How to make Quilled Mandala doily tricks and tips

A disclaimer first. I am a novice at making quilled mandala.These three Quilled doilies are my first which I made over three days during Diwali. It all started with making quilled Diya gifts for a friend and then I was hooked.  

Quilled circle for diya

 
I have been wanting to make quilled mandalas for years but always got scared by looking at the perfection in symmetry and desgin that these quilled pieces had. 

Quilled mandalas

 Tip 1 

The most basic and important point to remember is that the pieces will all fit whatever the size.Whether it is circle or petal..... the size doesn't matter. You DoNOt need to measure your pattern. 

I have made these three quilled doilies without following any predesgined pattern. I just made them as I went .... with the flow. I am not discrediting those who follow a pattern or template while making a quilled mandala. I just want to encourage every quiller to give it a try.

 Tip 2 : When you are glueing the pieces, there will most certainly be some space left in between the last two pieces where you can't fit the original size. Just wiggle the earlier pieces around and cover that space. As simple as that.

You can frame these quilled doilies or varnish them and use them as coasters. Or how about smaller versions for quilled fridge magnets? 

I am thinking of making a few more and framing them for my son's teachers' Christmas gifts. 

I am linking my quilled doilies to the following challenges:

Always Fun challenges : Anything goes

Use your Stuff : Tic Tac Toe 

      I used the diagonal line Circles ( quilled tight coils), Your favourite colour ( Pink and green) , designer paper (  quilling paper from JJquilling)

crafty creations : Anything goes 

Crafting Happiness challenges : Anything but a card 

Country view Challenges : Anything but a card