Happy House Tutorial

Hello friends :)
Happy New Year, lol! I can't believe that I haven't blogged in 6 months. Life has been busy I guess, right?!

I recently had a lot of fun in the studio making little paper houses. I posted several photos on my Facebook page. The response has been great and I've had several requests for a tutorial, so I wanted to share that with you all.

Here it is...

Step 1: I took some mop up paper I had saved. It was basically a piece of paper I had taped down to my work space to protect it from paint, sprays, etc.

Step 2: I cut out some basic house shapes, no measuring! Just wing it, more fun indeed.

Step 3: I cut some windows and doors out of a contrasting color. This helps them to sort of pop forward from the house itself and adds some interest. Glue these down with a glue stick.

Step 4: I used a water soluble journaling pen (Pilot G-2 07) to outline the house, roof, windows and door.

Step 5: I took a water brush and brushed lightly over the lines I drew. This gave a darker definition and helps pop those doors and windows!! :)

Step 6: I added doodles, dots and little design elements to unify colors and shapes. I also added some words and hearts. Don't forget to draw a door knob!

Below are some pics of various houses I have made. Hope this has helped fuel your creative juices. Have fun making these, but be warned they are very addictive! :)

Does anyone else save clothing tags??

I am always saving things. I'm really not a hoarder, I promise! I just see the potential in ordinary bits of my life and like to re-create them into something fun. I have been saving clothing tags here and there for at least 6 months now. I wasn't sure what I wanted to do with them but knew I wanted to re-purpose them somehow. Then one day, I thought I would try doodling on one. The result was better than I expected. It was quick and easy, and super fun!! I could see the potential in these. They would work great for gift tags, little bits of encouragement to send to a friend in the mail, or even a Christmas ornament. Here are some examples...

I am so used to throwing the tags away after I cut them from the new clothes. I really had to train myself to remember to save them, lol! Old habits die hard right?!

I also want to try altering some tags with paint. Got some ideas for that too. 

Oh, and here is an update on my inchie challenge. Below are #s 6-14. Time got away from me a bit, meant to share these earlier. It is kinda fun to see so many together though. :)

Okey doke, that's all she wrote....