ScrapMentor - Scrapbooking 101

Week 7 - Tools/Tips/Techniques

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Paper Piecing

Did you ever play paper dolls when you were a kid? Scrapbooking gives you an opportunity to return to this much-loved pastime, in the form of a technique known as paper piecing. Paper piecing uses layered patterned paper and cardstock in various shapes to create embellishments for your scrapbook pages and greeting cards. You can purchase pre-made paper piecings from scrapbook stores and on eBay, but you can also make your own. This week, I show you how.

For this tutorial, I'll be using a simple pattern of my own design - an ice cream cone. Paper piecings range from the very easy to the very complicated. I recommend that you start with simpler patterns that use larger pieces, and gradually work your way up to more intricate paper piecings with smaller pieces. Along the way, your skill with scissors, craft knife, and template-making will improve.

Making the Templates

First of all, you should save the ice cream paper piecing pattern to your computer. Right click this link and click "Save As" or "Save Link As" (depending on your web browser). Browse to a location on your computer that you will be able to easily relocate later. After the file has finished downloading, open and print it on a sheet of cardstock. Cut out the shapes - you will use these as templates for the pieces you will create.

Choosing the Papers

Select the paper you want your cone and ice cream scoop(s) to be made from. There are so many fun papers out there, so be sure to look around for something that is appropriate to the type of piece you are making. On the "wrong" side (back) of the paper, trace the shape. Be sure your template is lying face down on the backside of the paper, as shown, or your paper piecing will be reversed. For this example, it wouldn't matter so much. But when you start doing more complex pieces - particularly those with letters or numbers - direction really counts.

Make as many scoops as you want, as long as you're sure they'll fit on your page or card. I went for a triple scoop cone (chocolate, strawberry, and lime sherbet), so I selected four different papers - one for the cone, and one for each scoop.

Layering

Proper layering is the key to good paper piecing. You have to think carefully about which pieces should go on top of which, so that the finished product has the right "look". In our example, layering is pretty simple - the cone goes on the bottom. The lowest scoop goes on top of the cone first, and each successive scoop is layered on top of the one below it. This way, each scoop's "drips" are visible and nicely silhouetted against the scoop below it.

We could use some nice liquid adhesive (I prefer Zig's 2-Way Glue in the Squeeze & Roll tube) to put our ice cream cone together, and it would be perfectly delightful as it is. However, it can be improved upon.

Dressing It Up

Our paper piecing would be fine just the way it is, but it's a little plain. Following are a few techniques to make your paper piecings really stand out.

Chalking

The use of chalks is a simple, cost-effective way of sprucing up paper-piecings. You can use it to add subtle shading or highlighting to the edges of a shape, making it look more three-dimensional. We'll use some chalking to make the lime sherbet scoop seem a little more "real." You don't have to do anything elaborate - just add a swath of lighter green to the right side of the scoop and a swath of darker green to the left, and voila! You've made it seem as if there is a light source to the right of the cone, which is highlighting the scoop's curves. Repeat this type of shading with each scoop. You can also add some shading to the cone, so the light source effect is consistent.

Chalking Tips

  • Put a piece of scrap paper underneath your shapes when you chalk them to prevent your work surface from getting dirty.
  • You can use tools specifically designed for chalking (I use an alligator clip and various-size cotton balls), or cotton swabs, to apply the chalk to the paper. Whichever method you use, make sure you have a different applicator for each color to prevent blending of the chalk.
  • For very light colors, you might need to use white for highlighting. Similarly, try black chalk for shading very dark paper.
  • Keep a chalk eraser handy, in case you find that the chalk color you chose is not a good match for your paper.

This is what your ice cream cone would look like if you stopped now.

Pen Detailing and Inking

You can use ink pens and markers to give paper piecings more interest, and to add extra fine details.

Let's change that lime sherbet scoop into mint chocolate chip. Simply use a dark brown marker to add little, irregular bits of "chocolate."

You can also use a fine-point pen to draw edging around each shape. This has two effects - it makes the piece a little "homier", and helps to define its edges better. I used a black Pigma Micron 01 pen to draw edging on each piece of the ice cream cone.

If you have inkpads available, you can use them to add definition to the edge of your pieces as well. Just drag the edges of the pieces lightly across an inkpad for an easy outline.

Mounting Pieces

Another way to add distinction to your paper piecings is to mount the individual pieces on a solid-color cardstock, leaving just a small border of the cardstock color, before assembling the pieces together. This look won't work for all paper piecings, but it does give many of them a special kind of polish. Black, navy blue, and white are all good choices, depending on the overall paper piecing's look and feel.

Using a Paper Piecing

How you use a paper piecing will depend on what size it is, what colors you used, and other factors. Just apply what you've already learned about proportion/scale, white space, and general layout. If you are making a greeting card, simply putting a well-made paper piecing on the front could be all the embellishment you need!

I used our triple-scoop ice cream cone on a 2-page layout about my son's first cone. I made sure the mats and photo corners coordinated in color to the paper piecing, to draw it all together.

Homework

Use the ice cream cone template to make a paper piecing of your own. Either create a layout using it as an embellishment, save it for a future layout, or use it as decoration for a greeting card to send to a loved one.

Supplemental Reading

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