October 31, 2009

Making bookmarks with paper punches

Bookmark with hearts Bookmark with autumn leaves

I've been playing around with my paper punches. My husband is an avid reader and often runs out of bookmarks. I hope you understand why the first design is made up of hearts :) The second one is fall-themed. I cut out the large leaf using scissors, the rest are paper punches. Just another way to make something nice and handy with paper crafts. Don't know why, but I love these simple tricolor designs.

October 30, 2009

Book: Paper Crafts Workshop

Paper Crafts Workshop. Cover

Today I'm sharing a short review of the wonderful "Paper Crafts Workshop: A Beginner's Guide to Techniques & Projects". Writing about it is particularly pleasant, because from this book I've learned about paper quilling for the first time.

October 26, 2009

Pattern: Quilled bat for Halloween crafts

Quilled bat

I've decided to write the instructions for quilling a bat in a separate post. I have also added a diagram to make it clear.

October 22, 2009

Wedding anniversary cards with quilling

With Love. Card with spiral rose Wedding anniversary card with quilled flower

I made these two greeting cards for wedding anniversaries: one for my husband (and myself :), the other for my parents. For both cards I used paper punches and pattern-edged scissors. The first card features a spiral rose with veined leaves, the second — a simple quilling flower. The lettering done with a gel pen. The butterflies on the second card are paper punches. Look closer at the flower center, I used a punch for it, too.

October 19, 2009

Paper quilling for kids: 10 tips

Examples of primitive quilling

I'm happy to have an opportunity to "blend" my two favorite subjects — children's crafts and quilling — in one post. Today I'm giving some tips for kids' quilling, based on my personal experience.

But before you read on, you may want to check out the basic quilling instructions.

Doing quilling helps in developing fine motor skills, creativity, patience, and diligence. But most importantly, it's just another way to have fun with your kids! So, here are my observations and recommendations.

October 12, 2009

Witch and wizard paper craft

Paper craft witch and wizard

Many of my readers celebrate Halloween, so I thought I'd post something related. Do you like these cute witch and wizard? They can be made out of paper withing a very short time. Actually, you can make any figure following the same principal: create a paper cone, cut out and attach arms and hands, then just decorate and add attributes and accessories. For the wizards it's a magical wizard hat and Turkish shoes, for the witch it's also a broomstick. Got it? Well, I'll try to make some order: