Diana Official Blog

I started quilling a typography project around November 2016, starting with the letter "f". The next letter, "o", is the one I find most challenging in the alphabet. There are no corners to diminish a join's seam.  I kiss the glue on the end, then match it up with the opposite end. Since it has no flat sides to align against the surface of my desk, I have my tweezers squeeze the flat sides. Not too shabby of a join. Then comes the smoothening out so the arc of the circle or oval. Wondering how I traced the outline of the letters on the surface of my paper? I used the s coring tool of my   Cricut Explore Air , and ask it to trace the outline of the letters.  If you don't have an electric cutter, simply lay a printed letter on top of your surface, and use a dried up pen to trace the letter on top. I suggest using removable tape so it stays put until you're done. There's something enticing about knowing where a letter is going to be. It's like that...

Ever since Honey of Honey's Quilling blogged about Paper Peacock Jewelry around the world, it's been on the back of my mind to make a pair for a friend who loves peacocks.  I wanted to experiment with Aleene's Paper Glaze (left) and  Mod Podge Dimensional Magic (right).  Both gave good results. I found the Paper Glaze retained the color of the paper better, while the Magic tends to deepen the color. Both tend to make bubbles very easily so I had to pop them using my quilling needle.  I chose to use the Dimensional Magic because I wanted the dark blue to pop out from the other colors.  It comes out cloudy, then dries clear. I also called the company to find out more about their product. Although it's water-based and non-toxic, it's still not cleared for someone like me who deals with eczema skin issues. Since the area I was covering was being encircled by several rings of paper, I felt it would be safe to give to my friend. So the rest of the paper has been le...

For years, I've been tempted to make paper jewelry, but for some reason haven't taken the leap. Then along came Ann Martin's book, The Art of Quilling Paper Jewelry , and BAM! You know what that's like right? For me, it's a weakness behind the knees and an impatient twitch of the fingers. Although I don't wear earrings, I know a few people who do, and immediately embarked on a new adventure in paper. Each project in Ann's book starts off with a concise list of materials, shapes, and finished sizes so there are no surprises. The steps are illustrated and I highly suggest reading the beginning chapters to familiarize yourself with the basics. Although I've quilled for a while, there are many techniques and knowledge bombs specific to jewelry making, such as handling 3-ply quilled paper in Chapter 2. I have been SO curious about a Mandrel Set  for eons, and finally broke down with this oh-so-valid justification. The mandrel's sizes are not marked, so I ...

While visiting the Richmond Night Market this year, I was shocked in my tracks to see a package of quilling strips. After surprise, my next reaction was dismay at seeing the image on the front - a blatant copy of Usokei 's (formerly Iron Maiden) original and inspiring beauty. You'd think anyone who was selling product could at least make something original. The set of 100 strips in 10 mm width is obviously made in China, and for $3, I figured it was worth satisfying my curiosity about the quality – and it did not disappoint in disappointing me. Immediately upon opening it, the ends split apart because the adhesive was so poor. It's an easy enough fix to gather the ends and align them using a plastic card. Dab some glue along the edge and keep the edges together using a hair clip. Once it's dry, it behaves like a proper set of strips. The colors seem typical enough, and if you can look closely, you'll see one of the reds has an unusual texture. My testing strip seem...