How to make a quilled greetings card

We’ve created a handy tutorial to make this beautiful greetings card, perfect for Mother’s Day or simply to let your loved ones know that you’re thinking of them.

What is quilling?

Quilling (sometimes known as paper filigree) is the art of using strips of paper that are rolled, looped, curled or twisted to create shapes and patterns. Here’s our step by step guide to creating a quilled greetings card.

What you will need 

• A sheet of A5 (or A4) card folded in half 
• Strips of coloured paper quilling paper* 
• Scissors 
• PVA glue 
• Pencil 
• Cocktail sticks** 
• Glue spreader (optional) 
• Tweezers (optional) 

*Packets of quilling paper can be sourced from your local art shop or online. However, they can also be made by hand. To do this, take a large, coloured sheet of paper (or thin card) and measure 1.5cm from the edge of the sheet. Carefully cut out your strip using a metal ruler and a sharp craft knife, then repeat until you have several strips of paper of the same size to work with.   

**Special paper quilling tools can be sourced online which can be helpful to use for curling paper strips quickly and easily. However, a regular cocktail stick can be used to help with curling, gluing and positioning. 

Step one

Print out a heart-shaped template from your computer, cut it out, position on the front of your card and lightly draw around it. Alternatively, you could try drawing the heart shape free-hand or by drawing round a heart-shaped cookie cutter.  

Step two

Take a strip of paper (in this example, we used white) and apply a thin layer of PVA glue along the edge of the strip (using either a glue spreader or a cocktail stick). Try to smooth out any glue lumps that may form. Then, carefully stick the paper along the heart shape you drew earlier. 

We recommend sticking small sections at a time as you will need to hold the glued paper in place for a few seconds so that the glue can adhere to the surface.   

Step three 

For the grass, you will need to make a triple loop. To do this, you will need to cut three separate strips of green paper ascending in size. (For example, if the smallest strip is 4cm in length, the second strip should be 6cm in length, and the third 8cm).   

Starting with the smallest strip, apply a little glue along one of the ends, bend it on itself and pinch the two ends together. Repeat this with the second and third strip, bending and sticking them one over the other.  

Once all three of the loops are stuck together as one, pinch them lightly at the top to give them a sharper / more grass-like appearance.  Glue them into the lower half of the heart shape. 

Step four

Next, you will need five strips of red paper, each 11cm in length. Starting with the first strip, place your cocktail stick at one end and begin curling the paper around the stick. (As you turn the cocktail stick, keep your thumb and forefinger on the coil and keep wrapping it until you reach the end of the strip).   

Once you slide the strip off the stick, you should get a coil shape. Pinch the coil at one end to make a teardrop shape, and stick down the loose end. Repeat this until you have five identical teardrop shapes.

You can then begin to assemble them in the shape of a flower and stick them down in the desired position. This part can be quite fiddly! We recommend using tweezers - however, you can also use a clean cocktail stick to help you position the separate parts in place before the glue dries.  

Step five

Once you have stuck down all your flower petals, cut out small individual strips of green paper and stick them in between the flower heads and grass blades to create flower stems.  

Finally, take some strips of paper in the same colour as your heart shape, and make various sized coils to decorate the outside of your heart. Similar to how we made the flower petals; place your cocktail stick at one end of the strip and wrap the paper around the stick. Once you release the paper, it should form a tight coil shape. To make larger, more looser looking coils, hold the edge of the strip in one hand, and carefully pull the coil out to loosen it in the other hand (be careful not to completely unravel it!) 

Step six

Once you are happy with your design, you can personalise it by adding a special message around it. Ensure that your design is fully dry before placing inside an envelope to send it. We suggest using a hard-backed envelope to protect your special design!  

We hope this tutorial was helpful! We hope you'll give it a try and share your creations with us using #RexLondon. Not a creative type? Take a look at our ready-made greetings cards and team it with a thoughtful Mother's Day gift.