

Today, quilling is seeing a resurgence in popularity. Quilling was also combined or married with other techniques such as embroidery and painting. Some items were specially designed for quilling with recessed surfaces. Storage boxes, larger than most jewelry boxes with drawers and/or tops that opened, quilled lock boxes, and more popular is quilling jewelry in recent times became a trend for fashion lovers, as they can be very light and easy to carry on them. Many quilled art can be found on cabinets and stands, cribbage boards, ladies' purses, a wide range of both pictures and frames, work baskets, tea caddies, coats of arms and wine coasters. Quilling also spread to the Americas and there are a few examples from Colonial times. It was one of the few things ladies could do that was thought not too taxing for their minds or gentle dispositions. In the 18th century, quilling became popular in Europe where gentle ladies of quality ("ladies of leisure") practiced the art. Quilling often imitated the original ironwork of the day. These gilded paper strips were then rolled to create the quilled shapes. The paper most commonly used was strips of paper trimmed from the gilded edges of books. More recently quilling has been practiced as an art form in Renaissance France/Italy as well as in 18th century England During the Renaissance, French and Italian nuns and monks used quilling to decorate book covers and religious items. Although its exact origins are a mystery the art of quilling is thought to have originated in Ancient Egypt.
