Hi Nancy, and welcome to the Village !..When I first started scrolling I used painters tape on all my projects...then I started to glue directly to the wood like a lot of the folks in the Village do....I am now using the tape about 75% of the time...I find sanding the finished product easier ....I have become very cautious when removing the tape from intricate projects, slow and easy is my motto...just my two cents...Steve.