How to Paper Quill a Daisy

1. 1

   Step 1: Gather Your Quilling Supplies

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   You need three colors of 1/8-inch quilling paper strips: bright white for the petals, pale and deep yellow for the center, and leaf green for the leaves. Grab a slotted quilling tool and a needle tool. The slotted tool is easier for the fringed center, and the needle tool gives the petals a tighter starting coil.

   You also want small precision scissors, white craft glue (a needle-nose bottle saves your fingers), a ruler, and a cork work board topped with wax paper plus a few straight pins. The wax paper lets you peel the finished flower off cleanly once the glue dries.

   Tip:

   If you do not own a needle tool, you can do every step with the slotted tool. The petal coils just open up a little bigger.

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   Used in this stepslotted quilling toolneedle quilling toolquilling paper strips 1/8 inchquilling cork work board

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2. 2

   Step 2: Build a Sandwiched Yellow Strip for the Center

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   The center gets a soft two-tone look from a strip with deep yellow on the outside and pale yellow peeking up the middle. Run a thin line of glue along the edge of a deep-yellow strip, then press a pale-yellow strip on top with the pale yellow sticking up just slightly above the deep edge. Fold back, glue again, line it up, and keep going in roughly one-inch sections so the strip stays straight.

   Now flip and glue a second deep-yellow strip on the other side so the pale yellow ends up sandwiched in the middle with a little fringe of pale peeking out the top.

   Tip:

   One full 18-inch sandwiched strip makes three or four daisy centers. You can also work in shorter 4 to 6 inch chunks if you are nervous about going crooked.

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   Used in this stepneedle-tip glue bottleyellow quilling paper strips

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3. 3

   Step 3: Fringe a 4 to 6 Inch Section

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   Tear off a 4 to 6 inch section of the sandwiched strip. With small precision scissors, make tiny snips all the way down the pale-yellow edge. Each snip should cut through the pale yellow and just barely into the deep yellow. Do not cut all the way through the strip.

   Those snips become the soft pollen-like fringe at the center of the daisy. Take your time. A fringe tool exists if you want to speed this up later, but scissors are fine for a few flowers.

   Tip:

   Keep your snips close together. The denser the fringe, the more lush the daisy center looks.

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   Used in this stepprecision-tip craft scissors

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4. 4

   Step 4: Roll and Dome the Fringed Center

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   Slip the unfringed end of the strip into the slotted tool and roll it from end to end into a tight coil. The fringe might tear in spots. If it does, glue the break back together and keep rolling. The fringe will hide any patches.

   Glue the tail down, slide the coil off the tool, then use the tool handle to gently push the underside up. That domes the fringe so it stands proud like the center of a real daisy.

   Tip:

   Roll slowly and keep tension consistent so the coil stays tight. A loose roll falls apart when you start adding petals.

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   Used in this stepslotted quilling tool

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5. 5

   Step 5: Make the White Petals (8 to 10 per Daisy)

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   Each petal is two pinched teardrop shapes glued back to back. Roll a 6-inch white strip into a coil on the needle tool, slide it off, and let it relax in your fingers just enough to open up. Glue the tail down to lock the shape.

   Pinch one side hard to a sharp point. Then give the other side a quick pinch off-center to create a flat bottom with a rounded top. Make a second one the same way and run a thin line of glue down the flat sides so they stick together into one round petal. You need 8 to 10 finished petals depending on how big your center turned out.

   Tip:

   Leave the very top of the petal slightly open where the two halves meet. That little indent gives the daisy its classic shape.

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   Used in this stepwhite quilling paper stripsneedle quilling tool

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6. 6

   Step 6: Glue the Petals Around the Center

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   Lay your wax-paper-topped work board flat. Set the fringed yellow center in the middle. Dip the flat back of each petal into a small puddle of glue (or use tweezers if you prefer) and press it gently against the side of the dome. Work your way around the circle, spacing the petals evenly.

   If a petal drifts out of place while the glue is still wet, just nudge it back. Small gaps between petals are fine. They actually make the finished daisy look more natural.

   Tip:

   Place petals opposite each other (top, then bottom, then sides) so the spacing stays even instead of bunching up on one side.

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   Used in this stepself-closing quilling tweezers

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7. 7

   Step 7: Add Green Leaves and Finish the Design

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   For the leaves, fold a 6-inch green strip in half, run a line of glue down one half, and press it flat. That double-thick strip dries stiff and works great as both stems and leaves. Cut short 2 to 3 inch pieces, roll each one into a coil, let it open up just a hair, then glue the tail. Pinch one end to a sharp point and bend the leaf gently over your finger so it curves.

   Make an odd number of leaves in different sizes (three or five looks best) and glue them along a green stem on the wax paper. Once everything dries, peel the daisy off the wax paper and use it to top a greeting card, glue it to a frame, or cluster several into a quilled bouquet.

   Tip:

   Want a fuller bouquet? Make three daisies in different sizes (vary the length of the center sandwich strip) so they cluster naturally instead of all matching.

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   Used in this stepgreen quilling paper stripswhite craft glue

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