Tracing Paper + Stamps = Happy Little Haunts

Tracing paper! Have you used this stuff? It's similar to vellum, and boy is it fun to work with! I used it to create some happy ghosties for my "We Love Boo!"  Halloween card.

Supplies: Card base: DCWV; Tracing paper: Hobby Lobby; Washi tape: Freckled Fawn and We R; Pen: EK Success; Alpha stickers; American Crafts; Star and heart stickers: Queen & Co.; Star button: Bella Blvd.; Pearl: Close to My Heart; Adhesive: Ranger and Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L; Other: Spiderweb Halloween Decor. 

Creating your own friendly ghosts is easy. You can stamp them directly on tracing paper (the stamps I used are from Imaginisce [big ghost] and My Cute Stamps [smaller ghost]) using a solvent (permanent ink), such as StazOn by Tuskineko. Or you can trace them!

Since I didn't have ink on hand (craft night was at my mom's), I had to think of another approach. A ha! I'll trace the stamp packaging--the clear film that comes with the stamp images printed on it. Simply place the packing film under the tracing paper and let the ghost appear. Bwa ha ha ha ha!

Why trace?
So many reasons!
1. It gives a ghostly appearance.
2. You can get mirror images by tracing the back side of the packaging, which opens up many creative possibilities.
3. You can modify your tracings with doodling. Fun!

Here, the smaller ghost stamp actually looks a bit different than my image, but I needed a baby ghosty for my Maggie Dawn, so I added a bit of my own styling to create a smaller girl.

I also added the extras (fashion accessories, makeup, etc.). I had a haunting good time doodling on these little friendly frights.

The downside of tracing paper? Adhesive. How do you glue? I used a slim, slim amount of Glossy Accents by Ranger around the edges, and it still smudged. Poo.

Doodling to the rescue. I simply enlarged the lines a bit with my pen to disguise the glue smudging. As they say in Jamaica, "No problem!"

For the stars in the night sky, I simply cut from one of my fav washi tapes, which I purchased from Freckled Fawn.

For a more dimensional look, I also added a star button from Bella Blvd. and these cute star stickers from Queen & Co.

To create the full moon, I simply layered the yellow tape from We R Memory Keepers slightly over itself, adhering it to a non-stick surface (wax paper), and then I punched it to create a circle washi sticker.

Tip! Make sure you back the wax paper with cardstock before punching to ensure a clean punch (no tearing).

Finally, for the creepy clouds that rolled in, I simply pulled apart a strand of spiderweb decor and adhered it to the card. Done and done!

Good ghosting to you, friends!