Book Review: Pretty Quilled Cards

When Cecelia Louie asked me if I'd review a copy of her new book Pretty Quilled Cards, I was thrilled. Seeing her work was one of the reasons I first wanted to try paper quilling. Her work is modern, whimsical, and colorful. I had a strong feeling I'd like a book by Cecelia, but to my surprise and delight this book actually exceeded my already high expectations!

I'm still a beginner at paper quilling so one of the things I enjoyed most, was that the book covers all the basics of quilling- tools, materials, and techniques. A total novice could pick this up and make something great.

The book covers most of the major card giving occasions and holidays. There are some standards like a baby buggy and wedding cake (that would serve a quiller well for years of card making). And then there are fun twists like a jam jar "Thank You" and birthday cupcakes. Each project has a pattern to follow, so even a beginner like me could manage to make anything in the book. There's also a good mix of simple quick projects and more complex designs.

Some projects even include templates and design elements that can be photocopied. This is a really nice addition to the book!

More than anything, I found this book inspirational. It gave me lots of ideas and techniques I can use to make my own designs.

If I had one criticism of the book, it would be that I found the title limiting. It contains much more than cards. There are wine charms, gift tags and cupcake toppers, just to name a few!

In fact, I loved the cupcake topper idea so much that I made some Easter themed ones. I'll show you next week!