The question of how to keep your mats sticky comes up over and over again. This is of particular interest to those of us who use cardboard or cardstock to make our 3D houses. One of the reasons I prefer to use white Kraft Board or Cover Cardstock is it sheds less than kraft chipboard, but all paper products leave a little bit of residue on the mat every time we use it. Over time I have developed 3 steps I use to keep my mats sticky or to re-stick my mats. I've tried many other suggestions I have read about online, but these three steps work for me consistently....

This is the second and last of the castle patterns I am making at Lucy Foxworth's request for her Make A Castle Challenge. I had known that I wanted to explore hexagonal and octagonal towers, and had a chance to do both when I made Hiorne Tower. Exploring making round towers was next on the list, so I looked for a castle for inspiration that had a round tower. Once I saw pictures of the Marques Tower at the Château de Chenonceau in the Loire Valley, France, with its round turret attached to a round tower, I knew I wanted to try to make it. This one was not easy to...

I just started my model for my next free building pattern, the last of the castles I am designing for Lucy Foxworth's Make A Castle Challenge. It has some stonework, and there are several ways I could make the stonesk, using either my texture folders like I showed you when I made Villa Torre, or using a debossing tip, like I did with Hiorne Tower. I also have the new stencil I cut when I made my version of Lucy's Chateau. However, I decided it was time that I make and share a new stencil pattern.