Sunday, 4 November 2018

Quilled Christmas, by Alli Bartkowski. Review.


Quilled Christmas
30 Festive Paper Projects
By Alli Bartkowski
Lark Crafts 2018
Paperback  £14.99 UK/$17.95 US/$24.50 CAN
ISBN 978-1-4547-1038-7

Star rating: *****

Alli Bartkowski is the talented craft entrepreneur behind Quilled Creations, Inc. – purveyor of clever quilling gadgets and supplies.  Her fresh,  imaginative designs explore the possibilities of quilling craft.

This delightful book of Christmas projects caters for all skill levels. The simplest projects – such as quilled embellishments - have appeal even for more experienced quillers because they are cute  - and well-designed.  The decorative swirls and arabesques of paper filigree are well-suited to festive makes. The 30 projects are divided into three categories: Home Décor, Ornaments & Stocking Stuffers (Fillers – UK), and Greetings Cards & Gift Packaging.

There is lots of variety in the designs, which  are modern in appearance and take into account current quilling trends, such as Quillography – in which thicker strips of paper are used on-edge to create pictorial- or word-art (Leaping Deer Card). There are also several 3D projects (another now trend),  using quilled shapes as building blocks to create an object, such as a Christmas Tree centerpiece, a Nutcracker Figurine, or Silver Bell Ornaments.  

Unsurprisingly, the ornaments are particularly effective. (Always fun to use quilled shapes as construction units rather than as glued embellishments.)  There are Holiday Lightbulbs, Round Poinsettia, and Snowflake with Teardrops Ornaments, and a Snowman.  All include variety in shape and form, and, in most cases, colour. The author incorporates texture, too, in many instances – such as for the squiggly “ribbled” ribbing of the snowman’s beanie hat.

Upfront, there’s a thorough how-to section to get your quilling skills up to speed, and to familiarize you with various quilling gizmos – such as a quilling comb. Each project has a lovely beauty shot, accompanied by on-page step-by-steps.

This title would make a sweet pre-Christmas surprise for a newbie quiller. Come to think of it, this book accompanied by a bundle of quilling supplies, would make a memorable gift.


Note:  I was supplied with a review copy of this title.

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