Review on 🎁 Paper Quilling Mastery: Crafting Unique Handmade Gifts and Cards by Gelin Battle

If you have never heard of quilling then this is no surprise. Quilling consists of wrapping long, thin strips of paper around a large quilling needle or tool, resulting in a loose or taut roll of paper. This coil is then compressed to form components of various shapes and then the components are assembled to create both flat and solid objects. Although developed in the 1500s, it has largely suffered in a backlog of crafts. The rise of scrapbooking has made it a bit more popular lately, but it's far from what such an inexpensive and versatile craft deserves. Like a feast for the eyes, this book gets a 5 star rating. This is a good size 8 1/2" x 11" (21.5cm x 28cm) and 128 pages. The photographs are mostly large with lots of white space, giving the book a clean and concise look. The author does a wonderful job and has a real sense of graceful compositions. There are no "country" or overly cute projects. Where this book falls short is in the technology. It has good sections with tools and tips and a really good section on basic shapes with a brief description of how to make them, but no pictures actually showing how to make them. Then the book goes straight to the projects. Each project comes with a large photo, a list of the spools and paints needed for this project, brief instructions for other additional methods, and a general drawing. There are a couple of serious downsides here. Strip length not specified Used to make most coils and there is no template. When I started quilling in the 1970s, all you really needed was a paper pattern. They copied it, cut it out, covered it with plastic or waxed paper and pinned it to a bulletin board. You then made a coil, stapled it over the pattern, glued it and assembled it as you went. When you're done, you've removed the pins, removed the plastic and you're done. The drawings shown do not show details of the coil type and should not be relied upon as such. It's true that most floral designs are pleasing to the eye, but with the two downsides mentioned, the proportions can be REALLY wrong. Another thing that is hardly mentioned is the importance of making the circles equal in tension and size. The author shows the quilling board in the tools section, which really helps. She also mentions bamboo skewers as a quilling tool. Am I the only one using plain round wooden toothpicks? They're cheap, interchangeable, and smaller than skewers, and have the perfect texture to "grab" the paper and hold it in place while spinning. Much lighter than a needle and it doesn't leave that pesky kink like a slotted quilling tool. Then simply insert the circle into the desired size hole on the quilling board, pin the center to the desired location and glue it in place. Push yourself into shape and all your components will be automatically resized. When I first started quilling the only books available presented it mainly through a historical perspective with a few chapters on the technique. Quilling was originally developed to imitate fine gold filigree. Such projects are rarely found in recent books on quilling. Most of them are just postcard flowers or something. This is a great book if that's what you're looking for. However, quilling is much more than just a way to jazz up a greeting card or photo frame. You can assemble coils from flat, raised, or 3D components in an endless variety of patterns and shapes. Plus, you can use it to cover just about anything, in any design. I would like the author to explore some of these possibilities as well. Overall this is a wonderful book. However, for me the technical issues and limited scope outweigh the "beauty" of the design, giving it 3.5 or 4 stars. Looking for. However, quilling is much more than just a way to jazz up a greeting card or photo frame. You can assemble coils from flat, stamped, or 3D components in an endless variety of patterns and shapes. Plus, you can use it to cover just about anything, in any design. I would like the author to explore some of these possibilities as well. Overall this is a wonderful book. However, for me the technical issues and limited scope outweigh the "beauty" of the design, giving it 3.5 or 4 stars. Looking for. However, quilling is much more than just a way to jazz up a greeting card or photo frame. You can assemble coils from flat, raised, or 3D components in an endless variety of patterns and shapes. Plus, you can use it to cover just about anything, in any design. I would like the author to explore some of these possibilities as well. Overall this is a wonderful book. However, for me the technical issues and limited scope outweigh the "beauty" of the design, giving it 3.5 or 4 stars. I would like the author to explore some of these possibilities as well. Overall this is a wonderful book. However, for me the technical issues and limited scope outweigh the "beauty" of the design, giving it 3.5 or 4 stars. I would like the author to explore some of these possibilities as well. Overall this is a wonderful book. However, for me the technical issues and limited scope outweigh the "beauty" of the design, giving it 3.5 or 4 stars. However, for me the technical issues and limited scope outweigh the "beauty" of the design, giving it 3.5 or 4 stars. I would like the author to explore some of these possibilities as well. Overall this is a wonderful book. However, for me the technical issues and limited scope outweigh the "beauty" of the design, giving it 3.5 or 4 stars. I would like the author to explore some of these possibilities as well. Overall this is a wonderful book. However, for me the technical issues and limited scope outweigh the "beauty" of the design, giving it 3.5 or 4 stars. However, for me the technical issues and limited scope outweigh the "beauty" of the design, giving it 3.5 or 4 stars. I would like the author to explore some of these possibilities as well. Overall this is a wonderful book. For me, however, the technical issues and limited scope outweigh the "beauty" of the design, giving it 3, 5 or 4 stars. I would like the author to explore some of these possibilities as well. Overall this is a wonderful book. However, for me the technical issues and limited scope outweigh the "beauty" of the design, giving it 3.5 or 4 stars. However, for me the technical issues and limited scope outweigh the "beauty" of the design, giving it 3.5 or 4 stars. I would like the author to explore some of these possibilities as well. Overall this is a wonderful book. However, for me the technical issues and limited scope outweigh the "beauty" of the design, giving it 3.5 or 4 stars. For me, however, the technical issues and limited scope outweigh the "beauty" of the design, giving it 3.5 or 4 stars. I would like the author to explore some of these possibilities as well. Overall this is a wonderful book. However, for me the technical issues and limited scope outweigh the "beauty" of the design, giving it 3.5 or 4 stars.