Cozy Cottage

Cozy Cottage is a hostess set in the Stampin’ Up! Occasions Catalog. It reminds me of a story book cottage, all nestled up against the trees at the foot of the mountain. It definitely looks very “cozy.” (In “Realtor-speak,” cozy means small, and this cottage does look tiny. But I still love it. Perfect for empty nesters, don’t you think?)

I decided to pull out all the stops with my greens, so the trees, grass, bushes, and roof are all different greens. I used Garden Green, Wild Wasabi, Pear Pizzazz, and Emerald Envy, with a little Smoky Slate, Soft Suede, Crumb Cake, Cajun Craze, and Crushed Curry for the house and walkway.

Since I was watercoloring, I stamped the image in Basic Black Archival Ink on Watercolor Paper. I love using Stampin’ Write Markers with an Aqua Painter on Watercolor paper. I colored directly on the image with the marker, hitting mostly the outlines and shadowed areas, then blended the color out. Easy! Just be sure you clean the Aqua Painter between colors. It’s also important to let one color dry before you move to an area that touches it. For example, if you’re coloring the roof, either wait until it dries to color the mountain or trees, or move to the grass. By the time you finish with the grass, the roof will be dry, so you can move to the trees. If you do not let the color dry, the colors could bleed together. (And sometimes that’s the look I’m going for…But not this time.)

I matted the image with a Basic Black layer, then adhered it to an Emerald Envy card base that I had embossed with the Brick Wall Textured Impressions Embossing Folder. The sentiment if from Waterfront, another awesome set from the Occasions catalog. I punched it with the Everyday Label punch, then snipped off one end and covered it with some of the Myths & Magic Washi Tape. The placement wasn’t random. Before I began watercoloring, I stamped two chairs in the grass in Soft Suede. (What was I thinking?) I definitely didn’t plan ahead. Even though I was careful, a little water did get onto the chairs, so I had a tiny Soft Suede blob. By that time, though, I had already spent a lot of time on the card, so I wasn’t starting over. (I’m kinda lazy like that.)

If you hostess a qualifying party during Sale-a-bration, you’ll get an extra $25 in Stampin’ Rewards. You only have to reach $250 in workshop sales – which is super easy, because everyone will want the free product with a $50 order, right? If you have five friends you can get hooked on paper crafts, you’ll reach that goal. Order the Many Marvelous Markers, and you’re almost halfway there already! Plus you’ll earn one free Level 2 or two Level 1 Sale-a-bration products. But remember – the higher your sales, the more free product you can receive! Contact me to set a date before the end of March (and Sale-a-bration!).

Thanks for stopping by Stamping with Buffy. Have a lovely day!

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