Cottage Lane Stamper

 I've been working on my 2026 Mini CD calendars the last few weeks.  When I did my October calendars, the images were simple but had a lot of detail, which required a lot of coloring with my watercolor pencils, blender pens and Stampin' Blends. For the first time I've been keeping track of the number of hours I spend making each month. October took at least 8 hours of coloring 50 calendar pages.  November is a simple design, not so much coloring but I wanted to make it simpler and more cost effective.  I had used up one of my new Stampin' Blends on October.  So this morning as I was laying in bed thinking about my design I wanted to try something new.  I have used glycerin with sponging with sponges before but never tried them with my Blender Brushes.  I wondered what would happen if I used glycerin with re-nkers and a blender pen. Check out the video for my technique ideas. This new technique, for me, is making my coloring going much faster and I can ...

As soon as I saw the Peony Garden Suite Collection in the catalog I new I would be ordering it.  When I lived in New Ulm I had a beautiful row of deep pink peonies that bordered the edge of my yard and driveway.  Every time I drove into my driveway I would stop to admire them  It saddens me to say that the people that bought my house didn't have the same affection for them as I did.  They removed them. 😞 I CASE'd this card from Rachel Tessman, another Minnesota demonstrator, who's very talented. Mine is a little different. This one is Purple Posy cardstock and sponged with Highland Heather. I made 4 different cards.  The first two I did ahead of time with the Petal Pink on Petal Pink and the Flirty Flamingo on Whisper White. The Whisper White background layer is embossed with the Subtle 3D  embossing folder as is the banner on which the sentiment is stamped. I inadvertently forgot to order the coordinating 3D embossing folder, Dainty Diamonds...

I was perusing a few Facebook posts this morning and saw a new sponging technique that I want to share with you, using glycerin!  It makes the sponging of inks on the card stock go so much smoother.  I had been wanting to try a outdoor scene with the "Best Catch" bundle*, from the 2019 Occasions catalog and thought, why not kills to birds with one stone! I put together a little video, showing how to do the glycerin sponging while making this card. I used 3 different stamp sets, "Best Catch",  "Rooted in Nature" &  "High Tide". I used the "Best Catch" coordinating Framelits  "Catch of the Day" and also the new  "Rectangular Stitched Framelits" , also available in the 2019 Occasions catalog. DIMENSIONS: Whisper White card stock: 8-1/2" x 5-1/2", scored at 4-1/4", card base 4" x 5-1/4" sponged card layer 2" x 3-3/4", fisherman 2-1/4" x 2-1/...