Introduction: Easy Quilling Snowflake Christmas Ornament
In this tutorial, I’ll show you how to make an easy and cute quilled snowflake ornament for your Christmas decoration. As an experienced quiller, I will guide you through every step and:
- I’ll teach you how to cut your own paper strips.
- I’ll share with you one of my favorite designs.
- I'll provide you with a printable template and exact size of each element.
- I'll teach you how to make every part of the snowflake and how to assemble it.
- I’ll share every detail and will give you some advices about technique, materials etc.
For those of you who aren't familiar with this technique, quilling is an art form that involves the use of strips of paper that are rolled, shaped, and glued together to create an intricate designs.
For this snowflake I used white and blue 4mm pearlized paper strips with 120gsm (grams per square meter) density. You can chose to make it in different color combinations or to use only one color. It’s up to you! You can make the snowflake from a different paper, as long as it’s not too thin or too thick. The width of my strips is 4mm, but 3 or 5mm will be fine, too.
If you don’t want to buy a quilling tool you can easily make one yourself. Mine is made from a needle and a pen and it works just fine! There are some tutorials here on Instuctable as well.
Supplies
-Transparent tacky glue (for the pearls)
If you want to cut the strips yourself, you will need:
-X-acto knife or utility knife (box cutter)
-Paper
Step 1: Cutting the Paper Strips.
There are different methods to do this. I’ll show you my favorite one.
For this you will need a cutting mat, a metal ruler, X-acto knife or utility knife and paper. If you want to cut more than one sheet at a time you will need double sided tape or glue to secure it. Glue the sheets together by applying a little glue along the edge. Trim the edge. Start cutting the strips as shown in the pictures.
Skip this step if you are using a pre-cut paper strips.
Step 2: Cut the Strips.
Cut the strips to the desired length. See the template for the exact number and length for each element.
Step 3: Roll the Circle Elements.
Take the six 7cm and eighteen 4cm white paper strips. Roll them using the quilling tool, as shown in the pictures.
Step 4: Make the Eye-shaped Elements.
Take the six 4cm blue paper strips. To achieve the “eye” shape first fold them in half. Use a pen refill or a knitting needle to curl them a little. Apply a small amount of glue to the edge and join the ends.
Repeat this with the six 2cm blue paper strips.
Step 5: Insert the Circle Elements.
Apply a little glue to the opposite sides of the big circle element. Use the fine point tweezers to insert it in the middle of the big eye-shaped element. Get two small circles and glue them on the both sides of the bigger one. Repeat this with the other five elements.
Then insert the remaining six small circles in the middle of the small eye-shaped elements.
Step 6: Apply the Second Loop.
Take the six 5cm white paper strips. Use the needle to curl them.
Apply a little glue to the tip of the big eye-shaped element. Glue the ends of the 5cm white strip to it, as shown in the pictures. Pinch the other end to shape it.
Repeat the process with the 2.5cm white strips and the small eye-shaped elements.
Step 7: Make the Swirly Element.
Take the six 8cm blue paper strips. Fold them in half. Measure 1.7cm from the fold and mark it. Apply glue between the fold and the marked area. Fold the strip and press it. Leave it for a minute to dry. Open the unglued end. Use the quilling tool to roll the one side, as shown in the pictures. Repeat with the opposite. Use the tweezers to perfect the spiral shape, if needed.
Step 8: Assemble the Snowflake.
Now you are ready with the all parts and can start assembling the snowflake. First get the foam board. Position the printed template over it. Place a transparent plastic foil on the top and secure all with pins. Position the first element on template. Secure it with pins. Apply a little glue to the tip of the next element. Position it and hold it with a pin. Repeat with the remaining parts. See the pictures for details. When you are ready leave the glue to dry completely before removing the pins.
Step 9: Glue the Pearls.
If you prefer, you can leave your quilled snowflake without pearls or replace them with rhinestones.
You will need seven 4mm and eighteen 3mm pearls. Use a transparent tacky glue. Apply a small amount of it to the all circle elements and in the middle of the snowflake. Place the pearls with the help of a fine point tweezers.
You can apply pearls on the both sides of the snowflake. I prefer to leave one of the sides without pearls. This way the ornament can be used as a gift topper, Christmas card embellishment etc.
I hope you are inspired to make your own quilling snowflake! It looks like a little jewel on the Christmas tree. You can hang it on your chandelier or on the window. Anyway it will become a favorite part of your Christmas decoration!
If you make the snowflake, please share a photo. I look forward to see your creations ☺.
You can see more of my quilling works on Pinterest and in my Etsy shop TipTopArtShop.
Participated in the
Holiday Decorations Speed Challenge
