The hard part of quilling (the art of rolling paper strips into decorative shapes) is always the length of time it takes to coil the paper strips by hand before you can even begin crafting designs and creatures. With ALEX’s DIY Paper Swirls Station, quilling is even easier as paper coils are wrapped in no time with the simple press of a button.
The DIY kit includes everything tween crafters need to create unique quilling creations, using the ALEX Brands Swirl Station, quilling board, glue, tweezers, body forms, and self-stick paper strips.
To begin, once batteries are added to the Station, kids can insert the end of a pre-cut paper strip through the silver slot centered on the machine. To help feed the strip, make sure to use the blue paper holder to hold in place while threading the paper through the slot. Then, press the blue ALEX button, and voila! Your coil is tightly wound within seconds and ready to add to your creation! It definitely saves time, which means crafters get to devote more time to the fun part: the assembly of their own DIY creations. For certain projects, it is recommended to add additional strips to the coil in progress. The sticky adhesive on the included strips make them easy to connect, and then press the button once more to add to the existing coil and watch the Swirl Station rotate and create a larger coil.
While it can be difficult to remove the completed coil in its tight shape, it helps to hold the paper holder steady with one hand and squeeze the shape and lift from underneath the shape with the other hand so it stays shaped while you remove from the Station. Once your coil is removed, squeeze the tight coil into your desired shape and glue to hold it in place.
Coils can be added together to create a variety of 13 projects. The instruction manuals give easy instructions to make cute quilling designs, with a varying level of difficulty for all types and levels of crafters to succeed. Each set of project directions show the amount strips, coils, and shapes you’ll need to complete each step. Projects include a flower, earrings, a necklace, a butterfly, a cupcake, pretty designs for a picture frame, a bunny, a cactus, a dog, or a girl. Everything needed for each project is included, with enough for one end result of each project per DIY kit.
In addition to flat designs, kids can also make 3-D freestanding characters, wrapping their colored strips around the body forms and dome shapes to make adorable creatures.
Following a fun day of crafting, kids can display their quilling creations on the included easel frames and showcase their pretty works of art.
