It’s funny how we associate the word “peace” with Christmas time, because in all honesty, haven’t we turned it into a rather chaotic holiday? Maybe we really should strive for a bit more peace this holiday season, because peace and Christmas are meant to go hand in hand. Repeat after me: stress less, enjoy more. Peace is possible even during the chaotic time known as Christmas. But let’s talk about another kind of piece…paper piecing to be exact. Holiday layouts and paper piecing also go hand in hand. It’s the perfect touch to this fun time of year. And if you have never tried it before, I challenge you to give it a go.

Paper Piecing involves creating an image using different pieces of paper that you bring together to create the whole image. You can do this using a template or you can form your own design. Lots of people will do this technique with stamps. When you use stamps, you repeatedly stamp the same image. You can do it on different pieces of patterned paper or you can do it all on cardstock and then color it. Then you layer your pieces on top of each other.

The possibilities for a one of a kind embellishment are endless with paper piecing. On my “It’s That Magical Time of Year” layout, I cut pieces from different patterned paper and then pieced them together to create a reindeer. Kathleen’s fabulous “Xmas 2009” layout includes a Christmas tree that was put together in the same way. It’s easy to “decorate” a tree with extra embellishments. And I just love how Shelly took it a step further on her “Handmade” layout by not only piecing together her ornament, but she included a piece of wire to form the hook at the top. There are so many creative ways to paper piece an image together.

It’s That Magical Time of Year by Pamela Young

Supplies: Paper: Jillibean Soup, Echo Park Paper Company, Crate Paper, My Little Shoebox, Alphabet: American Crafts, Alphabet Stickers: Echo Park Paper Company, Lace, Pearls, Pebbles: Prima Marketing, Floss: DMC, Adhesive: Helmar.

Design Notes: Don’t be afraid to mix and match all sorts of lines of papers. You can see from above how many brands I used. And some are Christmas paper and some are not. I just mixed it all up.

Xmas 2009 by Kathleen Glossop

Supplies: Paper, Chipboard, Alphabet, Rub-Ons, Stickers, Ribbon, Brads: BoBunny Press, Pin: Maya Road, Word Strips: Darkroom Door.

Design Notes: To create the tree I hand drew one section then used it as a template to create the other two. I then layered them on top of each other curling the ends of the leaves and using 3D foam tape to give dimension.

Handmade by Shelly Hein-Simmons

Supplies: Paper: Little Yellow Bicycle, SEI, Chalk: SEI, Adhesive: Helmar, Other: cardstock, wire.

Design Notes: I created my Christmas ornament journaling spot using the cardboard package from the SEI Epoxy Stickers (the packaging has really soft, subtle pattern that matched perfectly with the papers I used on this layout). I traced and cut a circle out from the cardboard packaging, sanded the edges smooth and inked with SEI ink in mist. I drew a little ornament top free hand onto white cardstock, cut out and outlined in black, then used a gray pencil to color it in – to give a bit of sparkle, I squeezed a bit of Stickles onto my fingertip and wiped it across the surface. I fashioned the hanger from a piece of wire.

Journaling: I hope one day my handmade gifts will be called “Family Heirlooms” I love creating them.