More on paper piecing

I love paper piecing. It saves you from having to color parts of the stamped image and really lifts the image. But what type of images are best for piecing and what type of paper should you use?

To see the technique of paper piecing, see HERE on a Stamptv.com technique video.

From the technique video you can see that images with larger open areas are ideal to be used for piecing. This way your paper will show best. On very fine, intricate images, the detail of any patterned paper will be lost.

The paper you select could in part be related to the theme of your card. For e.g. shells for an ocean-themed card. But this is not necessary. It could also either be a solid color (see A Day the the Beach where the umbrella and bucket are a solid red) or patterned.

In my previous card, Regatta, I have three sail boats each with a different piece of paper. One is solid, another stripes and the third flowers.

If you select a patterned paper, it is best that the pattern is quite small so that you will actually see it once pieced onto the stamped image.

I have also found that thinner paper piece make work easier than really thick designer paper (cardstock). Normal scrapbooking 12x12 pages are usually ok, but just check that you might not want too high a raised border on the paper piece from the stamped image. (unless that is a special effect you're going for of course :D)

In the card below (a new one for the paper piecing challenge on Stamptv.com 20-06-2011) I have selected three different floral papers to paper piece the umbrellas.

The images and sentiment are from the Enjoy the Sunshine set from GinaK design.