Meet our Quilling Design Team!

Introducing our NEW Quilling Design Team! We're so excited to have gathered these incredibly talented artists who will be showcasing their skills and creativity using the Katy Sue Quilling range.

With a wealth of experience and varying styles, they are here to inspire and guide you on your Quilling journey. Join our Facebook Group, Paper Art with Katy Sue Designs, where you'll find the team posting their amazing creations.

Three colour challenge

Recently we set the team their first task – create a new quilled piece using only three colours. The certainly rose to the challenge and quilled beautifully intricate artworks! See they're stunning new creations and introductions to each member below. 

Let's meet the Team and find out what inspired them to try this mesmerising craft.

– Keep reading for a Quilling SPECIAL OFFER! –

Clare Merlo tells us about the inspiration behind her piece, 'Spring Love' and the therapeutic benefits of quilling:

This design and its colours were heavily inspired by the flowers that were starting to bloom in our garden this Springtime. Over the last handful of years gardening and flowers have become a real passion of mine, as has quilling.

I first started quilling a little under 3 years ago when I was looking for a new crafting hobby to help with the anxiety that I was feeling daily at the time. I quickly realised that I had found something I truly enjoyed doing and decided to turn it into more than just a hobby – it is now my job which I am so fortunate to be able to quill and create art every day.

Creating floral designs is where I am most at home with my quilling but from time to time I like to push my boundaries and create something outside of my comfort zone.

 See more of Clare's quilling on Facebook: Crafty Wee Blackbird

Anne Probets was inspired by a friend's birthday for her piece and talks about why she began quilling:

The piece I made was inspired by my past job which was teaching 3-5 year olds in a multicultural school and my three favourite colours. Along with children from many ethnic backgrounds, many of my friends and colleagues came from many different communities. One in particular has a special birthday this year. She is a Hindu and was born in Nigeria hence the quilled silhouette and the rangoli designs in each corner. The wording is Nigerian for Happy Birthday (Eck oo ajo ibi -phonetically speaking).

I started quilling and iris folding when I left my job to look after my husband's three disabled children in 2014. I needed something to do besides housework while they were at school. I prefer to work with 3 mm paper which I incorporate with other mediums. Because of this hobby I haven't bought a card in years.

 See more of Anne's quilling on Facebook: Anne Made Cards

Emma Gough used an MDF hoop as the base for her quilled florals and tells us why she loves quilling:

The inspiration behind the colour choice for this piece is the coronation of King Charles. Seeing all the red, white and blue decorations everywhere. The flowers incorporating the piece represent the four nations: roses, daffodils, thistles, clovers. I even attempted the Tudor rose. This MDF is a first for me and I really enjoyed creating this piece and look forward to making more of these in the future.

I've been quilling for the past 7 years when I was on maternity leave with my son. I took up the craft as a means to keep my brain busy. I find it a therapeutic craft to take part in, and as my skill level has improved I now like to experiment and mix quilling with other crafts. I particularly like creating cards and primarily create flowers, although I have done a few framed pieces creating birds using the comb technique using 3mm width strips.

 See more of Emma's quilling on Facebook: Egarts Crafts

Christine Herring chose a purple colour scheme for her piece and talks about her life-long passion for quilling:

Some of my favourite pieces involve mixing on edge work with traditional quilling techniques. I have made a piece similar to this on a larger scale but was really interested to see if it would also work scaled down.

I went with my favourite colour scheme, purples, and knew I wanted a pale shade for the beehive and centres of the flowers, a darker shade to use for the lettering and a shade in between. I also wanted to be able to mix each shade to create the various flowers.

The letters were 2 strips glued together to give them extra strength and the beehive and centres of most of the flowers were made by cutting the 3mm paper in half to give 1.5mm width to give some depth to the piece.

I have grown up with quilling as a big part of my life as my parents were both committee members of the Quilling Guild. I started learning the craft at an early age, winning my first junior competition at the age of 4.

I am an Accredited member of the Quilling Guild, as well as a member of the North American Quilling Guild. I have entered and been successful in various competitions run by both guilds with my biggest achievement being awarded the Silver Salver for Excellence in 2019. A piece of mine was also chosen by members to become the new logo for the North American Quilling Guild in 2020. In 2019 I produced my first book focusing on husking boards and since then I have produced a beginner’s guide to quilling.

I enjoy using a husking board and creating various shapes which I incorporate into my designs together with traditional quilling. I make a variety of designs in different sizes from cards to framed pieces and 3D work. Most of which are made using 3mm and 1 ½mm wide paper.

Most of all, I like challenging myself to see if I can recreate an idea into paper and glue.

See more of Christine's quilling on Facebook: Quilling by Christine

Emma Griffith transformed a previously sketched idea into her quilled bee and shares her instant love for quilling:

I thought with my first piece that I would keep things simple and try to incorporate bits that us crafters all own. I have used Katy Sue quilling paper in Bright White, Black and Buttercup Yellow, all 5mm width as well as inks and die cuts. This design was a recent sketch that I drew and adjusted for quilling.

I got into quilling about 5 years ago during a difficult time in my life, I was scrolling through the internet, saw a picture and fell in love. I ordered some basic supplies and my love for it has grown since. I adore seeing my designs come to life with something so simple as a strip of paper.

 See more of Emma's quilling on Facebook: Emissa Crafts

We're so excited to have you all on board! Look out for the Team's posts on the Facebook Group, Paper Art with Katy Sue Designs.

SPECIAL OFFER

To celebrate the new Design Team, we're offering 3 for 2 on Quilling Strips (excluding foil edged and mixed packs). No code required, just fill your basket, but be quick as the offer ends Friday 2nd June 2023.