seems to be the day that no one goes on the internet, but unfortunately I didn't manage to finish this week's project in time for posting yesterday.

To those of you who've followed my quilling for a long while, you may have taken my hint last week to mean that I'd be making another one of these: https://www.facebook.com/PolkaDotParasolDesigns/posts/490773770965994?ref=notif&notif_t=like#!/photo.php?fbid=118570614852980&set=a.118569684853073.7599.118568908186484&type=3&theater but I'm wanting to try new things in this quilling year, so I've gone a different way, I hope you like it!

The reason it took longer than I expected was that I was learning an advanced quilling tehnique, and this was my first attempt! The technique is called 'Husking', and involves the use of a pattern and pins to construct the piece. I've included some 'during' shots to show you what I mean.

Here's the finished product!

 Love it.

So, this will give you an idea of what husking is. 

I drew a basic outline of the wings on a piece of card, and put a foam board underneath it and a piece of baking paper on top, then placed pins at extreme points on the design. Then you put the paper around and glue it in place, and so on and so forth. 

I only did it for the outline, then removed the wings from their little pin frame and filled them in by hand. The cool thing about this is that you can get the shape just right, and as it's independant of the card, potentially I could make freestanding butterflies, much like the snowflakes! I see the making of a butterfly mobile in my future...

I made the body with a normal quilling tool, making a series of cone shapes and then gluing them together. I then mounted the body to the card, and glued down the wings on a tilt so they don't sit flush on the card, to give it a bit of life. As you can see below I used a bunch of quilling strips to prop them up until the glue dried.

The wind knocked it over during my little photo shoot, but I noticed that would be a good way to show the angle that the wings sit at.

Oh so pretty.

Voila! I know I'll be making more of these.

Week eight will be here before you know it, and it brings another winged creature!

xnata.