Paper Piecing Technique for Scrapbooks and Cards

When I first started scrap booking and card making I would frequently shop at craft stores such as Michael's or Hobby Lobby. They would have amazing collections of paper, ribbons, stickers, and anything you can imagine to make scrapbook pages. I was particularly fascinated with their ready-made paper pieced embellishments. I would spend so much time just looking at each intricate little piece, thinking how perfectly it would complete my page. However, I discovered that these little embellishments could quickly add up to be very expensive. On a limited budget I needed to find cheaper ways to continue to enjoy my hobby. Soon I realized I could make virtually the same embellishments myself for a much cheaper price. Even better, I could create custom paper pieced designs that I would not be able to find at the stores.

Paper piecing is a technique that can be used to liven up scrapbook pages or handmade cards. It is a fairly easy technique that can be done using just a few supplies. Even though it is easy to do, your finished pages will look stunning. Your friends and family members will love receiving beautiful handmade cards and looking at photo albums with that extra special touch. This article will take you through the steps of paper piecing.

The first thing you need to do when paper piecing is find an image that you would like to use. You can find great images in coloring books to use. If the image is bigger than what you want the finished product to be, simply scan it into your computer and use a photo editing program to reduce the size of the picture to the size you need it to be. Then print the graphic out. Images can also be found on the internet on clipart sites. I have even used a photograph of a friend to make a birthday card for her. Virtually any image can be resized and turned into a paper piecing.

Once you have a copy of the image you would like to use, you will need to gather some other supplies. You will need tracing paper, scissors or a craft knife, colored scrap booking paper that corresponds with the colors in the image (or whatever colors you feel like using), and adhesive. All of these supplies can be found in a craft store such as Michael's or Hobby Lobby. The paper comes in numerous colors and patterns. Glue sticks, liquid glue, and spray on adhesives are good examples of what will work as far as adhesives go. The best glue and paper to use are acid free because they will last a long time and will not ruin photographs if they are being used in scrap booking.

Next, use the tracing paper to trace around the basic shapes of the image. For example, if you are tracing a picture of the cartoon character Dora the Explorer, you would need to trace completely around the shape of her hair, eyes, face, shirt, pants, shoes, body, etc. Keep in mind that you are cutting these pieces out in the next step, so do not worry about details too much. Just get the general shapes.

After you are finished tracing, you will need to separate each piece. Carefully cut around each piece so that you do not mess up any other part of the image. If you are doing Dora, you should end up with a separate piece for her hair, another piece for her face, another for her eyes, and so on.

Once this is complete, place each traced piece on top of the appropriate colored paper. Dora's hair should go on a piece of black or brown paper. Her skin should be a tan color. Her eyes should be white. You get the point. Now trace very lightly around each piece with pencil so that you can erase it later.

Next, you will need to look ahead to how the final paper piecing will be put together. This is probably the trickiest part of the whole project. For example, Dora's hair has to go on top of her head, right? So her face will have to be extended a little more to allow a spot for the adhesive to go to hold the two pieces together. You do not have to erase the lines; they will provide a guideline on how to line up the hair in the right spot on the face later. Once you have figured out which pieces need to be extended, you can then cut all the pieces out.

The final step in paper piecing is to glue all of the parts together. Now you have a cute embellishment that can go on a card or scrapbook page. You can further decorate it if you would like with markers, glitter, buttons, ribbons, or whatever you would like. That wasn't so hard, was it?