Quilled Mezuzah case

Today we celebrate the Jewish holiday of Shavuot, so I wanted to show a new Judaic item I've created. It's something completely different this time — a quilled Mezuzah case.

Cherry blossom, framed paper quilling art

I was writing this post when the news came about the tragedy in Japan. Like many other's, my thoughts, heart and prayers are with the people of Japan. For those looking for ways to donate to support the disaster relief efforts, here are a few links:

• Japanese Red Cross (via Google)
• American Red Cross
• British Red Cross

Quilled Totoro toy

If you haven't watched the anime film My Neighbor Totoro, I highly recommend it. This is one of my kids' favorites, so I made a tiny Totoro toy with paper quilling.

Simple quilled flowers in a beveled frame

I created this simple arrangement of quilled flowers with daisies and cornflowers as a gift. I used 1/8"-wide strips for the leaves and petals, and 3/8" strips for the fringed flowers and flower centers. The fringe is very dense. I always try to put some quilled insect as a point of interest in my flower arrangements. This work isn't an exception — you can see a tiny green bug climbing the flowers.

To frame this picture I built a beveled paper frame using 140lb (300gsm) card stock, tinted with acrylic paint. Step-by-step for a frame like this can be found in "How to make a beveled picture frame out of paper". Size of the finished picture is about 10 1/8 x 7 1/4 inches (25.8 x 18.5 cm).

Quilled baby owl

Dear readers! First off, I would like to wish you a happy New Year! May the upcoming year be full of joy, good health, peace and creativity. I'd like also to apologize for not blogging, and not responding to emails and comments lately - I've been too busy with my classes.

Hanukkah Menorah made from recycled paper

To continue the subject of Hanukkah-themed recycling crafts I started in the previous post, I'm sharing another Hanukkah Menorah idea. This one is made of recycled paper using the paper quilling technique from 1/4"- and 3/8"-wide strips (0.5cm and 1cm). First I planned to paint it silver, but then decided to leave it as is. This Menorah is approximately 5 inches (12.5cm) in height, I think it may be called "Mega-quilling" compared to the miniature quilled Hanukkah Menoras I made last year.

Happy Hanukkah! חג אורים שמח

Hanukkah Menorah made from recycled materials

Very soon, at the beginning of December, Jewish people around the world will be celebrating the holiday of Hanukkah. Candles, Hanukiyot (Hanukkah Menorahs / Hanukkah lamps), doughnuts and dreidels (spinning tops) are being sold everywhere in Israel.