Check out my fellow quillers

I just added a bunch of new (to me) blogs from fellow quillers. Check out their beautiful work! What do I love to do next to creating my own quilled artwork? Admire that of others, of course! Just go to the lefthand side of my blog and you'll see a long list of blogs. If you know of other quilling blogs that aren't there, please comment and let me know. I'd love to add them so that I can continue to admire the work of my fellow quillers. I'm grateful to be among these amazing artists!

UPDATE:

Along with these blogs and websites, I want to make sure you all are aware of the wonderful communities we quillers have available online to share our experiences, tips, and talents with one another. It's been valuable to me to have this online community since quilling is not so widespread as other arts.

Here's a listing of some of the online communities I know of. Again, if some of you other quillers know more, please comment and let the rest of us know. Thanks!

On Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=566951033#!/home.php?sk=group_31795954879&ap=1

This group was started by Molly Smith - it's got roughly around 1,000 members from all around the world.


groups.yahoo.com:
quillers & quillpictures

If you're interested, you'll need to join both - one is for discussions and one is to post pictures. I believe I saw somewhere that it's been around since 1998. This has been one the best resources for me and I've made some great friends in this community. There are people from all over the world in this group. It's fantastic!


Quilled Creations Quilling Forum:
http://www.quilledcreations.com/quillingforum/

I think with this one you have to register. Not 100% sure as I don't use it, but I believe it's similar to the quillers group on yahoo. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

New Beginnings

I have finally gotten my quilling "groove" back on. In early April, I felt an itch to quill again, so I started creating patterns and then cleaned out my craft cabinet, organized my quilling supplies, made an order for new quilling supplies and jumped into it. I was thinking it would take me months to complete another project, but here I am with a completed project in hand and I couldn't me more happy. I'm excited about moving on to the next project soon.

All of the patterns I've created are fantasy art. This first one is, I believe, very appropriate - a phoenix rising from the flames - rejuvenated. That's how I feel about quilling. After taking a really long break, I'm rejuvenated, too. So here's to new beginnings:

UPDATE TO POST:

I'm finally putting this piece up for sale - it'll go into an art show this weekend with my parents as my agents as I can't be there personally. Wish me luck! As part of the representation of this work of art, I decided to also write a poem to go along with it. So here it is:

New Beginnings

Out of the fire I rise,

renewed and rejoicing.

Soaring above the ashes

confirming that life is eternal.

Once again flying towards the sky

embracing the gift of new beginnings.

Brenda Brownlee 2011^©

Quilling is making a comeback!

I'm ready to pick up quilling again after taking a long break. My life is back to enough normalcy that I feel like I can quill again. I am taking orders for commissioned pieces. Just shoot me an email at iflookscouldquill@yahoo.com if you are interested. Please note, however, that quilling takes a long time - it's definitely not a quick turnaround art medium. Quilled creations take sometimes several weeks to complete dependent upon the size of the piece. I will be filling orders on a first-come first-serve basis.

Life Update

My life has been quite hectic over the past few months - hence, no quilling since February. My baby was sick for a while, had a surgery, but is doing great now. He is starting to walk and gets into everything, so long gone are the days when I can set him on the floor with some toys near me while I quill.

Also, my second oldest son has dyslexia and needs a lot of one-on-one instruction to help him become an independent reader. So, raising four children (ages 9, 7, 3, & 1), plus with the extra needs they have, I don't know when I'll be able to get back to quilling again. I hope it's sometime within the next year or two. I definitely don't want to take a three year break like I did when my daughter (3 yr old) was born.

Thanks for supporting me and following my blog. I'll get back to it one day - I promise!

Kind regards,
Brenda

Quilling for Profit

Recently among the quilling online groups, discussion has been about quilling as an art and people's perceptions of it. Rather than get into it here, I'm redirecting my readers to Pat Caputo's Whimsiquills blog. She's put into words many of the same thoughts I've had. Enjoy her post!