Paper Quilling Jewelry Experiment

by Alicia Rivera.
(Dover, Delaware USA)

I love making jewelry with wire, and I also love papercrafting, so when I can incorporate paper techniques in my jewelry I’m in heaven.

These round earwires added artsy drama but weren’t practical for wearing the earrings so I swapped them out for a more traditional french wire.

A few years ago I was introduced to paper quilling in card making. I didn’t enjoy it.  However, I do love making all kinds of paper beads, so I tried it again a few weeks ago and focused just on the basic design elements I thought would help expand my creativity with paper jewelry.

I made this pair of statement earrings for my oldest daughter in her school colors as an experiment. I used my paper bead tools to get a feel for it before I decided to invest in an actual quilling tool and other design supplies intended for paper quilling.

Although these earrings are wonky, (I’d never sell them), making these was enough for me to realize I wanted to continue perfecting my technique, and incorporate quilling into my jewelry designs.

The difficulty in working with paper in jewelry is that paper is fragile, and of course, water destroys it. So I’ve experimented with all kinds of glazes and finishes. I like a hard, glossy finish on most of the paper beads I make, so that’s easy. However, I find that with quilling, part of the beauty is the smooth matte finish of the paper strips, which allows you to appreciate that the piece is indeed made of paper.

I think the glossy finish on these earrings detracts from that and makes them look almost plastic. I regretted it almost as soon as I started covering the first earring with the glaze, but there was no turning back after that. Even so, I was pleased with the outcome, and my daughter does wear them.

Alicia Rivera
JMJ Content & Social Media Specialist
& Alicia’s Creative Findings