It's been quite a while since I posted a quillling pattern and tips. So, I thought it was high time that changed! Today I'm sharing how to create a quilled heart and some secrets I've learned over the years for making the perfect heart.
It’s amazing how versatile a quilled heart can be. Allow me to demonstrate several ways you can use this simple shape.
Begin by tearing a strip of paper; my rule of thumb is no shorter than 1.5” as smaller is a lot harder and the tails hardly roll at all; and no longer than 6” as it gets bulky rolling and keeping all those coils where they need to stay. A trick I’ve learned recently about keeping the coils from unrolling is to give the tool a little tight twist while holding the paper taunt before removing the paper from the quilling tool.
To make a heart: measure your desired length of paper, for example 4”, fold the paper in half lengthwise so each side of the fold is 2”. Take your quilling tool and roll each side, separately, in toward the fold. I tend to stop about 1/2”-1/4” from the fold. (Don’t forget to give the tool a little extra twist while holding the paper taunt—this keeps the coil from unravelling as much.) Gently remove the paper from the tool and roll the other side in the same way.
A shamrock is 4 hearts glued point to point with a stem inserted between two of the leaves.
You can also create a bleeding hearts flower by gluing a series of hearts to a stem, perfect for any spring greeting card.
Want to be able to print this pattern and tips out for future reference and person use? Download here. If you decide you'd like to use this pattern for a class, please include this website and my name on the handout.
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