Row Houses

Houses have been on my brain lately. Maybe it is because I had my kitchen floors and hallways replaced, stained, sanded and finished. This meant six days and five nights at a local resort. On the beach. Sounds like fun? Actually after a few days you just want to be home and sleep in your own bed. Home looks pretty good!

These are row houses. I first saw these on a yahoo group, Next Generation Stamper, and the Creative Card Swap group and then on Trish Bee's blog. Leave it to those talented British. They just sort of sat in the back of my mind. I believe they did a swap, but with knowing my floors had to be done and the commotion surrounding that I was afraid to join in. I get discouraged when people don't follow through. So, I decided to make a bunch for myself.

I don't know the "right" way to do this or even if there is a "right" way. This is how I did them. I took 3 by 5 inch index cards and cut the various size house shapes out of them. Then, I got out the oil pastels and chalk inks and just played with colors. After that the fun began. Stamping. I forgot how much I enjoy stamping and how many stamps I have. You can use decorative paper, scraps, material, whatever you want to make your house out of. Each one is just a little piece of home. Add embellishments, just go to town. You will be surprised how fast your village will grow.

This could be a portable art if done in stages. The cutting and coloring on the go and the stamping and embellishing in the studio. I also think this could be a lot of fun to do with kids - of all ages. Leave a baskets of pastels, house shapes and some embellishments on the table and see what they come up with. I see lots of possibilities with these.....