Colonial Quilling, Love Cards, and Inspiration from the Beatles

Valentine's Day fell on a Tuesday, the day I teach social studies to Trevor's fifth grade class. By happy coincidence, it was the day I planned to teach quilling, which was common during the colonial era. We added a bit of a Valentine's Day twist to our craft projects by creating quilled valentines for our families. 

I gave each student thin strips of colored copy paper, a toothpick, white glue, and construction paper, then demonstrated how to make the basic rolls and scrolls. I showed several examples, including the rebus valentine. And then I set them loose to create.

Look what this lucky mama received. My sweet boy.

 

Trevor said that even though my initials are CMJ, he chose to make CMd. He tried a J first but didn't like it. 

Trevor's teacher wanted some samples to show future classes when she teaches quilling, so I used some of the shapes I made when demoing to the class to whip up some cards for her. They're similar to ones I've shared on the blog before, with the exception of this Beatles-inspired card.

All You Need is Love Quilled Card

Materials:

• red cardstock
• white cardstock
• paper trimmer
• 3 strips black construction paper
• 1 strip red construction paper
• quilling tool or toothpick
• white glue
• black pen

Steps: 

Cut the red cardstock to make a card. Cut the white cardstock slightly smaller than the red and adhere it to the base. 

Quill two of the black construction paper strips into loose circles and glue. Quill the red construction paper strip into a heart. 

Bend the third black construction paper strip to form a U, then fold to give it right angles. Trim it to size, then glue it to the black circles to form music notes. 

Write "All you need is" toward the bottom of the card. Glue the quilled heart next to it. Glue the music notes above it. 

Add a message inside.