Skip links

Sixth Street Sundries

Emily Midgett

Hero Arts and Marvy Uchida Blog Hop!

Good morning! Some of the ladies from the Hero Arts Creative Team are hopping along today to show you how well the fabulous products from Hero Arts play with the products from Marvy Uchida! It’s always so fun to try different mediums with different brands, so I hope you’ll enjoy a sample of some of the fun products that Marvy Uchida carries for papercrafters! You should have arrived from Ilina’s blog, and your next stop is Janette’s blog. On to the project!

I love using non-traditional colors for holiday cards. There’s something so fun about opening a Christmas card and seeing something unique and elegant. Marvy Uchida was kind enough to send me a set of the Le Plume markers to play with. They’re a water-based dye marker, and they were perfect for doing a bit of watercoloring! I began by heat embossing the Hero Arts Holiday Foliage Bold Prints background die using Silver Embossing Powder onto some Bristol card stock. I chose to work with Bristol over another brand because the Holiday Foliage background is so very detailed and intricate; I didn’t want any of those beautiful details to get lost in the embossing! I then used the lovely cool shades included in the Le Plume marker set to do some watercoloring in a non-traditional but still wintry color scheme. The markers blended beautifully with a damp paintbrush!

For the greeting, I used silver embossing powder to stamp the classic “season’s greetings” from the Hero Arts Holiday Greetings stamp set, then layered the sentiment strip on a vellum die cut using the new Fancy Ornaments Infinity Dies. I punched a hole in the top of the vellum die cut, threaded some pretty aqua twine and added a twine bow. I trimmed the watercolored panel down and layered it on a piece of minty pool paper.

Well, that’s all for my project today! Now, for some fun giveaway information! Leave a comment on the blogs participating in the blog hop to be entered to win one of two prize packs from Hero Arts and Marvy Uchida! The giveaway closes on Sunday, October 21. The more comments you leave, the more chances you have to win! Find out all of the details on the Hero Arts blog and get linked up to all of the blog hop stops.

Thanks so much for stopping by!


Where Creativity Meets C9 October Edition!

Good morning! Today is the 9th, which means that we have a new Concord and 9th release and a new challenge for you on the Where Creativity Meets C9 blog! This month’s challenge is Layers… so many ways to interpret that prompt. Love it! Here’s my take on it:

I used the Snowflakes Turnabout that was released last month to do some stamping and pearlized embossing. Have you tried using Distress Oxide inks to stamp and emboss? The effect is really lovely, and you suddenly have a huge stash of colored embossing powder in your stash! I love pairing the Oxides with pearl embossing powder. I stamped the Turnabout twice, once with Blueprint Sketch, rotated it 180*, then stamped again with Lilac Shadow and added the Pearl Embossing Powder. It creates such a lovely color in combination with the Oxide inks.

 

Next, I die cut a large glitter snowflake using the Snow Flurry dies. I added them to the sides of the snowflake panel, adhering them with liquid adhesive. I stamped a greeting from the Snowflake Turnabout using Blueprint Sketch Oxide ink, embossing it with the same pearl embossing powder, then trimmed the panel and popped it up on the snowflake card front using dimensional foam adhesive.

A few Amethyst crystals from Pretty Pink Posh finished it off.

Well, that’s all for today’s project! Now, for some challenge details. I hope you are inspired to bring out your Concord and 9th products to create a project inspired by the color inspiration photo! Simply create a project, link it up to the Where Creativity Meets C9 blog post by September 29, and you could have a chance to win a $25 shopping spree to the Concord and 9th store! One winner will also be chosen to be a guest on an upcoming challenge!

Thanks for stopping by, and have a marvelous day!


Pinkfresh Studios October Release Blog Hop!

Good morning! I’m thrilled to be taking part in the Pink Fresh Studios October Blog Hop to celebrate their new release by being a stop on their blog hop! You should have arrived here from Erum’s blog, and your next stop is Heather’s blog. Pink Fresh Studios has some beautiful new florals, gorgeously intricate dies, and some super cute little critters that are now available for purchase! And…. if you place an order today containing any of the new release items, you will receive this sweet little hugs die for free! This die is an exclusive promotion just for this release and won’t be sold at a later date, so don’t miss out on it!


Pink Fresh also has a shipping promotion available:  free/discounted shipping from October 8th-October 11th on orders $50+. You must use the code OCTFREESHIPWITH50 to receive the promotion!

For my post today, I chose to work with some of the new word dies and the new floral called Fancy Blooms. This set has a lovely, hand drawn feel to it, with some very unique blooms and pretty bouquets already made up for you! No masking required! (I love when they do that.)

I began by stamping several of the bouquets and foliage from Fancy Blooms onto some Arches Cold Press Watercolor Paper using Ink On 3 Fadeout Ink. I then used the gorgeous Pink Fresh Liquid Watercolors to do some no-line watercoloring. I love using liquid watercolors for the simple fact that you can replicate colors exactly. You just have to remember how many drops of each color and how many drops of water you use to create that color (sometimes a chart is even helpful if you’re exceptionally persnickety haha!). For my first card, I created a tropical bouquet using the largest bouquet from Fancy Blooms, with pretty, leafy greens and brightly colored flowers. I die cut the large bouquet and a few extra sprigs of greenery and adhered them to a brightly colored card base with liquid and dimensional foam adhesive.

I die cut a new Smile die cut from black card stock and popped it up using foam adhesive to add lots of dimension. The final touch was to add some white Nuvo drops to fill out some bare areas in the bouquet.

For my second card, I softened my color scheme a bit to a coral and turquoise. I created a pretty coral using the Liquid Watercolors by mixing one drop of Clementine with two drops of Bubble Gum and some water. It created a very pretty shade of peachy coral that I’m excited to use again!

After die cutting my watercolored floral spray from Fancy Blooms, I die cut a “hugs” using the freebie die that is yours with any new release purchase from Pink Fresh! I cut it from some silver glitter paper, then stamped a greeting from the Word Series: Happy onto a strip of white card stock. I cut an A2 panel of aqua card stock, then blended some Peacock Feathers Oxide Ink around the edge of the panel to add a little interest to the otherwise-flat background.

I adhered the bouquet and greeting to the card front using a combination of dimensional and liquid adhesive, then added some gems for a little sparkle.

Well, that’s all for my projects today! I hope you enjoyed them as much as I enjoyed coloring them… and you know how much I love coloring pretty flowers!

Pink Fresh has generously donated a $25 gift certificate for me to give away to a lucky blog reader! All yo have to do to enter is 1) Be a blog follower either via email or other app and 2) Leave a comment on this post telling me whether you are an old friend or a new one, and what your favorite coloring medium is! The winner will be announced on the Pinkfresh blog on Sunday, October 14. You will have 2 weeks to claim your prize. 🙂

Click on the blue box below to get taken to the entire blog hop list! Thanks so much for dropping by today, and have a marvelous Monday!


Ellen Hutson October Release!

 

Good morning! I hope your World Card Making Day festivities yesterday were a huge bundle of fun. I got to spend some time in my craft room before doing some belated birthday celebrating with my in-laws, so that was a pleasant day… crafting, and homemade apple pie (extra thick crust) and ice cream! Yum! Today, I am excited to be helping introduce the newest products for the Essentials By Ellen line. We have some fantastic holiday items, as well as some new Leading Ladies that are just so much fun. Here’s a peek at the lineup:

Winter Windows
Snowfall Backdrop
Ugly Sweater Stamps and Dies
Holiday Shopper Lady Stamps and Dies
Bookworm Lady Stamps and Dies

I have a new project coming out later this week with the darling Bookworm Lady stamps and dies (with perhaps a special video, ahem, so be on the lookout), so for the release today, I thought I’d do a holiday card using the new Holiday Shopper Lady. Let’s get started with the details!

I began by die cutting and stamping the Holiday Shopper Lady with Memento Black Tuxedo ink onto some Copic-friendly white card stock. Next, I colored her in a vibrant pink top that has just enough raspberry tone to make it holiday-ish, at least in my mind haha! I love deep magenta, aqua, and white with touches of sparkly or shiny silver for holiday decor, so that’s the color scheme that I went with today. I colored her and her accessories using a multitude of Copic markers, which I’ll list at the end of the post.

After my Copic coloring was complete, I worked on the rest of my little holiday scene. I began by die cutting a large Christmas tree from Hero Arts using some silvery green card stock, then blended some Peacock Feathers Oxide ink around the edge to add a bit of interest and depth to the visually flat die cut. I also created a little shaker “window” using the new Winter Windows die. I backed the shaker with some pretty aqua card stock (to fit my theme), then filled it with a few different kinds of glitter from my stash to create a sparkly, snowy scene.

I assembled all of the die cuts on my A2 card front, attaching them with liquid adhesive, single, and double layers of foam tape to add lots of dimension. The final touch was to add some white Nuvo drops for some Christmas tree baubles. So much dimension, so many textures, so many elements to this card. I’m not going to lie, I don’t usually create scenes like this, but putting together all of the elements was somewhat cathartic for me…. like putting together a puzzle! And she looks so satisfied to be finished with all of her Christmas wrapping haha!

Copics used:
RV19,55,69; R83; E13, 15, 18, 49, 50, 51; T0, 1, 3, 5, 7; B21, 23, 97; BG10, 11, 23, 49 

Well, that’s all for me today! I hope you’ll stop by and check out the new release and the inspiration from the Design Ambassadors using these new sets… so much cuteness! Thanks so much for dropping by today, and have a marvelous Sunday!

Waffleflower October Release and World Card Making Day Sales!

Good morning! Today, I have a few items to discuss: first, a new project for you using a darling new set from Waffle Flower Stamps called Sweater Weather. Then some freaking AWESOME World Card Making Day sales, but we’ll get to those at the end of the post. Get comfy…. this is a long one. Now, here in the Midwest, we’ve had an exceptionally long summer, it seems. And it’s been freaking hot. And then we had about 10 days of stunningly gorgeous autumnal weather… crisp blue skies, a pleasant breeze, enough of a chill that you needed a jacket or a vest… and now we’re back to blistering heat, thankfully with a little less humidity. Here’s a fairly accurate representation of seasons in my area that I pulled from Google:

Our second summer is lasting far longer than a week, though, and I’m over it. So, in the spirit of channeling the weather I wish to have in my current location, I have created this card with the super cute new Sweater Weather set from Waffle Flower. Consider it my autumnal rain dance.

I began by die cutting and heat embossing the sweater using Brass embossing powder. Sometimes, I like to switch it up from the typical black, gold, or silver. The Brass has a pleasant warm undertone to it, which I thought would go nicely with my autumnal color scheme. I watercolored the sweater and the pretty embroidered details using my Daniel Smith watercolors with just three watercolors: Quinacridone Burnt Sienna, Quinacridone Magenta, and Quinacridone Purple. I also die cut a few of the hearts included in the Sweater Weather die set, then dipped them in the Brass embossing powder three times to create a metallic accent.

I also created a background for my cute little sweater using the same watercolors, simply diluted with quite a bit of water to create a washed out effect. I also used the wet-on-wet technique to get maximum blending. I began by saturating a large section of an A2 panel of Arches Cold Press Watercolor paper with clean water, then dropped very diluted Quinacridone Purple, Magenta, and Burnt Sienna in the wet areas, smoothing everything out with my wet paintbrush, then cleaning it off and using the tip of the clean brush to pull the edges of the painted area out to make those pretty, organic, watercolor-y edges. I also dabbed a touch of Hero Arts’s Bronze Glimmer Ink onto my palette, diluted it, and flicked it onto my background to create some metallic splatters that matched nicely with my Brass embossing. I popped all of the die cut pieces up with dimensional foam adhesive, then added a Brass-embossed greeting from the Sweater Weather stamp set.


That’s all for my World Card Making Day project! Now, for some information on those amazing sales that we were discussing earlier 😉

First up:

The lovely ladies over at Ellen Hutson also have some festivities to celebrate World Card Making Day, including a 20% off sale!

Remember to use code WCMD18 to receive your 20% discount on the entire Ellen Hutson store! Here are a few of my favorite items from Ellen Hutson:

There’s also a card sketch challenge happening here with a $50 Ellen Hutson shopping spree up for grabs to one lucky winner!

Next, we have a fantastic sale from Hero Arts: 30% off of their entire stock of paper, which includes pre-folded cards, beautifully colored envelopes, and those beautiful Layering Papers!

And finally, the sweet little honey bees over at Honey Bee Stamps have a coupon for 20% off the store this weekend using WCMD20. From Melissa:

Celebrate World Card Making Day with Honey Bee Stamps! Coupon code valid All Day Saturday 10/6 and Sunday 10/7. Coupon will take 20% off your Entire purchase… including clearance items! MUST use coupon code: WCMD20 at checkout to qualify. Not valid on past purchases or the purchase of gift cards. Coupon code valid world-wide, for retail orders only (not valid on wholesale orders).

How’s that for some retail therapy, eh? Now, go forth and shop! I know I will be!! 😉

Thanks so much for dropping by today. I hope you have a marvelous World Card Making Day!!