Scrapbooking is a hobby and for many new to the craft, it is also an addiction satisfied only by the procurement of more and more product!
Newbies seem to suffer this most miserably. The compulsion to have and own everything their budget can allow - and much it cannot - is overwhelming at first.

As the hobbyist becomes familiar with the craft, however, and adopts the style she is most comfortable with, she’ll pause to look around and wonder, “Why on earth did I buy all this stuff?”

We know. We have boxes and boxes of stickers and embellishments acquired early in the game that we are unlikely to ever use. We have finally stopped buying. What brought us to our senses was the realization that with an inexpensive pattern and a few scraps of cardstock, we can put together fabulous embellishments to complement any and every layout imaginable.

Paper piecing is a simple technique used to create embellishments for your scrapbook layouts. Pattern pieces are cut out from different pieces of paper and then reassembled and glued together to create the most incredible page accents.

Paper piecing is an easy and inexpensive way to add pizzazz - that wow factor - to your layouts - and because you control the colors, you ensure the embellishment will complement the layout rather than dominate the page. Nothing takes away from the main focus, your photographs. That said, pre-made pages can easily be put together as gifts for friends and family with embellishments generic enough to suit most everyone’s stash of photographs. (Think birthdays, Christmas, Halloween - those special occasions we all celebrate)
We enjoy all styles of scrapping, but the whimsy of paper-pieced embellishments best reflects the fun and whimsy of so many of our ’scrapable moments’ as a family and it is this style we favor.

Paper piecings can be incredibly simple or incredibly elaborate. There is a place for all levels and we reach for the simplest of patterns as often as we reach for the more intricate.

Paper piecing itself is not difficult, but it is time consuming. While all the patterns at paperandpiecings.com include files suitable for cutting machines, we prefer to cut and piece our patterns entirely by hand. We enjoy the whole hands-on process. It gives us an excuse to kick back in front of the television while a little pile of scraps grows at our feet.

Start paper-piecing today. Download a couple of the many freebies to be found online. Paper and Piecings offers a free pattern for Chip, an adorable little bear with the cutest chocolate çhip shaped head, to all its new subscribers. And we’ll follow up with regular free patterns for you to download. These freebies are a good introduction to the craft. Invest a few dollars (the patterns are certainly reasonable at $2.00 a download) and try some of the gorgeous patterns we have available for purchase. Just a little practice and in no time at all you’ll be designing your own.

Happy scrapping!

Jean and Jackie

Still having trouble with that whole date thing, so today is August 24th.

Paper and Piecings is looking for guest designers for the months of September to December, 2009.Our designers will create pages that inspire and delight using patterns created and sold by paperandpiecings.com. We will be accepting applications from now
until August 31st, 2009. If you enjoy scrapbooking and are eager to try the craft of paper piecing, please apply.
As our designer, you will be asked to:
1. Create two double-page scrapbook layouts per month using our patterns.
2. Create one paper craft per month using one of our free pattern downlaods.
3. Provide quality scans/photographs of your work to be showcased in the paperandpiecings.com gallery. Photographs of layouts should also include detailed shots of our paper pieced embellishments and include a brief write-up on your project that can be used in our blog.
4. Help promote paperandpiecings.com on message boards, facebook, etc. by posting your creations in online scrapbooking galleries to help increase exposure to our site.
5. Link to paperandpiecings.com from your personal blog

As our designer, you will receive:
1. A minimum of four free patterns per month while you are designing for paperandpiecings.com and
2. A great opportunity to showcase your design abilities and build your scraqpbook resume/portfolio for other design opportunities
To apply:
Please send an email containing the following information to justscraps.ca@gmail.com
1. Name
2. Address
3. Email
4. Blog or website address
5. Links to any online galleries you have
6. List of related forums/message boards that you participate in
8. Please tell us a little about yourself, what you like about scrapbooking and why you would like to be a Paper and Piecings design team member.

While we ask for links to online galleries and forums you participate in, you need not have any prior experience to design for Paper and Piecings . What we are really looking for is someone who loves to
scrap and loves to play with paper!

Look forward to hearing from you!

Jackie and Jean

There’s a perception amongst some CFAs (Come From Aways) that Canada is a land of ice and snow. We do indeed have a winter wonderland, but we also have plenty of hot sultry summer days - somewhere in the country - not a whole lot of ’sultry’ happening here in Newfoundland! Our Canadian, eh? paper piecings have the polar bears and igloo for those of you who travel further north as well as the beaver, the moose and the Canada goose for the not so brave of heart. Traveling Canada this year? These embellishments leave no question as to the locale of the photos featured in your layout. Patterns available later this week. Check back!

Chip, like all our patterns, is downloaded in a zip file containing jpg, pdf, svg and scut files. Enjoy!