Quilled Eiffel Tower

   It took me entire two days to complete this Tower. It is part of a big frame work , the finished final work is still in progress. It has a lot of elements and I hope they all come together. I printed a free clip art of the tower and worked over it . I stuck two black strips length wise and let it dry and cut them into small bits as required for the making of the Tower.

    I made another heart full of roses for the same project.  Here is the tutorial I used. Tutorial

    Althought the final project is not complete I couldn't resist posting the Eiffel tower here.

Thanks for stopping by , Have a great day.

Quilled teddy bear card.

           Recently a mother of a young girl wrote to me for a card. She has planned to gift her daughter with a  starter quilling kit for her eleventh birthday and she wished to gift her a card from me as well for inspiration. I loved the thought behind it and was in turn inspired to do something special.  I decided to make this fringed teddy bear which at first created by Manuela Koosch ( I can only dream of making one like hers) was then tried by many talented quillers and then I have seen Neli use them in her cards. I fringed 5mm quilling paper of two shades of pink to make this teddy bear. It is not three dimensional ,since I was going to use it on a card I thought it unnecessary. I found out fringing 5 mm paper actually turns out better than wider strips. I have never thought much of my fringing capabilities and have avoided fringing as much as I can,but this experiment has changed that , I am looking forward to perfecting my fringing. I spent an entire evening making this little teddy bear. I had to rush making the card itself before I could pack and send so that it reaches on time.

Thanks for stopping by,

Have a great day.

Quilled Miniature Santa

    Each time I try my hand at quilling miniatures, it is like starting all over again . I hope to do more miniatures next year.This little Santa is lot thinner than what I had planned but he looks really cute. While I did his hair I couldn't help but, think of Cheryl and her adorable little sheep.

   This is how small he is ;-

  Santa sure brings lot of cheer, even as he was beginning to take shape , my kids were so excited  and started giving me ideas. A bag of goodies was much recommended but unfortunately I did not have the time.

Merry Christmas to everyone who stop by. 

Akhil's birthday gift.

     My younger son Akhil is turning fifteen today and I surprised him with this quilled miniature Harry potter.
I have lost count of the number of times Akhil has finished the entire series of Harry potter books. Abi and I try to get him to read other books and sometimes we succeed , but he always comes back to his Harry potter books. When I was looking for ideas for his birthday gift ,the idea suggested itself after years of picking up Harry potter books from just about everywhere.
    Recently he reminded me that it has been a while since I made dolls,I though making a doll for him will be a nice surprise for him.
     Abi is not happy with the cap , he thinks it looks like an elf's . I wrapped the broom around a tooth pick and the wand around a wire. Other than that the doll is completely made from paper.
   
    Linking this doll to - Itsy Bitsy make it dimensional challenge.

    Thanks for stopping by , Have a creative day.

Quilled miniature clown

       Here is a quilled miniature clown for Akhil's friend for his birthday. Making this little guy really cheered me up.

       I promised Akhil a miniature clown for his friend but put it off as long as I could .Although I am not very confident about quilling miniatures , when I finally had to start making this doll I really enjoyed the process.It turned out to be lot easier than the quilled hanuman which had lot of minute details.

      It is still not perfect but I fell better about this doll than all my previous ones and it stands so well.Except for the wire to support the balloon(it is a balloon!) and a small bling on the bow the doll is completely made of paper.

       Thanks for stopping by , have a fun filled day.

Quilled miniature Hanuman

      Today is my second blog anniversary,and I have something new to share - a miniature Hanuman doll. Hanuman is a Hindu God , he is depicted with a face of a monkey and he is worshipped for good health.He is famous for being very brave and strong and deeply devoted to Lord Rama. He is also the favourite among kids, like a super hero with lot of animated movies based on his stories.

       When I first got the request I took it up with lot of doubts.  It was not easy and it took me a long time to figure out and then quill this doll, but I am happy with the likeness I managed to get . 

        Here's how he looks from behind. He is very colourful and he is made almost completely from paper , except for his earrings which are beads and the floral wires which were inserted inside his legs, arms and his tail. Even his jewels are cut from a shiny paper and his clothes are made from duplex crepe paper .The dome shaped of his crown is made from gold colour quilling strips.I am most happy with his tail as it took shape without much trouble . I worried about it's drooping down.This doll is more than four inches tall.

           When I wrote this post I did not know but only learnt from Anandhirajan's comment that Hanumanth Jayanthi is on 24 th , which makes for a happy coincidence.
       This is another kolam which is also a repeat of my earlier work for the same person who requested the doll .So far I have only accepted requests from people whom I know  ,this is the first time I accepted a request through Email. 

        LInking to Kavi's Challenge  -anything but a card.


      Blog land has given me above all an opportunity to know so many wonderful people. I received this lamp from one of my blogger friends, Viji I came to know her from the wonderful comments she would leave in my blog and I found her from her blog to be such a warm person who takes joy from the smallest of things . When she posted pictures of her lamps ,I liked this one so much that she would have a similar one sent to me. I am so very touched by her affectionate gesture.

         I thank again and again all my blogger friends for generously sharing their work and techniques.Ann  for always inspiring me by her awesome finds and her all too elegant quilling.Also many thanks to people who take time to email me and tell me how my blog has been of help .Makes me feel better at times when I find blogging overwhelming.
        My husband for buying me a new camera early this year, and for promising me all the paper strips I want for my big projects.
Akhil enjoys quilling and even Abi , during his holidays when he had nothing to do wanted to know how I made the square shape. My kids say such nice things about my work and bear with me when all is not working , that I am so very thankful to them.
        Leaving tomorrow to visit my mother in Bangalore for the Christmas holidays and will be back with one last post(I hope) for this year.

         Thanks for stopping by.Merry Christmas to everyone .

Akhil's birthday gift.

     Akhil is turning fourteen today and this is my birthday gift for him. A quilled guitar fashioned after his own guitar.

     Akhil is so good at almost everything  he tries and he is really good at playing the guitar. He is very creative ,if I can get him away from his computer games . I haven't found a way yet:)).

      Here is a poem Akhil wrote one day when I was cross with him , he can be a real charmer when he wants to be.


Quilling strip


Oh! what is it's beauty? he asks,
For its just paper ,thin and long.
But few know the beauty it masks,
Too good to put into a song.


It's the art of quilling,
And it is easy to learn as well.
All it needs is guiding and rolling,
And there it is, ready to sell.

He is good at writing poems that rhymes.


Thanks for stopping by, Have a joyful day.

Quilling for Navarathri Golu

          Still in  Navarathri Golu mood. I wanted to share some papercrafts I made for our library's golu. The quilled lamps are but 6mm in diameter , I rolled scrap book paper for the lamps and quilling paper for the flame . All the kind ladies there were so delighted with it . The scene depicts a festival where lamps are lit and placed on leaves and are let afloat on water. The water itself I made from hand made paper.

            This is not a real shirt but a tiny origami shirt less than two inches in length.I made the shirt with pattern paper for a scene  where new clothes are gifted to newly weds. I found the tutorial on you tube.

          This is a miniature Mulaipari( During festivals seeds of nine grains are let to sprout in a vessel in the dark) and then the vessels are carried on the head in a procession . This is done as a worship for rain and fertility.

            My part of this year Golu  is the story of birth of river Cauvery. Me and my friend completed the steps with scenes which tells the story. This is the main scene where Cauvery starts flowing.I made the mount with themocol and then painted with acrylic paints and then for the water I used handmade paper crushed and folded with the help of water and glue. 
        According to the story the sage is carrying a divine girl after transforming her into water in a small vessel. But when he is meditating in the forest with the vessel beside him a crow(which is lord Ganesha in the form of a crow) knocks the vessel over and she flows down as the river Cauvery.
  
       Since I started working for our library's golu I have learnt a lot of mythological stories. We have a senior member who is so knowledgeable about these stories she also researches them thoroughly . She suggests the topic , tells us the stories and then guides us through . I am really fascinated by these stories and love working for the golu.


       Thanks for stopping by , have a happy navarathri.


 Linking this this Take a quill pill secret sponsor challenge  -celebration.      

Golden lotus pond.

    Hi everyone , I don't have much to share because I don't have time to quill these days. Navarathri Golu preparations are on at our library and I am trying to do justice to my part of the work there. I am also in the middle of my kids exams which means even less internet time for everyone.


    One of my dear friends who always has a beautiful golu at her home every Navarathri asked me to make this for her . This is a miniature pond of Madurai Meenakshi temple with lotus flowers with the center one being a golden one. It is called Porthamarai or golden lotus pond.


    The temple has mention in Tamil literature for more than two thousand years ,As legend has, new literature was tested by placing it on the surface of the pond(written on palm leaves) , weak literature sunk whereas good literature floated.There is also this story that Thiruvalluvar's Thirukkural was rejected by the Sangam poets for not following the prevailing rules for poetries of that time, and thrown into the porthamarai kulam , but Thirukkural came to the surface on a golden lotus.The Thirukkural though written more than two thousand years ago ,is relevent even to this day and is the most translated book in the world second only to the Bible.
     
     For the water I  used a hand made paper . For the one step  that I  have made for the pond it is a shadow box made from a thick paper and  I stuck red colour strips all around at regular intervals as it is seen in temple ponds. For the gold lotus I cut gold colour paper but the edges were not golden ,I painted the edges with acrylic gold colour. The rest are flowers made from 2mm paper pink strips . I have not stuck the flowers I will give it to my friend and she can arrange them just as she wants .The entire pond is about six inches in length and the flowers are really tiny. My friend did not want any leaves.
     
    Thanks for stopping by, have a great day.
    

Quilled miniatures

QUILLED MINIATURE FLAMINGO.

    I chose to quill this bird for its colour. My brother is visiting from Australia , this time with his kids(The framed grape vine is for him) . My six year old niece Prisha loves all things pink. She will be visiting me next Monday and will be with me for just that day. My plan is to win her over as soon as she comes. 

   
    Quilled miniature girl.

      I have tried to keep it simple as this is my first trial at quilling miniature people. I don't have the colours for the face and so had to hand cut strips and I am very happy with it. There is a lot of room for improvement I know, but it looks good enough to interest a little girl. 


Thanks for stopping by, Have a lovely day.

Quilled miniature plants

      I have always been fascinated by quilled miniatures ,but somehow I have not the confidence to try miniatures myself. Before I could try little people ,this is my first attempt at quilled miniatures.
   

          I discovered the joy of quilling all over again making these little ones.
  
    Thanks for stopping by , have a wonderful day.