Craft Basket

First Paper Quilling

Skinny paper strips roll into tight coils that become flowers and hearts — patient, meditative, beautiful.

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Ages 5-65 min prep

Quilling looks like something only grown ups can do, which is precisely why my daughter wanted to try it. It turns out rolling paper around a toothpick is very doable at 7.

The coils are tiny and fiddly and she loved every second. Gluing them down into a flower took her most of an afternoon, in complete silence, which almost never happens in this house.

We framed the first one. It is not perfect and that is not the point.

Rolling thin paper strips into tight little coils

The finished quilled flowers glued onto a card

What you'll need

Pastel quilling paper strips (or thin strips cut from cardstock, about 5 mm wide)
A slotted quilling tool, or a wooden skewer and a slit cut into the end
White craft glue in a small dish
A toothpick for spreading tiny glue dots
A blank greeting card or cardstock as the background
A pencil for sketching the design

How to make it

1
Lightly sketch a simple flower or heart shape on the card.
2
Slide the end of a paper strip into the slot on the tool.
3
Slowly twirl the tool between your fingertips, letting the paper wrap around itself into a tight coil.
4
Slide the coil off the tool. It will spring open a little — that's perfect.
5
Pinch one edge of the coil between two fingers to make a teardrop (a petal!) or leave it round (a flower center).
6
Dip the edge of each coil into the glue and press it onto the sketch. Hold for a slow count of five.
7
Fill the design with coils in different colors until the whole shape is bright and dimensional.

Tip

Little hands tire quickly — aim for 5-8 coils per session and continue the next morning.