Quilled Mandala Pendant

Quilling is a beautiful art. Why not show it off by wearing your work around your neck? It won't tear or break and there's no difficult dusting. This is my first quilling project, so beginners have no excuse for not giving quilling a try. Go ahead and make your own quilled mandala jewelry.

deep bezel pendant that will fit your quill strips (My bezel was a little under 1/2" deep and I cut my strips to 1/4".)

slow drying resin (I used Easy Cast.)

stylus, needle, or other round tool

tweezers

quick dry tacky glue

toothpicks or skewers

quilling paper strips OR

colored paper (must be colored on both front and back)

ruler

X-acto knife

Preparation:

If you're cutting your own strips, lay your ruler 1/4" from the edge of the paper and cut along the ruler with the X-acto knife. Repeat until you have the strips you need. If you're following this project exactly, I recommend cutting 5 strips of each color.

Using a needle or stylus, roll the paper around the needle between your fingers.

Continue to roll tightly until you come to the end of the strip.

Using a skewer or toothpick, spread a thin layer of quick dry tacky glue on the end of the strip.

roll the end around the coil and hold for a few seconds until dry.

Roll a tight coil. Add another color to the initial coil by adding a small amount of glue to the end of the new color, stick it to the coil where the first strip ended, and continue to roll the new color around the coil.

Cut a piece of paper to fit your deep bezel pendant. Tracing the pendant and then trimming it down to fit works nicely.

Fold the paper in half 4 times in alternating directions to provide 8 folds through the center. These folds will be your guide to keep your quilling evenly spaced.

Use your skewer to put a thin layer of quick dry tacky glue to the bottom of your coil and glue to the center.

Use a bit of trial and error to find an appropriate length for the petal strips. Once you've determined the proper length, cut 8 strips that match it.

Roll the center of each strip against your stylus or needle. This will create a petal or raindrop shape.

Use the skewer to apply a small amount of glue to one end of each petal and line up the two ends. Hold a few seconds until dry.

Use the skewer to apply a small amount of glue to the bottom of each petal and use tweezers to place on your paper. Center a petal on each fold.

Cut 8 small pieces. Again, there may be a bit of trial and error to figure out the appropriate length, but make sure they're all identical.

Roll them onto your stylus or needle in the same way you made the petals.

Because these pieces are so small, you can use the tweezers and gently dip them in the glue before placing them between each petal.

Cut 8 more small pieces that are slightly longer than the first set, and repeat the process for the second set.

Cut strips that are slightly longer than the distance between your center coil and the rounded accent closest to the center.

Roll the strip between your stylus and finger near the edge.

Roll the strip between your stylus and thumb a bit further down the strip.

Repeat until your reach the end of the strip.

Use tweezers to gently dip in the glue and put in place between each petal.

Cut three sets of strips that reduce in length by half. My longest strip was 4", the 2nd set was 2", and the shortest was 1".

Roll coils from each strip and glue inside the petals.

Place your mandala inside your deep bezel pendant.

Mix your resin according to the instructions and fill the pendant. I highly recommend using a resin that has a slow dry time. All the coils have air in the center and will cause bubbles. You'll need a slow dry time to allow for those bubbles to rise to the top and pop. If the bubbles aren't rising within a few minutes, poke the holes with your stylus to help the air rise and resin sink. In the end, there were still a few small bubbles, but believe me there were a lot more in the beginning.

Wear your custom handmade pendant with pride. You'll be the envy of all your friends, unless you make one for them too of course.