May 28, 2014

Quilled Poppy in Progress (5) and Custom Cut Paper



I've mentioned my love for paper from Daiso, a Japanese $2 dollar store. I've used it for many craft projects in the past. I wish they had more colors, because they offer a great range of shades in soft colors.



Here are their "warm" and "cold" color packs. They don't list the thickness/weight but it's heavier than standard quilling strips because I find it holds the curve or shape I want over a greater distance, yet is flexible enough for me to make my tight coils without splitting, as thicker stock does.


I use my Silhouette die cutter to cut lines in the paper, just shy of the ends so they stay in behaving sheets. Here are the 3 colors I've chosen to use in my poppy. I worried the dark one was too salmon, but it didn't look too bad when in place after all.


I would make my general outlines with the darker strips first.


Then I would start filling in with the medium pink.


Finally I would add the lightest strips.


I think the light strips were my favorite because some were practically slivers and I enjoy that organic shape rather than always have a straight edge on top.


To make them, I would hand cut the slivers from a cut strip, turn the strip over, and continue cutting slivers. After making a pile, I'd be ready to sprinkle them throughout.


When adding an end to an existing strip, I would tear the end and dip not only the edge, but that tail into glue. After setting it in place, I'd follow up the join with a good squeeze from my tweezers. It may seem overkill, but I find this makes the join much less noticeable than a cut end.


Besides the light slivers, I've been anticipating the light green grass the most. I trimmed these down using a ruler after figuring out the length. My eyes have always gone to that subtle detail in the photo.


I thought I was restraining myself during the process, but now that I'm done, I wish I had held back more. I thought the outline would continue to stand out, but now that it's filled, I'm losing it amongst the busyness. Oh well, can't remove it now.

So now that the base layer is done, I'll be working on the stamens next.

11 comments:

  1. Wow Cecelia, it looks so promising already! REALLY looking forward to the final image :)

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    1. Thanks Pritesh! My project seems so easy to finish compared to your Seattle masterpiece!

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  2. You have done an amazing job Cecelia....I see none of the 'flaws' you see lol. Last time I was in Richmond I went looking for the Daiso paper and could not find it. Now that I know what it looks like I will be back to get some for sure.

    thanks for showing the quilling paper you cut, you are a smart cookie for not cutting all the way to the end.

    Can't wait to see it all done and hanging on your wall.

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    1. Thanks Cheryl! We are our own worst critics, right? Almost getting done!

      Perhaps you can save the picture to your phone and show someone to help you find it. They have so many great supplies it's easy to get lost just discovering them. They also have a great selection of origami paper too.

      I believe there are quilling die cuts to buy for GrandeMark too. Even if you can't keep both ends intact, keeping one end uncut will still help you keep them easily in check - plus the strips are kept nice and straight in storage.

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  3. Wow...Pretty way ur Poppy taking shape...and the color gradration is awesome, Thanks for throwing light on various things such as Daiso paper, glue gel and making each post a very interesting one... And such a clever idea to use Silhouette for Quilling!!!

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    1. Hi Sathya, thanks! I'm happy you're enjoying all the different paper info. Do you have a digital die cutter too? I love being able to combine both my loves.

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  4. Your quilling work is very beautiful!!!
    I think that is a very good system how you cut your paper. I want to know more how do you cut it? . There are dies to cut into the Silhouette SD or do you create your own dies on your computer. What is the difference between the Silhouette Cameo and Silhouette SD? Thanks!

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    1. Hi Pily, thanks very much! I'm glad you like it.

      I make my own lines because my paper is a very non-standard size, but it's very easy to simply draw lines at 1/8 inch width distance. I use Adobe Illustrator which is not very easy to learn, but I know the program that comes with the machines are easy to use.

      The Silhouette SD has a cutting width of about 8" while the Cameo can cut 12" across. I think the Cameo has replaced the Silhouette SD now. Here is the Silhouette store website with more specifications:

      http://www.silhouetteamerica.com/select-a-silhouette

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    2. Thank you very much for your quickly answer.
      So, is it feasible cut the strips with the silhouette cameo?

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