In the beginning...

Hi there!  Welcome to Wicked Paper Love - my name is Kristin.  I am so thrilled to have this blog up and going - finally!  It only took 3 years.  Wicked Paper Love (WPL) is a blog about quilling - the practice of rolling tiny strips of paper into beautiful works of art.  Never heard of it?  I'm not surprised.  I found it by accident a few years ago when I was searching the interweb for fun, easy art/crafts.  (For the record, I like to use made up words and slang a ton.  So yes, I call the internet the "interweb."  You may see more of that in posts to come.  Just work with me...) Anyway, back to crafts: yes, there are tons of crafts out there, but here's the kicker...I can't draw, and I can't sew.  You see the problem.  But I looooonged to be "creative."  I needed and outlet, and as much as I enjoyed writing, I needed to make something.  And I happened upon quilling.  Beautiful, amazing, inexpensive, quilling.  So I rushed right over to my local craft store...and found nothing.  Nada.  Zip.  The person who worked there had never even heard of it.  Next I went online to check out the arts and crafts realm of Meetup.com (awesome website, by the way).  I emailed the head of the largest craft group in my city - she'd never heard of it.  Grrr...  So I did the best I could.  I found a book, bought a kit, and started with basic cartoon animals.  It was fun, but I was about to begin nursing school, and as soon as I did, there went quilling...and the rest of my social life.  Fast forward 3 years:  I have graduated and worked a full year in a very busy and stressful ICU.  And I recently tore my ACL, so I am down and out for 12 weeks.  Lots of resting = lots of quilling.  Yessssss!  So here we are.  I am a beginner - a total rookie.  The extent of my quilling is working on technique, basic shapes, and looking online to see how different people do the same thing.  It's overwhelming, but it's so much fun.  I hope you continue to check back, and leave me a message or comment as you see fit.  Happy Quilling!

Just some basic shapes!

A face of...?

Trying out this technique for the first time (the inside of the teardrop).  Some people call it a beehive shape, others call it scrolling...there are lots of names, I suppose.  This would look much better if my paper hadn't already been so worn.  I use scraps when I am just playing around, so I can maximize my good paper. 

I cannot wait to try my first "real" picture!

Stay tuned!