Practical Quilling

Rating:
Summary: Cute projects but hard-to-follow diagrams
Review: This book contains over sixty quilling projects for creating gifts, paintings, and cards in categories such as "Easy Floral Designs," "Weddings & Anniversaries," and "Christmas Cards." If you're interested in Victoriana or folk art, "Practical Quilling" will explain a simple decorative technique that was at one time referred to as 'paper filigree.'

Supplies include quilling paper (which you can buy pre-cut into strips), quilling tools which resemble small long-needled awls, blank cards, scissors, straight pins, and glue (I suggest paper glue). Another very useful piece of equipment is a quilling cork board marked with circles where you can pin your petals, rolls, leaves, and hearts into (say) a Christmas wreath before gluing the individual pieces together. An optional piece of equipment is a fringing tool ($50 at the quillingsuperstore.com). You might also want a paper crimper. Both of the latter items are needed for any fancy flower creations.

Unfortunately, this Aussie author has not created very clear, easy-to-understand diagrams to work from. Her drawings are filled with mysterious X's O's and spirals which are not shown to scale on a grid, which would have made them easier to copy. There are some very cute projects in "Practical Quilling" including a jaunty frog, and some very beautiful flower cards, but I would recommend Malinda Johnston's "Paper Quilling" Weekend Crafter manual over this book for ease of use.