Perfect Quilled Coils

During the Renaissance, French nuns and monks used 'quills' to wind paper strips into coils(Hence the name 'Quilling'). Quills don't have slots and so the paper was wound around the quills to create the basic coil shape. But later when quilling art spread to England, many might have used quills with a small slit cut across the open end for the paper strips to slide in.

Quills now have been replaced by slotted tools and quilling needles.

 Much as a slotted tool is comfortable, it simply doesn't give the coils that perfect round center and always leaves behind a crimp/crease.

A perfectly round center is what every quill artist aims for. And this is achieved by using quilling needle and a pair of tweezers. Skewers and toothpicks are good alternatives to quilling needle but the center diameter will vary owing to their thickness. The following are my favorite :)

This post has two tips to make those perfect coils - no creases and no bumpy edges. Enjoy the video.

Initially, it might seem difficult to work with tweezers and it's not uncommon to be clumsy but with practice it gets easier and easier. You would love how perfect the coils turn out to be and I can guarantee you won't go back to using slotted tool unless it's necessary.

By tearing the loose end of the coil before gluing will result in a smoother finish just like in the picture below. The one on the right has a bumpy edge which is unsightly whereas the one on the left has blended with the rest of the coil smoothly.

I hope the tips are helpful. Until we meet again, have fun quilling!

Hello World !!

To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven - Ecclesiastes 3:1

All these days I have been rescheduling the task of writing for my blog but just like the Good Book says - a time for everything...now is the time to start and here goes my first post.

I am sitting by my French door, watching the rain through the glass doors, as my sibling's noisy pet birds chirp away. I would definitely love a coffee but as one of my good friends says, if someone makes it for us, it would taste best ;)

I am a passionate quiller. I am creative in my own way. I am optmistic and some times not-so-optimistic...I have a little bit of temper and a little bit of patience...I am happy when I am and upset when I lose it. That makes me human. I believe in and stand for what I do. I like Steve Jobs' Connecting-the-dots theory. Though I look at it a little differently - I see everything as God's plan. What I am now is because of what God has done and all that I will be because of what He is going to do.

I am the eldest of three, so I have and own bigger responsibilities at home.

I am a Sunday school teacher, I teach 8 year old boys and girls at a local church. Children are amazing teachers, I learn more from them than they do from me.

Quilling started as a hobby. It was more of a need as I wanted to make hand made birthday cards for the Sunday school children of my class using strips of paper. Back then I didn't even know that they were called quilling strips nor did I know how they could be used. Look at how I put the strips to use during my early days:

Later one day, when I was surfing the internet for birthday card ideas I stumbled upon quill art and that was when I was enlightened! My first quill art was 2 pairs of tear drop coils stuck on a birthday card. It started from there and with time I tried a hand in jewelry and experimented with them on my friends. Gradually, I looked deeper into the art form and found that there is indeed a lot of scope for creativity. Then I forayed into making picture frames. The first wall frame I did was an innocent experiment - a try at the Malaysian rose. My family thoughtfully framed it (and surprised me) during Christmas last year. Here it is:

With the kind of satisfaction I was getting from the works of my hand, I began to get the crazy idea of quitting my profession and making quill art a full time job. I was an IT specialist (Software Engineer) in IBM, until January 2015. What was abundant was the work pressure and what was immensely lacking was self-satisfaction. With the Almighty's direction and a tremendous support from my family, I bid goodbye to IT. It has been 9 months since the idea of putting up my work online was conceived. The person with a golden soul that appreciated and believed in me and my work, the mastermind behind the whole idea of making a website, the genius taking care of all the logistics & it's 'paraphernalia' and the one behind the screen, is my dear dear friend Rohit. We have been a team of two since the conception of the idea and www.paperazi.com wouldn't have been possible without my companion and confidante.

There has been no turning back since then and it surprises me how everything about www.paperazi.com has been materializing. I have never regretted quitting my IT job.

As the saying goes - "when you love what you do, you don't work even a single day of your life", I am living a life of accomplishment. This is my humble beginning. While there is a lot to achieve, I am in no rush, and I wish to take one step at a time, enjoying and learning from every step I take. I aspire to make it big one day but again as the Good Book says - To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven - Ecclesiastes 3:1

"What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet" - William Shakespeare
Well, my name has nothing to do with a rose! My name is Jenny.