Malaysian homemaker with three young kids turns to quilling to wind down

Despite her busy schedule, Nurulain makes it a point to allocate time for her favourite hobby: quilling. Photos: Nurulain Amalina Mohd Kamal

Homemaker Nurulain Amalina Mohd Kamal, 34, delivered her third child last December. In the last two months, she’s been busy caring for her newborn baby, seeing to her older children’s needs, and also managing her home.

Despite her busyness, she makes sure that she carves out some time to indulge in her favourite hobby: quilling.

The young mum from Negri Sembilan has been quilling for over 12 years, and she says it helps her relax after a long day at home.

“Quilling is a stress reliever for me. Whenever I need a break from house chores or keeping my kids entertained, I turn to crafting. Quilling is fun. The basic materials are easy to find, and it is also affordable.

“Quilling is also very flexible and I feel there is no right and wrong way to do it. As long as you enjoy what you are doing and are satisfied with the final result,” said Nurulain in an interview from her home in Bandar Baru Enstek.

Quilling is also very flexible where there are no right and wrong techniques to it, says Nurulain.

Me time

Though she has her hands full caring for a newborn and and raising a family, Nurulain is aware of how important it is to take time to relax. So each day, she ensures she has an hour for herself, where she indulges in hobbies like reading, drawing, water colouring and quilling.

“As a stay-at-home mom, I believe in having some time for myself. It allows me to recharge and continue the rest of the day on a high note. Some people spend their ‘me time’ by indulging in yoga, exercising or cooking. However, I prefer crafting as it brings me so much joy.”

Nurulain learned quilling in 2010 while pursuing her degree in bioinformatics at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia. She worked as a lecturer at a private institute in Kuala Lumpur before resigning in 2014 to raise her firstborn.

Her two older children are now eight and five years old, respectively.

Through quilling, Nurulain gets to tap into her creativity.

Her husband, Mohd Iqbal Haqim Mahat, 37, is an underwater inspection engineer/drone pilot working off-shore in the oil and gas industry. Nurulain manages the house while Mohd Iqbal travels around the globe on different commissioned projects.

It’s challenging juggling motherhood and looking after her home but Nurulain takes it all in her stride.

“It’s all about time management and not stressing myself out too much. Patience is also key. My husband is very supportive and helpful. This has enabled me to spend more time on quilling,” explained Nurulain, who turns to nature and her surroundings for inspiration.

The quilling artist usually does her crafting at night, after she’s completed her chores and tucked her kids in bed. Most of her projects are commissioned works, while a few items are given away as gifts.

“At night is the best time because my children are asleep. Most of my ideas flow freely during the night. I’m also much calmer and relaxed,” shared Nurulain, who posts her work on her Instagram account, niqcraft.

On her Instagram page, she’s posted over 400 of her beautiful creations, which focus mainly on floral, typography and designs for wedding paraphernalia.

“Sometimes, I also like to work on abstract designs. If given the chance and more time, I would like to experiment on quilling a portrait one day.”

Nurulain beautiful creations are focused on floral, typography and designs for wedding paraphernalia.

Fluted and ruffled

Quilling has gained a fair bit of popularity since the stay-at-home period during the movement control order due to Covid-19.

During the pandemic, many quilling artists have posted their artistic creations online, and there are many websites where crafters can download quilling designs for free.

Out the many crafters, Nurulain loves the works of British quilling artist Yulia Brodskaya (yulia_brodskaya_artyulia) and Adam Chalique (ichalique) from Indonesia.

“These are renowned paper quilling artists. Their portrait designs are original and have a story behind them.

“Besides the choice of colours and papers used in each design, their quilling works are also very bold,” she said.

Quilling has seen a resurgence during the pandemic, as people tried to stay productive during the stay at home period due to Covid-19.

She admits that quilling is time-consuming and requires patience.

On average, Nurulain takes about 10 hours to complete a 13cm x 18cm work. However, the biggest (and most difficult) project she’s done is a 40cm x 50cm frame, which took almost three weeks to complete.

“Sometimes, the work doesn’t come out as what you have planned because of the difficulty level of the design. It takes practice, experimenting a lot and patience to get past the problems (uneven coils and dried glue bits that stick on each quilled coil) that arise in quilling.

“For uneven coil shapes, I use a quilling template workboard to keep the coils from moving too much. Also, invest in quality glue to ensure the quill shapes dry evenly.

“To avoid dried glue bits from sticking onto the paper, clean your fingers with a moist towel regularly. It is equally important to remove excess glue quickly before it dries,” advises Nurulain, who uses colour paper (weighing 70 -90 gsm) and cardstock paper (120 gsm - 220 gsm) for her projects.

She encourages homemakers to indulge in crafting whenever they want a breather from the hustle and bustle of motherhood and getting their chores done.

“Be patient and experiment until you master the techniques and materials that you are most comfortable working with. Use other artists’ artwork as your source of inspiration, but never copy their work. Most importantly, don’t stress about what’s right or wrong. Just enjoy your quilling journey.”