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Sixth Street Sundries

Emily Midgett

Hero Arts and Pinkfresh Studio Collaboration Celebration Blog Hop!

Hi there! Today, I’m super excited to be taking part in another fabulous blog hop featuring a collaborative effort from two of my favorite stamp companies: Hero Arts and Pinkfresh Studios! I am lucky enough to serve on the design teams for both of these fantastic companies, so I was extra thrilled when I heard that they were going to be working together for a collaborative stamp set! This beautiful new set features a gorgeous floral frame, as well as some fantastic sentiments drawn by my friend Caly Person. You should have arrived here from Cathy Zielske’s blog, and your next stop is Heather Hoffman’s blog.

The stamp set, called You Make A Difference (you can see it here on the Hero Arts website as well as here on the Pinkfresh Studios website), features such beautiful, poignant sentiments in addition to that gorgeous floral frame. A must-have, to be sure! I’ve paired it with my Caran D’Ache colored pencils for a hand-drawn look. Let’s get started with the details!

I began by stamping the beautiful floral image from the stamp set on an A2 panel of Pebble card stock using Unicorn White pigment ink. I then used a variety of plum, blue, and fuchsia pencils to add color to the beautifully detailed image, coloring directly over the top of the stamped images.

After I’d finished my pencil coloring, I used Wet Cement ink and the Life Changing Blender Brushes from Picket Fence Studios to blend a bit of a halo around the edges of the panel. The gray ended up picking up a bit of the green from the foliage as I blended, but I really liked the effect! It reminded me of a mystical glen or something. (Ha, that’s stretching it a bit, Emily…)

After I’d finished with my card base, I die cut the Love Stamp and Cut from Hero Arts three times using Plum card stock and adhered them together to create a dimensional die cut. I also white embossed the coordinating greeting, also from the Love Stamp and Cut, on some strips of Pebble card stock. I popped them up with a bit of foam tape for extra dimension.

Well, that’s all for my project today! Now, I’ve got some fun giveaway information for you!

3 different prizes are up for grabs, drawn from comments left across the blog hop:
One winner will receive the stamp set!
One winner will receive a $25 shopping spree at Pinkfresh Studio
One winner will receive a $25 shopping spree at Hero Arts

The more comments you leave, the more chances you have to win!

Your next stop on the hop is Heather Hoffman. You can also head back to the Hero Arts blog to start at the beginning if you get lost. Thanks so much for stopping by today, and have a marvelous day!

Essentials By Ellen-August Release Blog Hop!

Hi there! Today is the day… the Essentials By Ellen August 2019 release is finally available! We have a variety of fabulous autumnal and holiday products to share with you, with lots of inspiration on the blog hop! You should have arrived here from Elena’s blog, and your next stop is Julie’s blog. I have two cute (not spooky!) Halloween/autumn cards to share with you today. (I’ll save my holiday cards for a post for next week!) Let’s get started with the details!

For my first project, I used the darling new Bear Ware 4 to create a little fall scene. I realized when creating this project that I don’t have the original Bear, but luckily the Bear Ware 4 stamp set has lots of elements that make it so you don’t even need the big bear, including a little baby bear! I began by using my T-square to draw a line for the ground, then stamped my little scene with Intense Black ink, using some Post-It notes for quick masking.

I colored the images using Copic markers, trying to keep the colors a bit more pastel rather than the traditional technicolor palette for fall. I also used the Life Changing Blender Brushes and some very light shades of pink, coral, and yellow ink to do a bit of a sunset behind my scene. I didn’t bother with masking the images, because the colors were so pale and the Blender Brushes do such a lovely job of subtly blending the color that I wasn’t worried about the ink blending marring my Copic coloring!

Finally, I added a (super cheeky and super cute) sentiment from the Bear Ware 4 set using some more Intense Black ink.

For my second project, I used the new Happy Haunting stamp set to create a darling panel of custom patterned paper. The images in this stamp set are so whimsical and cute. I don’t go in much for “scary” Halloween, but the sweet little smiles on the skeleton, bat, and ghost made for a sweet little Halloween card! When stamping custom patterned paper, I like to vary the angles at which I orient the individual stamps to create a more seamless and random look. I knew that I wanted the primary color palette to be that pastel palette that I used on the previous card, so I limited the number of bats and made sure to add extra candy corn! 😉

I started by stamping the sentiment from The Last Bite in the center, then stamping my image outlines all around it at various angles and distances apart. After I’d stamped all of my outline images, I went back in and added the little trio of yellow stars, rotating the stamp as I went to make them look more random. Before beginning my coloring, I added a few tiny black dots with a Copic Multiliner pen just to fill in any gaps in the pattern. To achieve good balance on custom stamped patterned panels, I like to start with my largest images (the outline stamps), then the next smallest image (the stars), and finally the tiniest images (the dots) fill in the gaps.

Finally, I colored in my images using my Copic markers in a pretty coral, buttery yellow, and white color scheme, again keeping away from that typical vivid technicolor palette so frequently used on Halloween cards. Perfect to send to my 4 year old niece!

Well, that’s all for my project today. I hope you’ve enjoyed these cute little autumnal projects. If you haven’t checked out the full August Essentials By Ellen release, you definitely should. It’s chock full of fantastic fall and winter holiday products. I’ll share some Christmas-themed projects in the next few days! Your next stop is Julie’s blog.

Now, to celebrate the new release blog hop, we have a few giveaways! We’ve got super fun prizes!!! One random & lucky commenter will win $25 to the EH shop and one will win the whole July Essentials by Ellen release!!! To enter for a chance to win, make sure to leave comments at each stop along the hop! Comment before Thursday, August 15th at 11:59pm PST. Winners will be notified by email.

Tonic Studios Garden Party Blog Hop!

Hi there! I’m so excited to be taking part in today’s Garden Party blog hop, hosted by Tonic Studios to help celebrate their newest release! This release is chock full of fantastic florals and some stinking adorable critters. You should have arrived here from Galina Filippenko‘s blog, and your next stop is Keren Baker‘s blog. Be sure to stick around to the end to get my special discount link to save an extra 15% on your Tonic purchase! I have two cards for you today using new goodies from the Garden Party release, so let’s get started with the details!

For my first project, I used the Nuvo Shimmer Powders to do some watercoloring. Now, I am kind of particular about being precise when it comes to my coloring in any medium. There are some people who can absolutely rock the “loose” look, but I am not one of them. Every time I try, it ends up looking like a giant, muddy mess. But, the good news is that you don’t have to use the Nuvo Shimmer Powders as “bursts” as they’re probably intended; you can use them just like regular watercolors! Isn’t that awesome?

I began by stamping the new Flora Background stamp on some watercolor paper and heat embossing it with some silver pearl embossing powder to create a pretty pearlescent charcoal look. I then tapped some of the Nuvo Shimmer Powders in shades of Cherry Bomb, Violet Brocade, Lilac Waterfall, Storm Cloud, and Green Parade onto my Water Media Mat and used a wet paintbrush to create a “paint” so that I could add color to the flower images! I was so impressed at how the color moved so beautifully!

Once I had finished my watercoloring, I trimmed the panel down to A2 size, then added a heat embossed greeting from Summer Flowers, which I popped up using foam tape for some added dimension. The final touch was to add some Lilac Whisper Nuvo Drops randomly on my card front.

For my second project, I absolutely couldn’t wait to ink up the beautiful Peony Blooms stamp set and go to town coloring them! I have really been loving the combination of deep raspberry with a pretty orange-y coral lately, and I just love how the color combo turned out with these flowers! I began by stamping them using Fadeout Ink on some Copic-friendly card stock. I then used my Copic markers in shades of RV17, RV29, RV14, RV13, and RV42 for the coral peonies, and RV99, RV69, RV17, and RV09 for the raspberry peonies.

Once I had finished coloring the images, I used the Tim Holtz Mini Snips detail scissors to fussy cut all of the images. I got a little sloppy with some of my coloring (whoops) and so cut right up to the edge of the image instead of leaving a white border. It took a little extra time, but I think it was worth it to achieve the final clean look!

Finally, I arranged all of the blooms in a little cascade on my long white card front and adhered them with some foam tape. I heat embossed a greeting from Botanical Burst onto some black card stock using gold embossing powder, cutting around it to create two sentiment strips. Finally, to help tie in some more gold, I added a few Gold Rush Stone Drops to the card front.

Well, that’s all for my projects today! Now, I have some fun sale information and a giveaway for you!

Tonic has generously provided each stop on the hop with their own unique discount code for 15% off your total purchase!
•To receive the discount: Simply click on this link for US purchases, this link for UK purchases, then fill your cart, and the discount will automatically be applied at checkout! How easy is that?!

Tonic has also generously provided each stop on the hop with a £25 gift certificate. Simply leave me a comment (and if you wanted to become a blog follower via email or WordPress, I would be ever so appreciative!) on this post, and the winner will be announced on the Tonic blog on Wednesday, August 29.

Here’s the full hop list in case you get lost:

Altenew August 2019 Stamp and Die Blog Hop+Giveaway!

Hi there! Today, I’m super excited to be taking part in the Altenew August 2019 Stamp and Die release blog hop! Today’s Stamp and Die release has a fantastic selection of products to show you today, of course with plenty of beautiful flower stamps and some fun new dies, as well! You should have arrived here from the Altenew Scrapbook Blog, and your next stop is Lydia Fiedler. I’ve created three projects using today’s newest goodies in a fun pink, black, and white color scheme. Be sure to stick around all the way to the end to get all of the info on the prizes available to win!

My first project uses the absolutely stunning new Antique Roses stamp and die set. (You can also buy a discounted bundle of the stamps, dies, and mask stencils!) Altenew is tops at layered flowers, and this newest installment might just be my favorite out of allll of their layered flower sets! (And that’s saying something!) I used the Spring Bouquet ink set to stamp some bright, vibrant pink roses and foliage on white card stock, then die cut them using the coordinating dies.

Next, I trimmed a square of white card stock and a slightly larger square of black card stock. I then turned the square on its side and stamped the Mini Hello stamp and “I admire you” from Sentiment Strips using Obsidian ink. I adhered the white diamond to the black diamond, then layered the sentiment with the hot pink roses and adhered it to a white card front using foam tape. The final touch was to add some black jewels to fill out any bare spots.

For my second project today, I used the new Simply the Best stamps and dies to create a bold and graphic project using the same color scheme. I began by stamping this massive flower twice on an A2 panel of white card stock using the pink inks from the Spring Bouquet ink bundle. I then used a black fineline pen to add some tiny little dots on the background to add a little extra texture to the background. I also stamped two more blooms and die cut them.

I created a black rectangular frame using my Fiskars trimmer (there are plenty of dies that can do this for you, as well, but I was trying to use something that many people have on hand already!). From the center piece, I white heat embossed the greeting from Simply the Best and trimmed it down. I cut the die cut flowers in half, then arranged all of the die cut components and adhered them to the card front using foam tape. A few more black gems finished off the project!

For my final project today, I used the brand new Pleasant Pansy die set to create a super textured and vibrant patterned panel. Using a wide variety of colored card stock, I put together lots of pretty pink pansies and leaves. I also die cut a “hello” from white card stock using the Inline Alphabet die set, as well as stamped another greeting from Sentiment Strips.

I arranged the flowers and foliage all over the card front, as well as the die cut letters and sentiment strip greeting, then used a combination of foam and liquid adhesive to adhere them to a panel of black A2 card stock. The final touch was to add some extra texture and dimension by adding some white Nuvo drops randomly across the card front! It’s amazing how vibrant those pinks look against the black background, huh?

Well, that’s all for my projects today! Now, there are a few giveaways up for grabs:

To celebrate this release, Altenew is giving away a $50 gift certificate to 6 lucky winners! Please leave a comment on the Altenew Card Blog and/or Altenew Scrapbook Blog by 8/14/2019 for a chance to win.

We’ll also draw a winner to receive a $20 gift certificate from the comments left on each designer’s blog on the blog hop list below. The more comments you leave, the more chances you have to win! All winners will be announced on the Altenew blogs on 8/17/2019.

Your next stop on the hop is Lydia Fiedler, or you can start back at the beginning if you got lost!

Just A Little Lovely with Pinkfresh Studios!

Hi there! I just wanted to pop in and share a couple of projects that I have up on the Pinkfresh Studios blog today. I have a pair of cards using the new Just A Little Lovely paper and embellishment packs as my jumping off point. I love patterned paper (and tend to hoard it as such), but I’ve found so many gorgeous patterns in my stash that I just hate for them to sit unloved- particularly the new Just A Little Lovely stack. I used one sheet today as my color combination guide for my projects. Let’s get started with the details! 

I began by trimming one of the beautiful floral patterns from Just A Little Lovely down to an A2 sized panel. It has a charming pink, plum, and gray floral motif. I die cut the Hello negative die from a panel of plum card stock, then backed it with the patterned panel so that the pattern was just peeking through the die cut letters. 

Once I had created my main focal point using the patterned panel beneath the die cut panel, I added a few puffy floral embellishments from the coordinating embellishment packs, as well as a few color coordinated enamel dots. A simple and elegant card, made even easier by using the embellishments from the Just A Little Lovely collection! 

For my second project today, I wanted to create something a little more involved, but still utilizing that beautiful pink, gray, and plum color combination from the first project. I began by die cutting the goooorgeous Geo Floral cover plate from some dove gray card stock, then layering it over another A2 panel of the plum card stock. Such a pretty combination that shows off the detail of that fabulous cover plate so well! 

Next, I stamped one of the bouquets from the Blooming Bouquet stamp set on some more dove gray card stock using some sparkle embossing powder. I then used my Caran D’ache colored pencils to color the images and add some pops of color. I die cut the finished image using the coordinating die.

After I’d cut the floral image, I layered it over the top of the card base using foam adhesive. I then added the “lovely” puffy sticker from the Just A Little Lovely embellishment packs, along with a few coordinating enamel dots and some jewels. 

Well, that’s all for my projects today! I hope you’ll be inspired to actually use some of that beautiful patterned paper that you surely have hiding in your craft room instead of squirreling it away for a rainy day! Thanks so much for stopping by today, and have a marvelous day!