by Sara Naumann, Hot Off the Press
Page Design by Amy Gustafson

Paper piecing is all the rage lately - and no wonder! It's amazing how you can turn a black-and-white pattern into an incredible dimensional page accent with a few scraps of paper.

But don't go raiding your five-year-old's coloring book collection for possible patterns just yet (oh, we've all done it). Instead, take a look at the tips and tricks we're sharing here so you can create picture perfect paper piecing embellishments yourself! We've included the rose pattern so you can start paper piecing right away.

More of this Feature • Sample Page in Greater Detail, Materials Used, and More Ideas for the Pattern • Rose Pattern Provided by HOTP from 201 Paper Piecing Patterns

Join the Discussion Paper Piecing Page ideas: Let's Discuss it on the Forum Join Discussions

Related Resources • Paper Folding: Folding the Rose • Paper Piecing Patterns • Paper Piecing Techniques

From Other Guides • Wedding Resources from About.com Guide

Elsewhere on the Web • Hot Off the Press

Step 1: It's All In the Paper

Before you reach for those solid papers, why not give your paper pieced embellishment a little dimension by using patterned papers? Patterned papers lend dimension to the embellishment, and allow you to custom-create something that matches perfectly with your page.

Here designer Amy Gustafson used paper patterned with yellow roses to create this rose embellishment. The result is a cheerful, three-dimensional look that wouldn't have the same effect in solid yellow.

Step 2: Tracing and Transferring

Trace your pattern. Lay a piece of tracing paper over the pattern and use a pencil to draw over the black outline. Transfer your pattern using transfer paper. Place the tracing on the patterned paper; slip transfer paper underneath and draw over the lines with a pencil or stylus.

Step 3: Cut It Out

Cut out the pattern pieces. You might want to cut some pieces with patterned scissors - a teddy bear cut with deckle scissors has a fuzzy look, for example.

Step 4: An Outstanding Embellishment

To make the embellishment stand out, simply mat it. You can mat some or all the pieces separately onto solid mats, or you can assemble all the pieces onto one solid paper and trim around it. Assemble the pieces to make sure everything fits and adhere, using repositionable glue. Add another dimensional look, use foam mounting tape to attach some of the pattern pieces. 

In the rose sample above, Amy, matted each piece of the rose pattern onto black cardstock and cut it out again leaving a scant 1/16" mat showing around each piece. Due to the nature of this beautiful pattern, where each piece is stacked on top of the proceeding piece, matting each petal gives you a thick dimensional rose for your finished page embellishment. You will also notice that matting the stem and leaves with black helped them to stand out from the patterned paper used as a background for this page.

Step 5: In the Details

Add penwork, faces, buttons, seams, and other details. You can add small details with punched pieces. For blushing faces, shading, or other details, try acid-free decorator chalks.

Next Page > Sample Page in More Detail, List of Materials Used, and More Ideas for the Rose Pattern