How Quilling will change your Imagination

How Paper Quilling for kids could make Betty draper a better Mother:)

So let’s know what is Quilling..

Finding its root in Europe, Paper quilling has been around for centuries, but only recently gained the attention and popularity. It is a form of art involving strips of paper to be rolled, twisted to give amazing designs. Quilling designs are as versatile as they are beautiful.

An excerpt by my sister “Of all the paper craft, quilling was an extremely creative outlet for me and my daughter (who was then 5 years old). Thanks to a family friend, who gifted it to my kiddo, and then started a whole fulfilling world of creativity with ‘little circles’.It gave a magical vent to the creative side of ‘us’.”

What not can be created with just a few tools in hand, a whole plethora of delicate designs, may it be quilled cards, embellishments, jewellery(earrings, pendants, rings), photo frames, bookmarks, fridge magnets, wall hangings, keychains, coasters, home décor items…blah blah..Name it & you go! Its a heaven to showcase your creativity.

Rolling narrow strips of paper into coils or scrolls and arranging them to form interesting and intricate 3D shapes can be intriguing enough. Be it flowers, hearts, butterflies, snow flakes, abstract designs etc., it is so fulfilling and rewarding in the end.The best part is you always get interesting results!”

Further let’s just have a glance on quilling enhancing kids development in the areas:

1. Fine motor skills

2. Good hand eye coordination

3. Ignites various facets of brain (Cognitive Part).

4. Since it is time consuming, It enhances the level of patience.

5. And yes it helps taking the “Fun element” to the next level.

So let me share some designs / Quilling Art Images by my 5 year old niece :

A very natural question takes rounds, When should a child be introduced to quilling? So, let me tell you to sit back & relax. A 2.5-3year old kid can also start with basic pasting. The earlier your child is introduced to this art, the better development aura your child gets. Your child begins to appreciate art & explore his interests early on the developmental path. Doesn’t that sounds interesting?

Quilling for kids
Growing levels of quilling : Simple to more creative

Let’s initiate Quilling for Kids:

  1. Beginning for a 2.5-3year old Kid : Prepare multi-coloured quills well before and draw out the boundary of a simple design. Ask your pre schooler to paste the pre-defined coils on the design to begin with. Don’t let them apply glue by brush to the shapes directly. Kids of this age don’t have a great control on using big brushes, hence try to pour some glue in a small plate & ask kids to put their shapes in it & then paste.
  2. Once your baby gets aware of what & how to do, don’t put any designs on the sheet, rather let your kid explore his own designs. Exploring on their own helps them develop their brains & yes their imaginations rocks for sure!
  3. Slowly you’ll see that your kid will demand that the “coil must be prepared by him”. Don’t panic & yes leave the fear of getting messy in that drawer:). Give them wide strips of heavy paper (narrow strips should not be used with these small kids) to start rolling & making their first “Coil”. Their first coil needs a round of applause for sure moms.
  4. For the Older kids, more than 4 years, Quilling is an art they’ll love & give you perfect awesome designs. It works wonders for both boys & girls with just the choices of designs being different. I saw my friends baby boy creating animals and cars out of it, while my niece loved making Flowers, earrings out of it! Quilling ranked on top position for them in art & craft category. They would not even ask for “Smartphones/Online Games & videos” while quilling. It sounds a great “Problem solver”, right!                                                                                                                                                                                                  And Moms, try yourselves , it is a remarkable way to get out of that monotonous work spread across the day. Creating some amazing designs & utilities will help you de-stress and also give you a satisfaction of “Being Creative”:)

Ready to roll? Lets get started ….How to do Quilling : Basics & Materials –

Quilling is quite easy to learn and addition of right tools only makes it more so.

  1. Quilling paper: A good quality quilling paper can contribute to the overall appearance of the project. Pre-cut quilling strips are available aplenty. You can get them either from online stores or from some good stationary shops.You can even cut your own using colored sheets and utility knife/cutter.
  2. Slotted quilling tool: By placing the quilling strip in the slot and then rolling with help of thumb and fingers you can easily and steadily create coils. You can also use a toothpick which comes handy for the same.
  3. Glue: Use glue which will dry soon. Needle tip bottle can be used for ease and also to keep the mess and clutter at bay.
  4. Circle sizers: To make uniform size coils, circle sizers come handy for beginners.Coils of different diameter can be made with their help.
  5. Crimpers: Can be used to make zig zag patterns on the quilling strips which can then be rolled into loose coils.
  6. Comb: It’s a special tool to make interlaced loops and eventually different patterns.
  7. Finally….Loads of PATIENCE !

Some simple Quilling Designs /shapes to start off :

Before mastering this craft, basic quilling shapes have to be learnt. Main shape is the ‘coil’ and the rest of the shapes such as tear drop, curved tear drop, marquise, tulip, petal, scrolls, square, etc.,are formed by pinching and adjusting the coil. Start coiling small & big balls, try outlining a heart shape or a flower with the same sized coils.

Once comfortable with the basic shapes, you can try hands on various projects. The more you explore, the more you love quilling. 

Giving handmade quilled gifts to your loved ones will earn you lots of appreciation.

Though paper quilling is time consuming and requires lots of patience, but it is creatively satisfying for both kids and grown ups.

Quilled earrings
Gifted by my Niece! Aren’t they awesome!

So go ahead, quilling has made Betty a great Mom!

Happy Quilling Kids & Moms !!

Wish to introduce drawing & painting to your toddler? Bang on here.

Jhilmil

Quest to live the life surrounded with the charming little bundle's of joy. When they speak, I sing, When they smile, I rejoice , When they hug, I hold them never to lose, Such is my passion for these Gifts of God.This love urged me to navigate separately from my Travel Blog & establish an "All-In-One" Blog for budding mothers. Mum's have multi-tasked this world ,with all her professional commitments , she still makes an extra effort to be a loving, caring and be an intellectual mommy! Cheers, for me too come from the same fraternity, post having a superb academics & close to 8 years of professional experience and blessed with a little one "who has indeed changed my life from Autumn to Spring";)

This Post Has 36 Comments

    1. Jhilmil

      Thanks Chandresh for your interest!

  1. jadoreledecor

    I’ve seen these everywhere, but never knew what they were called. Now I know – quilling. This is pretty neat!

  2. theivoryfawn

    This is so neat! I’m all about doing artsy crafty things so I will have to keep this in mind when I have kids someday 🙂

    1. Jhilmil

      Thats good to know of your craft love! thanks for coming by!

  3. Sondra

    Wow, these are so beautiful. I would absolutely love to give this a try just from the sheer beauty of the projects – never too old to find a new craft!

  4. RM

    What a fun and different craft to try!!!

  5. Dinesh

    Used to work on something similar in school.. Will definitely motivate my child to be crafty and make something similar..

  6. Vladimir Covic

    Nice. I think it’s really important to start teaching your kids to show their creative side early on.

  7. I had forgotten all about this craft form! I did it briefly as a kid, but need to get it going with my kids, they would love it! And those earrings, wow! Your niece is clearly talented 🙂

  8. C-Ludik

    Doing quilling helps in developing fine motor skills, creativity, patience, and diligence. But most importantly, it’s just another way to have fun with your kids :-). One important thing to keep in mind is that children’s quilling doesn’t have to be perfect 🙂 Encourage your children to do quilling no matter how messy it turns out !

  9. I keep seing these everywhere but never knew exactly what it was! Thank you so much for sharing!

  10. Kanani B.

    To be honest, I’d never heard of this. This was so interesting to read and I think I’d like to try it with all four of my kids since it is versatile to the age!

  11. deepagandhi

    My girls love to do quilling and this is a very informative post about quilling. I am going to show it to them for more ideas.

  12. Keoshia

    Wow what an amazing way to craft. I would never have thought you can make such things out of plan paper. Truly amazing! Thanks for sharing!

  13. Navi

    this is so cool! Ive never heard of anything like it! Cannot wait to try it out!

  14. pinkiebag

    Hi, paper quiling is a great activity that can be enjoyed by all ages. I love those earrings.

  15. mammabearsays

    Love it! I am sure my oldest would love to quil! I need to give it a try

  16. Heather

    This is awesome! I will try this one with my kids for sure.

  17. Alexandria

    I’ve never heard of this before! Thanks for sharing!

  18. socialpoint24

    I never knew what is was called. Thanx for clarifying.

  19. Jim

    This was very interesting. I was thinking that this was going to be something drab, but I was wrong. I really liked reading this and will share it with my family!

  20. This craft is amazing, i wonder why I was never taught this in my craft classes, it’s awesome way to connect with your artistic side. Really important for kids these days especially when technologies covers a huge aspect. Wonderful!! Thanks for sharing.

    1. Jhilmil

      That’s really true that we need to teach such crafts to kids! Thanks for the appreciation:)

  21. Gidokblog

    So crafty and creative, nice to imbibe in my kids at early stage of their life.

  22. Reginald

    nice art work, I have never come across this art before but today I have learned something new

  23. Divyanka Krsna

    It’s like a complete package of teaching the children to be creative and learn the above mentioned things in the most fun way. Creativity helps the child in every way so it’s really important to make them creative with help of such amazing things!

    1. Jhilmil

      Yea, Quilling is actually fun with loads of creativeness..Thanks for reading!

  24. anamika

    I love craft ideas … I learnt so many things when I was in school but I have never tried this paper quiling … these are really amazing! Thanks for sharing 🙂

    1. Jhilmil

      Yea,do try out..I rather learnt from my 9year old niece and it was all so much fun!

  25. Oh my goodness I had no idea such a thing existed! those pieces are absolutely beautiful! I have been wanting to get back into crafts, this is a great place to start.

    1. Jhilmil

      Happy that you loved it, these are really great crafts:)

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