Quilling Basics. Step by step tutorials

Quilling is a new found passion for me. I was taken aback by the detailed beauty of filigree work. And was pleasantly surprised that this was with not too much effort. So now here i am expanding on my Quilling horizons - dabbling with quilled art on plaques, fridge magnets, cards, freestanding - u imagine it - u can make it.
The initial journey to find out more about this technique, after seeing it at a friends house..started me on a youtube hunt for information.
After many books and video's, i realized there was a lot out there on techniques - but very few that take you through the entire course of creating a master piece. Step by step.
Hence i thought of doing QuillingMadeEasy with complete steps for each completed project i post. Given the fact that these pieces take a lot of time, depending on what you want to create - i hope to show the basic creation of shapes and all the materials required for this - and then leave the assembling of the final product to you. But you will have visuals of the finished product to guide you.

Quilled Monarch butterfly fridge magnet

My inspiration for this butterfly was from Daydreams monarch butterfly. I found the butterfly base in wood from walmart - and this is how it started.

1. Wooden base. Quilled the pieces and arranged them to see how they look. I also put a strip around the butterfly as a border to keep the pieces in.

 2. I painted the base black with acrylic paint for wood

 3. I then stuck all the pieces. And made the body of the butterfly by making 2 cones and attaching them together to make a long body. The color didn't look right

 4. So i painted the body bronze.

 These are other versions of the butterfly. Modified and in different colors.

As pieces progressed - i added beehive quilling in between to fill the spaces as well.