Quilling Letter O Tutorial - Wreath

How to join two quilling strip ends when there is no corner

For me, the letter O is the hardest letter of the alphabet because there are no corners or straight sides to hide the join. In this tutorial video, I'll share my techniques for making seamless join.

Supplies

• Canson Mi-Teintes 160 gsm paper (I cut my own) http://amzn.to/2zpVAg2
• Aleene’s Original Tacky Glue: http://amzn.to/2i9qA9u
• Fine Tip Glue Bottle: http://amzn.to/2BbfZ8L
• Bazzil, Rain Forest 12x12 inch scrapbook cardstock, cut to 12x6, scored to fold to 6x6 inches
• Cambric 80 lb Cover, Ivory, 8.5x11 sheet, cut to 5.5x5.5 inches (this is probably the most common type of card size I tend to make because I’m not wasting much and using up both sheets efficiently. You can prepare 2 cards the same way using this method and save time for future cards)

Quilling

As usual, we start by softening the strip and follow the template as closely as possible. Keep softening/adjusting the paper until it's following the template.

Some of you have commented that I make this look easy. I usually fast forward videos like this because I don’t want to bore you, but this time I’m leaving it in real time so you can see that I don’t achieve this in 2 seconds. I want you to understand it does takes time, and I’ve been doing this for over 10 years and my fingers know how to feel the paper.

So please be patient with yourself, don’t be negative with your work, try to view your time with your paper, as simply playing. I’m just learning how to play tennis, so believe me when I say I know how you feel. It’s frustrating and I feel slow, but I try to focus on how fun it is and see that I’m improving. As long as you're improving, you know you’re headed in the right direction.

Curved Letters Extend Beyond Baseline and Cap Height

If you’ve been quilling letters, you may have noticed some letters dip below the baseline and above the cap height. This is not a mistake. It’s to create the optical illusion that they sit on the baseline and have the same height as all the other letters. That’s why it was important to include the baseline for every letter in my book, Quilling Letters, so that you can keep all the letters looking the way they should in a name or phrase.

Wreath

Since the letter O is such a circular shapes, I’ve decided to decorate it with a wreath pattern.

To make a leaf branch, soften the entire strip. Visualize the size of leaf you’d like to make and rub the end to form it. Fold to finish forming the leaf, and glue it closed. Snip the length of twig you’d like it to have.

To make a bud branch, soften the entire strip. Visualize the size of bud you’d like to make and fold the strip in half. Rub both ends to form a heart and glue it together. Snip the length of twig you’d like to have and glue it to the heart.

To make the berries, soften the entire strip, and tear the end. Use the end of the ruler for tearing if it’s easier on you. Tearing makes the ends less noticeable. Wrap it around a toothpick twice. For my toothpick, that’s the length of about 3/4 inch or 2 cm. Glue it closed and slide it off your toothpick.

Glue some branches together and place them on your card around the letter until you like the layout. I tend to do this with my tweezers and then I start feeling like a chef you see on tv, when they place a sprout just so.

Since the join is so tenuous, it’s easy to adjust the branches if you really don’t like the way it’s oriented. It’s kind of like training a bonsai branch!

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