Paper Piecing Patterns

Just about everyone has worked on Halloween, Disney vacation, and themed birthday pages in which all have paper piecing potential. However, unless you are a cartoonist it can be very hard to draw popular characters like Ronald McDonald, Mickey Mouse, Snoopy, Scooby-Doo, and Barney. Therefore, here are nine, quick and easy steps, from www.victoriaskeepsakes.com, you can use to print coloring book images from the internet and turn them into the perfect paper piecing additions to your scrapbook page!  You can also apply the same steps if you use regular coloring book pages.

Step 1: "Pick a Theme and Pick a Link Page"
There are many web pages you can visit that will allow you to print images in a coloring book format.  Here are a couple of web page links to try:

http://www.unitedmedia.com/comics/peanuts/c_fun/html/c4.html (Peanuts)

http://www.weblog2000.com/barneyskidspag/coloring/color.htm (Barney)

http://www.ChristianAnswers.Net/kids/color-bible.html (Bible Story Characters)

http://www.cdkenterprises.com/coloring/ (Circus)

http://www.dckids.com/coloring/coloring.htm (Comic Book Heroes - Batman, etc)

http://www.disneykingdom.com/coloring.htm (Disney)

Step 2: Bookmark the page in case you need to go back to print more pages.

Step 3: "Isolate The Image"
Basically double-left click on the image so it can be on a page by itself. If it looks like a good size to you, print it. You can use regular computer paper to print two of the copies but print one on acid-free paper to be used later as a base.

Step 4: "Print It Off"
Print three copies of the coloring book page. One can be used to keep as a reference in case you need more copies later and the other two are used for cutting and manipulating. If you would like to learn more about saving and resizing the image, please visit Victoria’s Keepsakes website for more instructions.

Step 5: "Pick Your Colors"
Please try to choose colors that belong to that character.

Step 6: "Cut Them Out"
Use one of the three coloring book pages as the pattern to hold directly over the appropriate colored paper and cut from the outside of the pattern towards the inside. Cut slowly and steady in the center of the black lines so you won’t cut too large or too small.

Step 7: "Reassemble The Images"
Use the last coloring book page to cut the whole image just around the inside of the black lines. You will use this piece as a guide or base to reassemble and glue the colored pieces together.

Step 8: "Glue It Down On A Base"
Starting from the bottom up, place the colored pieces slowly on top of the image. Try using repositionable glue to get the pieces lined up the right way. Once you have the piecing in the correct position, use permanent adhesive to secure it to the base.

Step 9: "Finishing Work"
Once all the pieces are secured to the base, go back and pen stitch or outline to add definition and details. Using chalk to highlight the light areas is another great way to add definition.

Please visit http://www.victoriaskeepsakes.com/Rockester_PaperPiecing_books.htm to read this entire article and to find more coloring book page links.  "Remember that these paper piecing are meant for your personal use only in your personal scrapbooks and albums." All images are copyrighted!  "Just because they are online does not mean they are copyright free."