Whether you’re crafting for fun or gifting to a special someone, this gorgeous Paper Quilling Jewelry is a great place to start! The designs from Ann Martin’s newest book feature both scrolls and coils, giving you plenty of variety for all your gift-giving needs.
Rolling thin strips of paper around a tool to create coiled shapes, gluing the ends in place, resembles filigree work and is called quilling. The name comes from the goose quills that were used to create coiled shapes on reliquaries and holy pictures, replacing more expensive metal filigree work.
In the Victorian era, quilling was a popular hobby among ladies of affluence. It was seen as a proper pastime for young ladies, along with needlework. Screens, baskets, cribbage boards, work boxes and urns were all decorated with intricate paper coils and shapes, and instructions and templates were published in magazines and books.
Today, it’s still a great pastime to enjoy with family and friends. Quilling can be done almost anywhere, and the designs are limitless! You can use different colors of quilling paper, and there are even metallic edge strips available to give your designs an added pop of shine.
You can also create your own quilling paper, either by hand or using a strip cutting machine. I used silver-edge ivory and gold-edge blue strips to make the three pairs of earrings shown in this article, although you could also use regular, non-shiny paper as well. For a perfect coil, make sure to roll the paper with the curve facing down (the downward curved side of the paper). This might seem difficult at first, but it will eventually become second nature. Paper Quilling Jewelry