DSP Techniques – Paper Piecing

Today’s post is about Paper Piecing a technque that is reminiscent of my childhood playing paper dolls. You had a paper doll and then different outfits to put on them. My friend and I spent hours creating new outfits for our dolls. We both wanted to be fashion designers and these clothes were our portfolio.

Crafty Collaborations

Crafty Collaborations is composed of Stampin’ Up! demonstrators from around the world. Each month we participate in multiple collaborative projects including blog hops, like this one, tutorials, and swaps to inspire all of us in our passion for crafting. Our goal is to create, share, and inspire every crafter to keep our creative energy flowing.

Today’s Projects

Today I have two different cards. The first is a simple card that uses the paper piecing technique. The other is a stepped-up version that uses a sneak peek of a stamp set from the next annual catalog.

Card #1

This card uses the In the Moment stamp set from the January-June mini catalog which is available on January 4th. I know this is a little early, but the images were so perfect for this technique that I couldn’t resist using it!

Step 1

Start the technique by stamping the image twice, once for the card and once on the DSP you’re using. Smaller patterns work best. I chose my DSP from You’re a Peach in the current annual catalog.

Step 2

The next step is to fussy cut the clothing images from the DSP. For my image, that’s the hat and dress.

Step 3

Place the fussy cut pieces on the image using liquid glue.

Now that you’ve seen the basics of the technique, I have a few more suggestions. First, color your image before attaching the pieces. Second, when stamping on the DSP, think about where the pattern will land on your image. Don’t just stamp in any place. Center the pattern in the most attractive way. Third, as I mentioned above, smaller patterns work best!

To finish the card, I also stamped one of the sentiments from In the Moment. I matted a piece of DSP, the focal image, and the sentiment on Basic Black card stock to make them pop. Finally, I attached them to a Pale Papaya card base.

Card #2

This card uses the Beautiful Moments stamp set from the current annual catalog. As you can see, these types of images are perfect for this technique. It was a bit of a challenge to get the woman’s dress centered to show off the paper. I concentrated on the bottom of the dress and then the top fell into place. I especially love the little girl’s dress!

Make the Inside pretty

For the first card, I used the DSP on the top and bottom of the Basic White insert. Ad you may know, this is one of my favorite techniques to decorate the inside because it’s so quick and easy and ties the front and inside together.

For the second card, I kept it simple by stamping the bird image from the front on the inside.

Don’t Forget the Envelope

For the first card’s envelope, I cut a strip of the DSP from You’re a Peach and glued it to the side of the front of the envelope.

For the second card’s envelope, I stamped the bird image that appears on the inside and front.

Final Thoughts

I colored both images with blends before adding the paper piecing. Skin tones are always a little tricky. For card #1 I used Light Petal Pink and Ivory. For card #2 I used Light Crumb Cake and then the color lifter.

I love both of these cards. The first one is almost #simplestamping as it uses just stamps, ink, and paper. The blends keep it from being truly simple, but for me, it’s close enough. I love the way the black matte makes the elements pop! I should have used it on the inside two but I didn’t think of it until I started typing this paragraph!

Now it’s time for some more collaborative fun. Grab a beverage, sit back and enjoy the hop! You should find some awesome ideas and inspiration as others share their projects made with the Waves of the Ocean suite.

If you’d like to try to recreate this card, you can find a list of the products I used at the end of this post. Need a demonstrator or a catalog? Drop me a line and I’ll put one in the mail. And, f you ever have any questions, please feel free to comment or email me. And, don’t forget to Pin this post so you can find it again!

Product List