A new tutorial on Splitcoaststamers: Traced Doodling technique :O)

Sorry to be missing from the blog for so long (again) I'm still working on the transition from
 'depressed computer-obsessed hermit' to 'healthier real-world social butterfly' ;o) I'm still looking for my missing 'blog voice'. I really need to learn to keep posts more simple so I can pop in more, but you know me, they always turn into sprawling missives with 100 different things!



Craftwise, I haven't been doing much (the mojo is still hibernating), but I did spend some time
making a new tutorial for Splitcoaststampers. It's kind of a fun way to change up older stamps:
 the Traced Doodling technique...

Traced Doodling was inspired by Lydia's fab "no line coloring" video. Except it's completely reversed: we're adding lines to a solid stamped image and treating it like an outline image instead. 

Lydia (of Understand Blue fame) always inspires me to look at stamps in a whole new way. Lydia was inspired by Holly who was inspired by Zoe. (Don't you just love those chains of creative inspiration?)

There are all kinds of variations to this technique that I can't wait to share with you. I even made a video showing some of them. The video is sort of awful technically, but it was so exciting to finally get over the fear of making my first video. I'll be sharing it soon.

 

Of course, you can trace anything to create the doodled look. This is a Hero Arts 'Thank You' die cut sentiment. (I always feel like the die cut sayings benefit from having something added to them to make them pop so they're easier to read) :-D 

The watercolour effect that is layered under the die cut was created using Distress Paints. To get a softer effect with them, I sprayed a piece of watercolour paper (coldpress 140lb) with plenty of water and then dabbed directly onto that with the Distress Paints (and added another spray of water to blend). If you wanted to, you could get the same effect with Distress Inks, or Stains or other inks and water and a large paintbrush.

True tracing option...

You could use do this Traced Doodling with a light table (by stamping and laying a piece of paper over the stamped image on the light table and tracing the outlines). Then you'd be left with just the clean doodled lines and no stamped ink... but I've done the technique with stamping for those who don't have a light table.

(the freebie digital papers

and tidbits used on these two cards)...

.

How to save one of these papers
(directly from my blog): 

PC users in Firefox/Chrome: right click on the image & choose "save link as"

PC users in Explorer: right click on the image & choose "save target as"
.

Mac users: Visit the flickr set here, click the thumbnail for the paper that you want (to open 

its flickr page) Then select all sizes & click on "download the original size of this photo"
.

soft yellow bold stripe

 A2 card PORTRAIT

(or add the A2 size to your 

faves on flickr her)

12.5" square soft yellow bold striped paper:

(or add the 12.5" square size to your faves on flickr here)

(or add the sentiment to your faves on flickr here)

A2 card size Pale Grey bold diagonal stripe paper:

(or add the A2 card size pale grey striped paper
 to your faves on flickr here)

12.5" square Pale Grey bold diagonal stripe paper:

 

(or add the 12.5" square pale grey striped paper
 to your faves on flickr here)

And here's the Light Batik flower paper
used to line the A2-size envelope:

(or you can add it to your faves here on flickr)

 Hope you & yours are doing wonderfully,

P.S. I've bought a commercial license for some butterfly vector graphics to share with you since the BasicGrey Bitsy butterfly is extinct (it retired with the Amrobosia collection). I'll post them here as soon as I convert them. :-)