Another week of silence from Quilliance ... what's going on? Well, plenty as it happens! As many of you may already know, I have recently been elected to serve on the Committee of the Quilling Guild here in the UK, and right now we are busy organising what promises to be the biggest event on the international quilling calendar in recent times: the Guild's 30th Anniversary Celebration of Quilling which is to be held at Liverpool University (in the north-west of England, UK) on 10th - 11th August 2013.
There will be competitions, workshops, 'make and take' sessions, trade stands selling all manner of supplies ... and displays of quilling to take your breath away. The event will provide a wonderful opportunity to meet and socialise with fellow quillers (many of whom may already be known to you as friends via the internet). It will be the perfect environment in which to share ideas, gain inspiration and learn from some of the world's best-known quilling authors and tutors. Best of all, it will be spread over two whole days, providing a feast for the senses in every way!
Liverpool is easily accessible by road, rail and air, with easy connections to the international airport hub at Manchester. It's a vibrant city, rich in culture and heritage, with attractions ranging from art galleries, museums and historic buildings to the famous Mersey Ferry and the history of The Beatles.
The event will be open to the public on the afternoon of Saturday 10th August (13.30 - 17.00), and from 10.00 - 16.00 on Sunday 11th August 2013 ... but Members of the Guild will be able to benefit from much, much more!
For the ultimate quilling experience, Quilling Guild Members can book accommodation in the University on the Friday and Saturday nights, taking full advantage of an amazing low-cost package deal which includes breakfast, lunch, morning and afternoon refreshments and a special Anniversary Dinner on Saturday evening - plus, of course, unrestricted access to the quilling displays and workshops throughout the weekend. The Guild is also hoping to organise a visit on Friday afternoon to the nearby Lady Lever Art Gallery at Port Sunlight where the most exquisite examples of 18th Century quilled tea caddies and a famous cabinet are on display.
What better reasons could there be for becoming a Member of the Quilling Guild?
Well, I suppose I could mention our seasonal full-colour quilling magazine, new exclusive members' blog (coming soon!), extensive network of local contacts and internationally respected accreditation scheme ... but that's another blog post altogether!
If you're not already a Member of the Quilling Guild, you can easily join us right now by downloading a membership application form here.
We look forward to seeing you in Liverpool 2013!
Wednesday, 31 October 2012
Saturday, 20 October 2012
With grateful thanks to a little hamster ...
My last post featured the quilled bird of paradise which I entered into the Homyachok ("little hamster") Challenge - an excellent Russian craft and digital scrap challenge blog site whose creators judge the projects submitted to them on merit, rather than picking winners solely through a random number generator. The commonly-used random number approach has often put me off entering challenges, because I feel that the effort and skill put in to creating an entry go entirely unrecognised. But the 'little hamster' has restored my faith, by introducing three properly judged nomination categories for every challenge, complemented by the additional bonus of a lucky-number draw for a consolation prize.
The Homyachok Challenge blog is written in Russian, but there is a translation facility on the site. Unfortunately for me, however, I still couldn't understand the definition of the competition categories which are idiomatic and therefore difficult to translate into English - until my friend and fellow blogger White Racoon kindly took the trouble to explain!
She described the three nomination categories for the Homyachok Challenge as follows:
The first one - the 'Romantic' category - is self-explanatory. The second one - an idiomatic term made up from the two Russian words for 'hamster' and 'outstanding' literally means "the best of the best" - a category in which the winning nomination is awarded to the project that most impresses the Homyachok team. Finally, there is a category whose title translates as "Salvador Dali didn't even dream of that!", in which the winning project will be something very different, unusual or alternative. Thank you, White Racoon!
Well, I posted a link to my bird of paradise on the Homyachok Challenge site just a few days before going away for a short break, during which I pretty much forgot all about it. You can imagine my surprise and delight, therefore, to discover when I got home that my bird had actually received the winning nomination in the "best of the best" category. What an honour, especially as the standard of all the other entries was so high!
With a little additional translation help from White Racoon, I managed to identify the correct Homyachok Challenge winner's banner to place here on my blog (you can see it above this post in the panel on the right hand side) ... and I really hope this will help encourage many of my fellow quillers, crafters and digital artists to head right on over to the little hamster's site and check it out. There are several imaginative new challenges posted there every month, with something to interest everyone. Standards are high, and the rules of entry are strict ... but I can honestly say that the honour of winning a nomination is all the more rewarding as a result.
The Homyachok Challenge blog is written in Russian, but there is a translation facility on the site. Unfortunately for me, however, I still couldn't understand the definition of the competition categories which are idiomatic and therefore difficult to translate into English - until my friend and fellow blogger White Racoon kindly took the trouble to explain!
She described the three nomination categories for the Homyachok Challenge as follows:
The first one - the 'Romantic' category - is self-explanatory. The second one - an idiomatic term made up from the two Russian words for 'hamster' and 'outstanding' literally means "the best of the best" - a category in which the winning nomination is awarded to the project that most impresses the Homyachok team. Finally, there is a category whose title translates as "Salvador Dali didn't even dream of that!", in which the winning project will be something very different, unusual or alternative. Thank you, White Racoon!
Well, I posted a link to my bird of paradise on the Homyachok Challenge site just a few days before going away for a short break, during which I pretty much forgot all about it. You can imagine my surprise and delight, therefore, to discover when I got home that my bird had actually received the winning nomination in the "best of the best" category. What an honour, especially as the standard of all the other entries was so high!
Tuesday, 9 October 2012
A new bird for the Homyachok Challenge!
Encouraged by the success of my quilled woodpecker, I decided to create a new bird for entry into this month's Homyachok Challenge.
This one is a bird of paradise, and the picture incorporates many of the techniques that I learned while making the woodpecker: vortex coils to fill the main areas of plumage; large wheatears for the tail feathers; 'beehive' coils for the tree branch ... and a mix of 3mm and 1.5mm strips to create depth. For added emphasis, I decided to wrap each distinct area of plumage twice around with a white strip. I also experimented with adding some gently curved 1.5mm green strips 'papergraphics-style' to give detail to the long background leaves.
Now that it's complete, I can almost hear the sounds of the rain forest with the bustle of insects and the raucous calls of other creatures, accompanied by the steady fall of rain!
This one is a bird of paradise, and the picture incorporates many of the techniques that I learned while making the woodpecker: vortex coils to fill the main areas of plumage; large wheatears for the tail feathers; 'beehive' coils for the tree branch ... and a mix of 3mm and 1.5mm strips to create depth. For added emphasis, I decided to wrap each distinct area of plumage twice around with a white strip. I also experimented with adding some gently curved 1.5mm green strips 'papergraphics-style' to give detail to the long background leaves.
Now that it's complete, I can almost hear the sounds of the rain forest with the bustle of insects and the raucous calls of other creatures, accompanied by the steady fall of rain!
Wish me luck!!
Sunday, 7 October 2012
Look at her now!!
Thursday, 4 October 2012
12 out of 12
The card I've made features a digital background (created in Photoshop) with two 12's set against some crazy colours, and a quilled 12 in the foreground fashioned in 'papergraphics' style!
I'm quite pleased with the way the quilled numerals have turned out. I used a board and pins to follow the lines of the printed figures when creating the outline shapes, and glued the yellow closed loose coils in position first to keep the parallel sides in place. This kind of quilling definitely suits my 'make it up as you go along' mindset ... fun to do, and easier than it first appears!
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| Background 'swirls' image courtesy of Photoshop Roadmap |
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