Rendezvous for Kids 2008

We had another fun and fabulous time hosting an Art Stop Tent at Moscow Rendezvous for Kids, 2008!
With only 8 spots available, my table was full almost constantly. Over 300 particpants were registered for activities for Thurs. and Friday, though we saw only a fraction of that number simply because our table couldn't accommodate many at a time and the kids tended to stay longer as they work on their quilled designs, so turnover wasn't quite as fast.

Though many kids enjoyed their introduction to paper filigree, there are usually a handful that really "catch the fever." One little gal in particular on Thursday seemed to have a natural affinity with the colored strips. But on Friday morning, she came up to me and said,
"I'm really mad at you!"
"Oh honey, why is that?" I asked, somewhat taken aback.
"Because, last night I had to go and get this!" And she held up the quilling tool she just purchased so she could continue her explorations on her own.

Now that's a success story!!

I promised to post the patterns that were used, and I will be working on making them a bit simpler to understand since I'm not there to help step-by-step. Until I get them all edited, here is a simple pattern.

Patterns are based upon the sampler pack, generously provided by Quilled Creations (look for a future blog post feature on this great supplier!). Strip lengths in the pack are 8" long.

Bookworm:




Click on picture for larger view and print off if you prefer to have a hard copy.

I hope you will check back to get the rest of the patterns as soon as I get them re-written.

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Tips for new Quillers:

These tips are considered pretty common knowledge, but I am sharing them for the benefit of new quillers. Some of these things are very small details, but it is often the small details that make the difference in the overall level of artistry in a piece of quilling.

-Always tear your paper rather than cutting. I do have several friends who prefer to have a cut end where they start rolling their coils, (they think it gives a neater appearance). But always glue a torn end when finishing a coil. The feathered edge of the tear blends better into the coil than a cut edge after gluing and prevents a distinct line from being noticed.

-Use only the tiniest amount of glue to hold your coil ends, and also when gluing a quilled piece to a mount (card background, mat, etc). If you see shiny spots around the base of your quilling once everything is dry, you are using too much glue.

-If your coil tension is too tight, you can encourage it to relax a bit by 'huffing' on it. Place the coil in your cupped hands, and breathe on it like you were trying to fog up a window, then shake it around a little inside your hands. And next time, don't squeeze quite so hard as you roll your coil!

-Try to maintain even tension as you roll a strip. This will create the uniform, even coiling which is so attractive to the eye.

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Annie and I hope to see many familiar faces again next year and are delighted that you stopped by to give paper filigree a twirl!

Let us know in the comment section which pattern you really want us to get posted!