Quilled Halloween Sampler - Starting the Directions

Empty mat board ready for quilling!

As promised in my first post on my Halloween Sampler, I'm going to post the instructions for the Sampler here on the blog.  It's a lot of material, so it will take several posts to get it all up.  No time like the present!

And remember, if you want to download all the instructions right now in one go, then head over to Craftsy where I have them posted for $3.99.

Here's where it starts … General Instructions

The rest of the projects in the Sampler assume you have read and followed all of these instructions.

Difficulty: 
Overall, the level of this tutorial is “Beginner” with some elements that are “Intermediate.”  If you are a “Novice” (that is, if you have no experience with quilling) you will first need to find a book or online tutorial that shows you how to quill, and how to make all the standard shapes, such as roses, coils, off-center quills, and more.  Practice making these shapes and doing some basic projects to learn about how to use the materials, etc.  Then you can proceed to use these instructions.  These projects are listed in order of increasing difficulty.

Photos:
Photographs are not to scale!  They are only for reference!  Some are close-ups and some are zoomed out!  They do not show the exact size of the intermediate or finished projects.  So do not print them out and quill over them!  Make the shapes as directed in the instructions, and glue them together in the ways shown in the pictures.  You can get an idea of the size by looking at the front cover (the image from the last post of the whole sampler).  Each of the boxes, including the black outline, is 3x3 inches tall and wide.  The black lining takes up ¼” on each side of the box, and the top and bottom.  So the white space inside each box is 2.5”x2.5” on each side.

Materials: 
This tutorial assumes you have access to a variety of colored quilling papers, (but feel free to make substitutions for color as you like when you go along).  When not stated, the width of the paper is the standard 1/8 of an inch.  Other papers used are 1/4 inch wide paper and 1/16” (inch) wide paper.  You will need scissors and white craft glue.  Tweezers and a quilling craft board with pins would be very helpful.  If you wish to make the mat-board for the whole sampler, you will need the materials listed in that section.

Length of Strips:
Remember as you are working through this project, and all the other projects, that the length of strips listed may not work perfectly for you.  Some people roll quills tighter or looser than others, and so need a bit more or less paper to get the same size in the final piece.  Also, some paper is thicker than other paper.  Be prepared to experiment to get the results you want.  Use the lengths of paper suggested as a guide that you can detour from whenever necessary.

Make and Use What You Like:
Some of the projects have additional pieces you can make, like the ghost has a swirled ‘fog,’ the vampire fangs have a thorny rose, and the pumpkins have coiled vines around them.  You can choose to make all the pieces and frame your sampler together, or just make the pieces you like and use them on cards, gifts, and whatnot!

Displaying Your Projects - Creating a Mat Board

Materials:
- One piece 12”x12” cardstock, medium grey (top)
- One piece 12”x12” cardstock, white (bottom)
- Black quilling strips, 1/4" wide

As I mentioned, you can use these designs and motifs in a variety of ways. I decided to put all of mine into small 3x3 inch 'vignettes' and show them off together as a “sampler”. To do this, I purchased two pieces of good 12x12 inch cardstock, one in a medium grey (top layer) and the other in white (bottom layer).

I cut 3x3 inch holes in the grey cardstock, measuring a one-inch margin all around the outside, and a half-inch between each of the 'windows.' I glued the cardstock pieces together, and then lined the inside of each of the 3x3 inch windows with 1/4" width strips of black quilling paper so it would look like a double mat.

If you like, you can frame your project when it is complete. I suggest a shadowbox frame with at least ¾” of clearance between the background and the glass. The rose sticks out about that far, and you don’t want to squash it or any of the other elements that have relief.

I found a standard 12”x12” black shadowbox frame with an inch of depth inside, and used that.



Image Credit:  My pix of my mat boards, my design.