HI GUYS!

Quilling! Have you gotten onto the quilling craze?  This is a great paper craft to do, it's easy, quick, and so much fun.

Back in grade 4, as an art project we cut strips of construction paper and twirled it with our pencils.  I made a quilled pair of scissors which got featured at an art exhibit at a local university (which I eventually attended years later).

Now over a decade later I found this really cool kit by Klutz called Twirled Paper which included a twirling wand and precut papers I knew I wanted to get it.  For some reason it's nearly impossible to find a quilling tool in Toronto (anyone know where I'd be able to find one?)  The thing I love about starter kits like these are that they give you everything that you need to get started at a really inexpensive price.

For a little over $20 CAD, the Twirled Paper kit comes with a twirling wand, 110 - 1/8-24" paper strips in 28 different colours, 4 oz bottle of glue, 3 tooth picks, 22 googly eyes in 3 different sizes, a pin board with a 9 inch ruler, and a 56 page instructional book.  In addition to the supplies included, some useful tools you may need are a pin (for your off centre coils made on the pin board) and some tweezers (for gluing those small pieces).

The twirling wand is like any other quilling tool, the handle is all plastic (which I've read isn't the best, but perfect for a beginner like me).  The strips of paper are vibrantly coloured and easy to work with.  I found the instructional book very easy to follow, detailed descriptions with clear pictures to accompany.  The projects included are cute, simple, and are easily scalable to be more detailed by adding more coils.

The only complaint I have would be the 4 oz bottle of glue.  It was really runny and wasn't very tacky.  Upon closer inspection, it was more like acrylic paint.  When I first took the bottle out of the package, I could see through the bottle that it had settled and began to separate (like acrylic paint).  While making my practice coils, I used a bit too much of the glue and thought it wouldn't be such a big deal because glues usually dry clear regardless of what colour it is initially - I was so wrong.  You can see the white marks on some of the practice coils in my review video which would be clear with better glue.  I simply emptied the bottle, cleaned it, and filled it with Aleene's Tacky Glue which made a world of a difference.  The tacky glue is thick enough to easily be controlled in the bottle and dries relatively quickly so there's not much waiting time to shape your coil.

I think the Klutz Twirled Paper kit would be perfect for anybody wanting to get into quilling who are looking for a quick one stop shop.  May it be for young kid or older adult, this kit is great to get your hands quickly on this type of art.  I hope to do more art pieces with the quilling technique.  Something more than just a pair of scissors :P

Happy Crafting!