January 11, 2012

Home blessing in antique quilling style

Home blessing quilling, framed

This time I'm going to show a quilled picture I created for my parents as a "housewarming" present. They moved to a new apartment, so I thought a home blessing would be appropriate in this case. I must say that I love antique quilling and decided to try to mimic its unique style in this project. I searched the Internet for photos of antique quilling, saw tons of examples, drew a few sketches, and only then set to work.

Making of quilled ornament

I cut 1/8"-wide (3 mm) strips of maroon (or is it burgundy?) paper by hand and colored their edge using a gold marker. All in all, about two A4 sheets of paper were needed for this project.

Quilled home blessing, top

The text in Hebrew I cut out on an oval piece of card stock painted with gold. Then I glued a piece of the maroon paper used for the strips to the reverse side of the cutout, so that the maroon can be seen through the cutting and give the letters this particular color. The lettering was placed in the center, and embellished around with a quilled ornament.

Quilled home blessing, side

For the embellishment I used some of the most basic quilling shapes like the tight coil, "eye", "teardrop", "crescent" and "scrolled heart". I also used crimped strips, which I made with my homemade crimper. The ornament includes pomegranates as its major element, and it is not by mere chance.

Quilled pomegranate

The pomegranate plays a special role in the Jewish tradition. It is mentioned among The Seven Species and has a symbolic meaning in Judaism, as its believed number of seeds corresponds with the 613 commandments of the Torah. And even if there are some deviations in their number, it always remains very close to 613. It's also a symbol of fruitfulness, pomegranates adorned the Temple, and so on. And of course, its shape is just beautiful, that's why I wanted to feature it in this work of mine.

Quilled home blessing, detail

And finally, a few words about the other elements of the picture. For the background I used a very pale brown (beige) pastel paper. The frame measures 7 x 9 1/2 inches (18 x 24 cm), its depth is about 1/4" (6 mm). The color matches perfectly the quilling, and also the interior of the new apartment.

41 comments:

Syaz said...

Love every detail..It has the vintage look..

Елена (len-kom) said...

Неотразимо! Напоминает работы средневековых мастеров из позолоченой бумаги

Baukje said...

Wow! Congratulations it is great I love your work, your father and mother will be very happy
Greetings Baukje

Neli Quilling said...

Инна,поздравления!Направила си нещо уникално!Аз също много харесвам старинния quilling.Разглеждала съм доста старинни картини ,предимно икони направени с тази техника.Твоята прилича на тях,направена е с много вкус и елегантност.Очарована за пореден път от твоята работа.Поздрави!

Pritesh Dagur said...

I don't even need to say! OUTSTANDING work Inna! Just outstanding. Love the way you've paid attention to the tiniest of details!!!!

Philippa said...

Splendid work, Inna!

Mihaela said...

A very special gift for special peoples from your family.
I can imagine how much you worked fot it and how long. But it looks fabulous with so many beautiful details.
Awesome work!!!

Nati said...

Wow!!!Wonderful!!!
Nati from Brazil
http://natiquill.blogspot.com

Artes de Nágela said...

Inna,
His parents were happy with this beautiful gift. I really liked the design and the colors you used. The effect was wonderful!

Regina said...

OMG Ina!!! This is a masterpiece!!! What can I say!!!
C' est magnifique!!! Marvellous!!! Amei!!!
Thanks a lot for sharing your talent with us!!

Soraya said...

your present is breathtaking! thanks for sharing the details, too.

Love crafts forever said...

Absolutely amazing!!!!
Hugs Nataliya

lulu_ma said...

i love the 'ancient' kind of look.

Ann said...

What a beautiful housewarming gift, Inna! I loved reading about the importance of the pomegranates in the design and think your hand-gilded paper looks perfect.

Anonymous said...

Сказочная работа!
Но как Вы полторы сотни 3мм полосочек марекером красили???
Это подвиг.
С другой стороны, именно такая позолота придаёт старинный вид.
Хорошо бы, чтобы это благословение(оберег) под стеклом было - сохранилось для внуков - прапраправнуков!

SUGANTHI said...

So very beautiful Inna. I don't have enough words to describe how I feel about this work of yours. Love it too much. I has everything I most love about quilling.

Kasia K. said...

You're incredible! Your work is awesome!

Quilling.lt said...

Unbelievable!!!!! Love so much!

Nikita A said...

Such intricate work!!! So beautiful... Ad soooo neat and perfect!! Love it! Love it! Love it!!!!!!

kiddo said...

Wow, this is astonishing, Inna! Is so, so beautiful that is hard to express in words what I feel admiring your project! The combination of colors and shapes is great! I am sure your parents were more than happy to receive such a wonderful gift!

Anastasiaw2008@gmail.com said...

This is wonderful quilling. I love vintage designs. Toying with the idea, but could not get down to quilling it yet. This inspires me to try it. But it would never ever be any where close to yours. You are so perfect in your quilling

Sathya said...

wow........wat a detailing...Just amazed me to the core...Perfect!!!!!Color combo is that awesome....

Cristina said...

Amazing Inna, i'm speechless!

Kasia Wojtasik said...

А я рот думаю, что так и будет! Что это станет семейной реликвией! Инночка, как всегда вершины квиллинга! Невероятно, как обыденный материал бумага может превратиться в такой шедевр в руках МАСТЕРА!

Fairy Cardmaker, Lisa said...

Oh wow. It looks GILDED. Completely stunning!

Bronwyn said...

Superb work!

vavaly said...

It is so beautiful, looks like a real picture. U are amaizing, your work is an inspiration for so many people. Thank u for sharing with us your work and also every new ideea u have or discover. Your work is great and your workshop seams very interesting. the people wich learn from u are realy lucky. Have a great year!

Szalonaisa said...

Outstandig!! Unbebiveble!! and Fantastic work!!

kalanirmitee said...

Outstanding work!! Your work will always be an inspiration.Thanks for sharing..

k@rin said...

that is very beautiful. More than 1000 words are needed to say how beautiful this is. Your parents will love it, I'm sure

http://blog.timnishmitra.com/ said...

Wow!Amazing work. I like each and every detail of it.

Лариса Литвиненко said...

Инночка, какая же Вы умничка!!!!
Шедеврально в каждом завитке!!!!
ВОСХИЩАЮСЬ!!!!!!!!!!

aureliaeugenia said...

Something different that anybody could think about and the result is that you reached the absolute!
be always loved,
aureliaeugenia

zofia said...

Piękne!!! Quilling na najwyższym poziomie! pozdrawiam...

Inna D. said...

Dear readers! Thank you very much for your kind comments!

Sathya said...

Could you please share what kind or brand of gold marker is used in this project. Thanks in advance Inna....

Sathya

Inna D. said...

@Sathya
Sure :) I have this one: Artline 900XF GOLD metallic ink xylene free

Sathya said...

Thanks a lot, Inna....

Unknown said...

How impressive, Inna! Truly amazing work!

Once again you proved that you are a role model in this art.

Hugs,

Suzana

Inna D. said...

Thank you very much, Suzana!

Unknown said...

This is, by far, my favorite piece I've seen from you. On my "bucket list" is to be able to meet you and learn your quilling techniques! Everything you do is so beautiful!