Sixth Street Sundries

Emily Midgett

Simon Says Stamp Friend Like You Release Blog Hop + Giveaway!

This post was sponsored by Simon Says Stamp. Thanks, Simon!

Hi friends! I am hopping along today to celebrate the newest release from Simon Says Stamp, called Friend Like You. You should have arrived here from Debby Hughes, and your next stop is Lisa Addesa. You can also start at the beginning of the hop on the Simon Says Stamp Blog. I had my Daniel Smith watercolors out for my Dahlia Background watercolor project, and so I thought that I would put them to use to create a sweet framed project using the darling storybook-style illustrations from Undersea Friends. Let’s get started on the details!

*I have gathered links to all of the products used at the bottom of the post for your convenience, using affiliate links. Thank you for shopping with my links! I truly appreciate your support for my work!*

Today’s project was inspired by my embroidered project from THIS post; the illustrations in the Best Fishes stamp set are super similar to the illustrations in the new Undersea Friends stamp set (I think they were created by the same artist!), so I thought… how sweet would it be to create a little gift set in two different mediums, perhaps to hang on the wall of a nursery or child’s bathroom? For yesterday’s project, I used my needles and embroidery floss as my medium, but I pulled out my Daniel Smith watercolors in a variety of shades of blue and aqua. I trimmed down a panel of Arches Cold Press watercolor paper to slightly larger than 4×6 inches, then used Hero Arts Contour Ink to stamp the sweet undersea critters from Undersea Friends.

After I had stamped the images, I used my Daniel Smith watercolors to add lots of vibrant color to the critters, working in sections so as to avoid the colors bleeding into one another and to keep the edges of each individual piece nice and crisp. Moisture will always seek moisture on watercolor paper; in order to avoid the colors blooming into one another and the edges blurring, it is important to make sure that you damp watercolored areas are never adjacent. Allow a bit of drying time before adding color to the area directly next to it. I always do multiple layers of color in varying intensities to achieve lots of dimension and depth to the images, creating shadows and contrast by using more intense color and adding light color washes to the background with very diluted color. I used a black pigment pen to add some small details to the eyes on each critter.

After I had completed the main watercoloring, I decided to go back in with my handmade glitter watercolors and add some sparkling accents to the critters, as well as add some gorgeous iridescent shine to the bubbles! The painting looked fine without these sparkling accents, but I think they really take things to another level without a ton of additional work. Once the panel was completely dry, I trimmed it down, then used the new A7 Rectangles Dies to die cut some mat frames, nestling the mats inside one another, then adding my watercolored panel to create a crisp black aperture around my underwater scene! I placed the entire project inside an inexpensive frame that I purchased at the dollar store; it looks quite beachy to me!

Well, that’s all for my project today! Now for some fun giveaway information:

Simon Says Stamp is giving away a $25 coupon to every stop on the hop, selected from each blog’s comment section. Winners will be selected and posted on our Simon Says Stamp blog on Wednesday the 2nd of July. Winners can email the folks at Simon Says Stamp to claim his/her prize!

As an added bonus for those hopping along with us, Simon Says Stamp is offering the not-yet-released Simon Says Stamp/CZ Design exclusive You 2 3×4 stamp set as a free gift with purchase! This stamp set is automatically added to your cart that contains any purchase of Friend Like You products! Click HERE to see the full release! The gift with purchase promotion will expire 6/29 at 11:59 pm EDT or while supplies last.

Your next stop on the hop is Lisa Addesa. Don’t forget: tomorrow is Day 2 of this blog hop and will feature tons more inspiration! Be sure to start at the Simon Says Stamp Blog tomorrow so that you don’t miss out. Thanks so much for stopping by today, and happy hopping!

Reader Interactions

Comments

  7. Wow – this is one of my favorite sets from the new release, you killed it with the watercoloring! Just gorgeous.

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  26. Nice use of watercolor here! I am slowly learning to incorporate my water coloring into my cards! Thanks for the inspiration!

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  37. Dear Emily –
    1. Aquatic / undersea scenes are right at the top of my list of faves to admire and to create.
    2. These little cutie characters are adorable!
    3. Your watercolor skills are remarkable.
    4. I agree: quite a “beachy” result.
    5. This is 100% delightful. I just love it!!!! TFS
    Lori S in PA

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  41. Your card is adorable, your fantastic water coloring skills brought all of those little characters to life. Well done.

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  52. Emily that is absolutely enchanting! A beautiful watercoloured scene. Those images are beyond adorable. I just love this! xoxo

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  54. Wow! I never thought about framing my cards! YOur looks very proffesional. I love the blue-green colors.

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  57. Oh how I wish I could watercolor like this! Your art work is truly amazing. Great use of a really cute set!

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  60. Emily, this is so pretty, and I love that you framed it! I have thought of framing some of mine at times, so you may have prompted me to finally do it!

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  78. Emily, this under the sea piece is AMAZING!! I’m always so impressed by those that can watercolor!! Love it!!

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  82. YOWZA! This is fintastic! The colors are fabulous! As someone who lives on Cape Cod–I say YES this would look amazing in a bathroom–did I mention I have 2??? Wink, Wink. lol Love it!

    Reply

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