JuanitaBean, I removed the paper after each pie shape was complete (before I put the 6 pieces together). I did, however, cut the pie shapes exactly to size before I ripped the paper off. I have one rotary cutter that I reserve for using the blade on paper. I may pin next time, though, because if you look at my block you can see that I didn't get the sections perfectly matched up. And even worse, I put them together two-by-two which created one inset seam (stupid!).