Quilling is Thrilling! Who Knew Little Scraps of Paper Could Be So Much Fun?

It's not quilting, it's quilling! That's the first thing Monica Bergeron has had to tell many people who've never heard of her craft. She says she even has to spell it out to these poor souls, but she is quite amused by their troubled expressions and enjoys explaining to folks that quilling has nothing to do with fabric, needles or thread but instead is an art performed with strips of paper that are rolled into coils, glued, and then formed into shapes.

Many things amuse Monica Bergeron, and this joy carries forward into her art, her teachings, and her websites. Monica, from what I can see, is one of the nation's premier quillers. She modestly described winning a recent competition sponsored by Lark Books - a leader in craft publishing - for a quilled card she created. However, her focus doesn't appear to be on competitions. Instead, she likes to use her talents to encourage and teach others and to create new and unusual items.

Monica first began quilling at the age of seven when her mother gave her a kit to make a quilled owl. Monica took to that owl as a duck takes to water.

"I think my Mother thought it would take me quite awhile to finish the project as she was unfamiliar with quilling. Well it is a time consuming craft but that didn't keep me from taking my time. You couldn't find quilling paper then, you had to buy kits. So I would cut strips of paper and make my own creations. I would use magazines, construction paper and any other paper I could get my hands on. I was hooked on quilling from that day I received that owl kit until today."

Most quillers use their art for scrap booking or card making. However, Monica doesn't limit herself to scrap books or cards. She makes quilled earrings and pendants as well as quilled covered boxes. Quilled eggs are her favorite. "The possibilities on where you can use or place your quilling are endless," Monica states.

Monica teaches quilling classes and maintains four blogs. She started the blogs to provide tutorials to introduce people to quilling and other paper crafts. She has both printable and video tutorials.

What with maintaining the blogs and teaching the classes, how does she get any quilling done? It seems so meticulous! "I roll my coils while I'm watching TV and I have a plastic storage container that has compartments where I store all of my rolled coils. That way they are all ready when I'm ready to create a project. If I'm on the phone I'm rolling coils too, it's just a part of what I do almost daily." She could probably roll coils in her sleep at this point!

I asked Monica what she would say to someone who wanted to start quilling. "I would tell anyone who wants to start quilling to go in in with an open mind and to not get frustrated. It does take practice but if you look at the end result its well worth it," Monica replied.

Looking at her lovely work, I would have to agree, the end result is clearly worth it!

http://giddygreetings.com
http://ggcaa.com
http://thezenlens.com
http://cardandscrapsketches.blogspot.com
Interview with Monica Bergeron