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Friday, May 07, 2010

Tutorial: Quilled Monogram Letter

If you haven't checked out the work of Yulia Brodskaya, which I first saw on Cake Wrecks, click this link NOW. Seriously, you will want to look for hours.

I was so inspired by her, I knew I wanted to create a monogram, ala Yulia's amazing work. Quilling takes patience and some time, but the skill needed is pretty minimal.

This is my end result:

I'm thrilled with it. Utterly thrilled. It's hanging above my stairs and will be a focal point for the entry way.

Ok, supplies needed:
Frame
Colored Paper (I used scrapbook paper because it's what I had on hand, but quilling actually works much better with non-textured paper)
Print Out of Outline of Letter
Craft Knife
Mod Podge
Scrapbook Paper Backing
Medium Painter's Brush

Step One:
Print out an outline for your monogram. You can do serif or sans serif. I choose a serif font called Lucida Fax. Print it out in light gray (or a light color to match your paper). Your goal is to get this to disappear. (Your word processor should have an option to change the font to outline. Usually it's under the text effects or similar heading. You want no fill and a small weight outline, if you have the options. In Microsoft Word 2010, it's under the home tab, and next to the highlighter tool.)

Step Two:
Pick a color to go around your letter and cut out 1/4" strips of paper. I needed three to go around my letter.

Step Three:
Start measuring and folding your paper, using your print out as a guide.

It's important to be completely accurate. I made a tiny mark, then used my quilting ruler to fold it up.

Keep checking as you go to make sure you're getting the turns right, but don't glue until you finish a whole strip of paper. It also works best if your seams are at a corner, so cut it off cleanly when you can't make any more lengths. Once your length is done, go ahead and glue it to the paper. To do this, use a paint brush to put Mod Podge just inside the lines, then press your paper into it, holding it for a bit. Work slowly and use the corners as anchor points.

Oh yeah, another tip. Wash your hands thoroughly before beginning and if you step a way for a minute. It's so easy to smudge this up that it's worth being a little fussy about clean hands.

Once you've got the outline done, it will look something like this:

I think you could stop there if you wanted, but I love the swirls, so I'm going to keep going.

Step Four:
Cut a bunch of 1/4" wide strips of paper in four or five colors or shades. I needed about 4 strips of each color for my design.


The basis of quilling is making paper rolls. The best way I've found is to bend the paper slightly with your finger to get a curve, then roll up as tightly as you can around a needle. Keep rolling past what you would need. Then trim off to the size you want. To get the pretty arcing rolls, sort of pop the rolled up paper (after it's off the needle) and let go quickly. If you need to roll it up again you can.

Step 5:
Start working on the design, doing a dry fit, making rolls as you need them.

Once you like a section, glue it down. It's best to pick up the roll of paper, turn it over and apply glue to the bottom with a brush. Then press into place, hold for a few seconds and then let go. I use a pair of tweezers for more accurate placement. When doing the longer, not-as-rolled pieces, make sure to put some glue on the side that will butt up against the monogram sides, and not only the bottom.

Step 6:
To make the swirls look they cross the monogram outline, use small arcs of paper. Dry fit to find the right size and arc, then glue down, making sure to line it up with the end, so it looks like one continuous piece.
Mine a bit more done:


Keep going until you like the look. After you finish, brush the whole thing lightly with Mod Podge. My quilling all done:

Step 7:
Mount on a piece of scrapbook paper and mat with strips of paper, if desired. Pop into the frame (without the glass) and hang.

The frame I got at Savers and it was $5. It looks pretty good after some spray paint. The paper was free, since I used scraps of my scrapbooking paper I already had around. So, my total cost for the art? $5 and a little spray paint and some paper scraps. Sweet!

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86 comments:

  1. Wow! That is gorgeous!!! I don't know if I have the patience for something like that, but it is beautiful. Excellent job. I love the quilling look. Never tried it but it's gorgwous. You could/should sell these. :)
    Popping over from Frugalicious Friday.

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  2. That is so great! Really impressed!

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  3. That is AMAZING!!!! Fantastic job, it's so beautiful! I definitely want to give it a shot!!! :)

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  4. Wow! That is really amazing.

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  5. HOLY Cow!!! That is the coolest thing EVER!!! It is just beautiful, I think I could stare at it for hours! Feel free to make me a W! haha!!!

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  6. Ummmm what can I say??? It's GORGEOUS!!!! I want to make one so bad, keep up the good work!

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  7. I actually started cardmaking with quilling, I've done tons of designs, but I absolutely have to try a monogram, it's gorgeous !! I also have a deep frame !! Thanks for sharing...gotta take a look at Yulia's now.x

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  8. Wow!!! Kara, this is gorgeous!!! I want to make one now!!

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  9. Just beautiful and such a great tutorial. Thanks for allowing me to feature it at All Things Paper, Kara!

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  10. This looks WONDERFUL! I love it!

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  11. Thank you for sharing this tutorial, beautiful!
    Nati(from Brazil)
    http://natiquill.blogspot.com

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  12. I found a link to you post from Craftzine.com. This is awesome! I can't wait to make one for my family!

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  13. Love your tutorial! Now I am definitely going to have to try this; I am a long time quiller, but this is way out of my comfort zone. Your tutorial gave me a place to start. Thanks!

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  14. I love this! so beautiful!

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  15. Wow, thanks for taking the time to put together this tutorial. I found you through the All Things Paper blog. Thank you very much for sharing!

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  16. Hello,

    Love your monogram. Thank you so much for the tutorial. I had been wanting to make a monogram like this but don't know how to start. I definitely will give this a try.

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  17. Wow! This is a great tutorial. Thanks for taking the time to share.

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  18. Great tutorial, Kara, many thanks for sharing it! Like you, I just LOVE Yulia's work - will definitely give this monogram technique a try

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  19. omigosh I LOVE this!!!
    I would love make one of these for my living room!

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  20. Fabulous Tutorial. I read each and every word so carefuly and realised the mistakes i made while doing my recent project which reads "LOVE". I actually was cutting each letter and never thought a whole strip can be used!!

    Thanks you so much for this tutorial!!!

    Love
    Karuna
    http://twirlsandcurls.blogspot.com/

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  21. Found this through Mod Podge Rocks. This is so beautiful!! I love the color scheme. H is the initial of my last name too. Can I just buy this off of you?? I don't think I could make one as awesome as this.

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  22. I am so fantastically, over-the-top, head-over-heels in love with this! You are so crafty it amazes me!! I don't know if I'll ever muster up the confidence to try this myself, but WOW!

    Katie P
    Food, Wine, & Mod Podge

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  23. Anonymous10:58 AM

    WOW, I loooooooove this and I can't wait to try it! My sis is getting married in a few months and it would be a great gift! I am just getting back into papercraft(s) of all kinds and I've always wanted to try quilling... thanks for the inspiration & the tutorial!! (found your post via Mod Podge Rocks! blog).

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  24. Very nice. I think I might do something like this for Christmas!

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  25. This is absolutely beautiful! I did a quilled card once for my daughter's birthday invitation. It turned out great, too. It looks difficult, but it isn't. This would be beautiful if you wrote out a word like LOVE or FAITH and framed it.

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  26. I'm going to try this, but my last name starts w/ an S so I think the curves might be kinda hard. If anyone does an S I would love a pic. Thank you soo much for the tutorial
    laceylady123@hotmail.com

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  27. love it,, I've never seen this done before. will be fun to try.

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  28. I'm linking to your blog. I think this is going to have to be my next project!!
    n8swife.blogspot.com

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  29. Gorgeous, gorgeous! I swoon for swirlies. :)

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  30. cshym7412:13 AM

    W-O-W! I found your tutorial through Mod Podge Rocks! blog and I am in love! Stunning. I would love to try this as a gift for my sister's wedding this fall...but I'm a bit intimated, since I've never tried quilling before... Plus, I need to do a letter "W" instead. Hmmmmm.... THANKS for the tutorial! (Any advice on where I could find a nice big letter "W"? I might just jump right in and try!)

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  31. I would type a huge one into Word or another word processor and start scrolling through fonts until you find one you like. I saw a really scrolly W a few weeks back that was really pretty, not a straight line on it, and it look great. You can do it! Hope it turns out beautifully for you. :)

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  32. Hav'ta say, "Love this!" I first spotted on Laura Thoughts blog, which directed me back here. I can't wait to make one for my home, and it maybe the perfect moving away/house warming gift for my neighbor/friend.
    Thank you.
    Also I'd like to invite (and anyone else who'd care to) you to my blog spot at http://littlebirdseeds.blogspot.com/, so that you can check it out, become a follower (if you’d like), and grab Hector Bat the free HTML image that I created to share with you all, so that you could decorate your blog page for Halloween. (Just click on the image and follow it to my Photobucket album then copy the HTML and paste it into you HTML gadget box.)
    Thanks again, and Enjoy~

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  33. I was so inspired by your awesome monogram that we did this for our monthly craft group last week! I posted about it here on my blog. Thanks for the inspiration!

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  34. Wow, that turned out great! This is an awesome idea. I need to try my hand at quilling I guess...
    Thanks for sharing!

    -Rochelle @ http://homesweethomebodies.blogspot.com/

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  35. AAAH this is beautiful!!!! Utterly stunning! Amazingly wonderful!! I can't even think of an adjective that describes this with all due respect! :D
    I love quilling, though I'm only a new beginner :P Thanks for the great inspiration, I'll try one myself! :)

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  36. Hi!

    Wanted you to know I posted a link to this tutorial today on my blog, paperFriendly.

    Nancy Ward
    paperFriendly
    http://www.nancywardcrafts.com

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  37. Anonymous4:34 PM

    love this ... very nice, can't wait to try it !

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  38. This is so amazing!!! I love it! I had no idea what quilling was but how beautiful! Can't wait to try this one out myself! I featured you in my 10 Great Monogram Projects post!
    http://frugalflourish.blogspot.com/2011/01/ten-monogram-craft-ideas.html

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  39. This is gorgeous! Thanks for the tutorial! :)

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  40. so gorgeous !!!
    And very helpful tutorial.
    I'd like to try my Monogram
    Thank you :-D

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  41. Absolutely beautiful! I am going to have to try this. Thank you so much for sharing. :)

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  42. LOVE IT! thanks from Brazil too! Absolutely Gorgeous :)

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  43. Anonymous11:54 AM

    Thankyou SO much for the detail instructions and posting the pics. I am SO going to make these :)

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  44. Great!!! Looks so beautiful. A very good tutorial. Thanks!

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  45. Oh my goodness this is GORGEOUS! I want to make these for presents for my friends!!!

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  46. This project was a source of inspiration to me today! I definitely plan on doing this!

    http://releasemecreations.blogspot.com/2011/05/inspired-pinwheels-balloons-dresses.html

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  47. I just finished following this Tutorial!!
    LOVE MY QUILLED MONOGRAM!!
    http://www.releasemecreations.blogspot.com

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  48. Anonymous11:38 AM

    thanks for sharing. that's really amazing

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  49. I love this - I may need to give it a try.

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  50. Gorgeous! Now I wish we had a better monogram that "C"!

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  51. What an amazing idea! And you make it look so easy! I raved about you here:
    http://myhandcraftedhome.blogspot.com/2011/07/one-day-monday_18.html

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  52. Hi! I love this project so much that I featured it over here at Scribbles and Scrolls:
    http://tamiscribblesandswirls.blogspot.com/2011/10/quilled-monogram-letter.html
    Thanks for the inspiration!
    ~Tami

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  53. Fantastic tutorial with high degree of clarity! Thanks for posting! :-)

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  54. Tammy Field6:06 AM

    This is just stunning, found your tutorial on Pinterest! =) Thanks so much for the fantastic instructions!

    Tammy

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  55. cool! thanks for the tutorial!

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  56. Seriously lovely!! I am a little nervous to try -- but I think I might give it a go. We're on the Dave Ramsey plan now, and I need to start rethinking Christmas gifts!

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  57. Anonymous1:11 AM

    I love it Iam going to make birthday for my girls.your work & the way u presented it is fabulous.expect more from u.

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  58. Anonymous8:11 PM

    This is so cool. Any idea how to do an "S". I think it maybe harder!

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  59. Anonymous3:16 AM

    Your tutorial is really helpful. I was looking for something like this since sometime. Thank you very much :)

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  60. Thank you so much for posting this! I just completed my "R" and it turned out so well! Thanks for the great tutorial.

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  61. Anonymous1:05 AM

    I have done quilling in fondant on a cake and I am going to steal this idea and try it with icing. Thank you so much for sharing, you are very talented.
    Charmaine

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  62. Beautiful! Great Job!

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  63. Anonymous8:54 PM

    I love to quill and am going to try doing this monogram!!! Thanks for sharing!!!

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  64. Kay Near5:09 AM

    I do quilling a lot,but,I never seen this before.I love it thanks for the great idea.Your work is beautiful.

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  65. LOVE IT! THanks for sharing your tutorial!

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  66. Anonymous5:33 AM

    OK so I have searched and searched for the right thing to give MY MOM who is MY complete world... and I want to say THANK YOU I think I just found the Greatest Gift,and it will have MY own personal touch so How cool is that. Now if all goes well I will post a pic for you to see... Thanks again,,,. :) Happy Mothers Day to ALL !

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  67. Anonymous8:11 AM

    Love yourr site.

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  68. Debi Lefever5:40 AM

    LOVE this!!! Not quite understanding how to get the outline of the letter instead of a solid shape. I used the Lucida Fax but it is solid. Could you please enlighten me on this? Your work is exquisite! Thank you ~Debi Lefever~

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  69. Anonymous6:54 PM

    thanks for sharing, I will definitely try this out as it is worth the time spent on it.

    you have a great day.
    bye jovita

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  70. LOVE!!! Thanks for a great detailed tutorial!

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  71. LOVE!! Thanks for the detailed tutorial!

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  72. Anonymous12:10 PM

    This is so beautiful! Thanks for the tutorial! I would love to try this but I was wondering:

    How you keep it from getting dusty if the frame is open with no glass?

    Debra

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  73. Debra, it's sturdy enough to dust. Also, you could frame it with glass easy enough--it's just even easier not to, and I like the immediacy of no glass. Shadow boxes are an easy way. Here's a post with some other options. http://theartofquilling.com/tag/how-to-frame-quilling. I hope that helps! :D

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  74. Anonymous6:20 PM

    WOW!!!!!!! TFS!

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  75. This is so cool! But I need help printing out a letter. I don't know how to do it! I am not computer smart, but I hope I am smart to make this! HELP! :)

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  76. I think this is awesome! I need help printing out the letters, where do I find them? HELP!

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  77. Anonymous3:58 AM

    AWESOME... REALLY!!

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  78. Thanks for sharing the tutorial :)

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  79. Anonymous5:55 PM

    How kind of you to share this tutorial! I would like to try this but am not sure about the beginning. When you did the letter outline, did you glue it to anything? Or just made the outline, filled it in, and then when you finished glued it to a sturdier paper? I'm thinking the outline by itself would be kind of flimsy/difficult to work with, wouldn't it? Appreciate the clarification! Helene

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  80. I used cardstock to print the letter, so I didn't need to glue it to studier sheet. I hope that helps!

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    Replies
    1. Anonymous2:46 PM

      Ah yes, thank you! I got confused in step 7 when you said to mount it on a piece of scrapbook paper. At first, I thought you meant the letter but now I see you were talking about the letter which was already on the white cardstock. Thanks again! Helene

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  81. Hi Kara,

    I love the way you did this one. Exact measurements and patience!! Wow!! you did a great work. I just loved the result!! But I often doubt how the paper stands up quite well.

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  82. Absolutely love this!! I've been looking for something to put on a bare wall and I think this would look wonderful!

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