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Sixth Street Sundries

Emily Midgett

alex syberia designs

Alex Syberia Designs-Instagram Hop!

Good morning, friends! I am back with some more inspiration using the new Alex Syberia Designs November Release! In my previous release post, I shared a monochromatic homage to aqua with lots of layers and textural elements, and for today’s Instahop, I thought I’d share a pretty-in-purple project using the gorgeous new Midnight Blooms hot foil plate (ASD | SSS). Let’s get started with the details!

I began my project by hot foiling the absolutely stunning Midnight Blooms hot foil plate (ASD | SSS) using Speckled Aura hot foil onto some Hammermill white cardstock. I then used blending brushes with the Midnight Blooms Layering Stencil set (ASD | SSS) to blend Fig, Grape Soda, and Eggplant inks from Concord & 9th for the flowers, then used Tidepool, Juniper, and Peacock to blend the foliage on each bloom. (I will link all of the inks used in the link list below) I used the Midnight Blooms coordinating dies (ASD | SSS) to cut out the completed images.

After I had finished blending and die cutting, I used a blending brush to blend Fig ink in the center of a panel of white cardstock. I also splattered the panel with some shimmering iridescent purple and gold watercolor. To create a festive and interesting background, I also used the small starburst stamps from the Midnight Blooms stamp set (ASD | SSS) with Altenew’s Enchanted Gold pigment ink. It’s very subtle, but I think that extra step adds so much interest and shimmer to the background for my blended flowers!

After my background was complete and dried, I arranged the two floral stems on the card front and adhered them with foam adhesive to add extra dimension. I also added a twinkling gold twine bow for extra texture. For the greeting, I heat embossed a sentiment from the Midnight Blooms stamp set (ASD | SSS) using Hero Arts Iridescent Gold embossing powder, then die cut it with the coordinating die included in the Midnight Blooms coordinating dies (ASD | SSS). (Absolutely love when companies incldude dies for the sentiments!) A few sparkling amethyst gems added one final touch of sparkle!

Well, that’s all for my project today. I am taking part in a fabulous Instagram Hop today, and there are tons of prizes and a wealth of inspiration to be had amongst the participants using the wonderful projects from the Alex Syberia Designs November 2023 Release, so I hope you’ll hop over and take a peek! Thanks so much for stopping by today, and have a marvelous day!

Alex Syberia Designs November Collection Blog Hop & Giveaway

Hi there! Today, I am so excited to be hopping along with Alex Syberia to celebrate her newest release for November 2023. You should have arrived here from Emelie, and your next stop is Erica. You can also find the full hop list at the Alex Syberia Designs Blog. This month’s release is filled with beautiful holiday designs, both traditional and a bit non-traditional, and they’re absolutely scrumptious! (You can check it out HERE at Simon Says Stamp, as well!) I have two monochromatic holiday cards today that fit that non-traditional description, but I think they’re so elegant and super festive. Let’s get started with the details!

Both of my projects feature a unique blend of different shades of aqua. I have come to think of aqua as basically a neutral that can work as a supporting actor to lots of different colors, but sometimes aqua is so gorgeous that I want it to shine all on its own. I particularly love Juniper and Tidepool shades from Concord and 9th; they’re two different intensities of the same shade of serene aqua, with more green than blue, and today I’ve paired them with Peacock ink from Concord and 9th to help brighten them up and bring out the undertones of blue.

For my first card, I blended some Peacock ink around the edges of a Juniper cardstock panel, then splattered some shimmering glitter watercolors to add some beautiful texture and shimmer to the background of my card. I then die cut the incredibly beautiful new Snowflake Petals cover plate die (ASD | SSS) from the Alex Syberia Designs November 2023 release using a new addition to my craft room: Holographic Aqua Mirror cardstock from Simon Says Stamp. You can see how incredible the shine is on this cardstock in the photos, but paired with the stunning greens of the card front panel… chef’s kiss!! I adhered the delicate Snowflake Petals cover plate die cut using some liquid adhesive.

For the greeting, I blended Tidepool and Juniper ink on some Tide Pool cardstock using the bow and sentiment stencils in the Holiday Wreath Branch Stencil & Die set (ASD | SSS). I also die cut some glittering aqua foliage using the foliage dies from the new Joyful Poinsettia die set (ASD | SSS) and some gorgeous glitter paper from Altenew. My best tip for creating monochromatic cards like this is to be creative with the textures; if you want to keep the viewer’s eye busy and interested in the project, having multiple textures in similar shades of the same color helps prevent your recipient from being bored! I arranged the foliage in a little swag tied together with the stenciled bow, then popped up the greeting with some foam adhesive. I added a few seafoam gems for some more sparkle.

My second card features the Juniper, Tidepool, and Peacock ink again, this time blended to create a monochromatic ombré background. After blending my card front with these inks and blending brushes, I again splattered the vivid background with some more sparkling handmade glitter watercolors. This extra step adds subtle-but-beautiful texture and shine to the background! To coordinate with the background, I die cut the different layers of the Joyful Poinsettia die set (ASD|SSS) from coordinating colored cardstock, blending on the edges of the die cut layers with the coordinating shades of ink. This added blending helps to bring out the beautiful embossed details on the die cuts, as well. I die cut some more foliage using the foliage dies from the Joyful Poinsettia die set (ASD|SSS) using the same glitter paper from Altenew used on the first card.

After I had die cut my focal point, I die cut the detail layer of the Noel die (ASD | SSS) using some more Holographic Aqua Mirror cardstock and the background bubble layer using some thin vellum. I adhered the two layers together using liquid adhesive, then began arranging my flower and foliage, I placed the poinsettia in the center of the blended background, offsetting it slightly to the left and popping it up with foam adhesive. I adhered the foliage behind the flower, arranging the die cut pieces so that it was almost radiating out from the flower. I popped up the greeting die cut with some more foam adhesive, then added a few more gems in coordinating colors for some more sparkle!

Well, that’s all for my projects today. Now for some fun giveaway information!

Alex Syberia Designs is giving away a £85 ($100) gift certificate to 1 lucky winner and a £15 ($18) gift card to 5 winners. 
Open internationally. All 6 winners will be drawn from the entrants that have played along with this Blog hop by midnight BST November 26th, 2023. Winners will be announced on the Alex Syberia Designs blog ‘Giveaway Winners’ page on November 27th, 2023.

Your next stop on the hop is Erica. Thanks so much for stopping by today, and happy hopping!

STAMPtember with Alex Syberia Designs!

Hi friends! I am so excited to share the STAMPtember Alex Syberia Designs collaboration set for September 8, 2023! Alex Syberia is a new company for me, but you know me and my flower obsession, and I couldn’t resist this gorgeous floral set. Alex Syberia’s floral designs are always gorgeous (you can check out more of her stamp sets in the Simon Says Stamp store HERE), and this limited edition collaboration Alex Syberia STAMPtember set is no exception! Let’s get started with all of the details on my project.

To start, I stamped the floral images from the Alex Syberia Designs STAMPtember set onto some watercolor paper using Brass embossing powder from Hero Arts. I taped my embossed panel down to my watercolor board, then used Daniel Smith watercolor tubes to add lots of pretty pink and jewel green to my embossed images. I knew that I wanted to put these flowers on a super color saturated background, so I added some subtle pink washes around the watercolored images, right up to the edge of the embossed image. After I’d finished watercoloring, I used some super sharp scissors to fussy cut the images. (I didn’t receive the dies in time to create this project, but you can absolutely purchase the Stamp and Die Set to save yourself some time and your hands some work!)

For the background, I wanted to highlight those gorgeous, vivid magenta tones on the flowers, so I trimmed down a panel of Simon Says Stamp’s Doll Pink cardstock and ran it through my die cutting machine with the Magnolia Branches embossing folder. After I had created this gorgeous textured background, I gently swiped the Enchanted Gold pigment ink from Altenew over the raised areas, creating some super subtle “gilding.” I also used blending brushes to lightly blend Amethyst Pawsitively Saturated ink around the edges of the embossed panel. I think this tone-on-tone ink blending adds a level of richness and luxuriousness to the card front! To make the background even more luxe, I splattered some super sparkly gold watercolors on the background. So many beautiful little additions to make the card sing!

After I had finished the background, I heat embossed a couple of the sentiments included in the STAMPtember Alex Syberia Designs collaboration set using the same Brass embossing powder, then trimmed them down to sentiment strips. I arranged the flowers in a small bouquet on my embossed, blended card front, then used foam adhesive to pop them up. I added the sentiment strips with a double layer of foam adhesive to make sure that they didn’t get lost on the monochromatic background. The final touch was to add a few shimmering gems to add extra sparkle!

Well, that’s all for today’s project! If you love these STAMPtember collaboration sets, don’t wait on them, because they’re limited edition, and once they sell out, they’re gone for good! To make your shopping experience even sweeter, you can use code FRSHP for free shipping on any US order over $25 or enter code 799 to get a $7.99 discount on international shipping! So awesome of Simon Says Stamp to do this for their shoppers!

Thanks so much for stopping by today, and have a marvelous day!

Alex Syberia Designs One-Year Anniversary Release Blog Hop | Giveaway | Over £800 ($1000) in prizes

Hi friends! Today, I am ever so excited to be joining a blog hop to celebrate one year of fabulousness from Alex Syberia Designs!! You should have arrived here from Raquel, and your next stop is Erin. You can also find the full hop list over on the Alex Syberia Designs Blog Post. To celebrate this impressive achievement, tons of your favorite companies are joining in on the fun and have sponsored marvelous giveaways. Read all the way to the bottom to find out how you can be one of the winners of these fabulous prizes!

I have a thing for birthday cards. I love to go all out on them and make them crazy festive, with tons of layers, sparkles, textures… the sky is the limit! I think going all out on the birthday card makes the recipient feel extra loved, and who wouldn’t want that? Balloons with flowers are certainly having a moment on my blog (remember this project??), and I fell in love with these beautiful, sketchy floral clusters from the Floral Balloon Extravaganza Stamps (ASD | SSS) and Dies (ASD | SSS), so much so that I created two different cards using two different techniques using these gorgeous balloons! Let’s get started with the details.

For my first project, I wanted to create some transparent balloons to make them look as life-like as possible by adding color with some light ink blending. I also wanted to test out my Karin Decobrush Pigment Markers on vellum to create the opaque flowers! I am absolutely in love with this technique and can’t wait to play with it some more.

I started by heat embossing the different balloons included in the Floral Balloon Extravaganza Stamps (ASD | SSS) set using gold embossing powder on some lighter weight vellum paper. I then die cut the individual images with the Coordinating Dies (ASD | SSS). Once I had each of the individual components ready, I flipped them over and began using the opaque Karin Decobrush Pigment Markers on the flowers only. Adding this opaque color on the back of the die cuts allows the details of the embossing to still be visible from the front. Because the floral images are on the small side, you don’t need to worry much about adding details and shading, because the embossed details on the front do the work for you. The opaque paint is solely adding color to the image, as well as a sneaky place to hide your adhesive!

After the paint had dried, keeping the balloons with the embossing face down on my work surface, I used a blending brush to blend Cheeky and Blush Pawsitively Saturated Inks. The semi-transparent vellum combined with the water-based dye ink allows the ink to simply dye the vellum without compromising the transparency! I think the balloons look positively weightless and so unique. It’s such a fun technique! I also heat embossed some balloon strings on some more vellum to allow them to “float” on my card front, as well.

For the background, I die cut a slimline panel of white cardstock using the new Slimline Nested Stitched Die (ASD | SSS). I then used the same Cheeky and Blush Pawsitively Saturated Inks with the super festive and fun new Carnival Party Stencil + Die (ASD | SSS) set from the Alex Syberia Birthday Release. I blended the two part streamer stencils on the top of my die cut panel, then lightly blended the Cheeky ink around the upper edges of the panel. I splattered the entire piece with some super sparkly gold watercolors, as well.

For the greeting, I hot foiled the sentiment strips using the new Celebrations Sentiments Hot Foil Plate (ASD | SSS) onto some white cardstock using shining gold foil, then die cut the sentiments with the Thin Stripes Cover Die (ASD | SSS). (I have a bunch of birthday sentiments ready to go-love these one-and-done hot foil plate and die sets!) I also die cut the “wish” portion of the Birthday & Wish Die Set (ASD | SSS) from some super shiny gold mirror cardstock. I arranged the balloons on my blended card front, hiding the clear dimensional adhesive behind the opaque floral bouquets, then added my sentiment pieces. The final touch was to add a few shimmering gems to this super festive card front! I love that you can still see the streamers through the balloons. So much fun!

My second card is a bit more traditional. I heat embossed the balloons and the gorgeous floral bouquet from the Floral Balloon Extravaganza Stamps (ASD | SSS) set on some watercolor paper using pale rose gold embossing powder. I then added lots of beautiful pink, peach, and jade watercolor to the images using my Karin Brushmarker Pro watercolor markers. I glazed the finished pink balloons with some super shimmery, handmade glitter watercolors from Etsy, as well. Birthday cards, especially super feminine pink floral birthday cards, need as much sparkle as you can pack on, in my opinion!

For the background, I cut down an A2 panel of Dragonfruit cardstock from Concord and 9th and blended it with the coordinating Dragonfruit Ink around the edges of the card front. I splattered some more rose gold metallic watercolor on the background to add extra interest and shimmer to the background.

For the greeting, I heat embossed one of the beautiful scripty sentiments included in the Floral Balloon Extravaganza Stamps (ASD | SSS) set using the pale rose gold embossing powder. I used the coordinating dies (notice the sentiment dies for each individual sentiment, including the tiny sentiment strips! Now that is some attention to detail! Well done, Alex!) to die cut the sentiments. I then arranged the floral bouquet and balloons on my blended, splattered card front using foam adhesive for extra dimension. I heat embossed some more balloon strings on vellum so that they were as floaty and ethereal as possible, then added them to the card front with tiny dots of liquid adhesive. I added the greeting pieces using more foam tape, finally finishing the card off with some sparkly gems!

Well, that’s all for my projects today! Now for the fun giveaway information I promised at the beginning of the post:

To celebrate their birthday, Alex Syberia Designs has collaborated with a ton of wonderful sponsors to give away a grand total of £800 ($1000) in prizes!

Alex Syberia Designs: 5x £40 ($50) Gift Cards

Altenew : $50 Gift Card
Auzz Trinklets n crafts : $30AUD Gift Card
Crafty Purple Frog: £25 Gift Card
Dies to Die For : £25 Gift Card
Doeading : 50€ Gift Card (only for EU)
Gina K  : $100 Gift Card
Glitter and ink : $50 CAD Gift Card (only for Canada)
Jennifer McGuire Ink : 1 Share Handmade Kindness goodies bag -$75value
Kit & Clowder : $15 Gift Card
Mennys Bastelshop : 2x 20€ Gift Cards (EU)
Online Card Classes : 3 x free spots to any classes
Paper & i : $25 Gift Card (only for USA)
Pear Blossom press : $25 Gift Card
Scrap Shotz : $25 CAD Gift Card (only for Canada)
Seize the Stamp : 2x CHF 25 Gift Cards
Simon Says Stamp : $100 Gift Card
SCT Magazine : $50 Gift Card
The Glitter Hubb : $25 CAD Gift Card
WOW Embossing : 2x $25 Gift Cards

Be sure to leave comments by midnight BST (London, UK time) on September 17th, 2023, for a chance to win!

Start your comment by telling us where you’re from (USA, Canada, Europe, or Australia) and what your favorite product is from this September Anniversary release.

All the winners will be chosen at random from the comments left on any of the posts in the blog hop, upcoming YouTube hop, and the three upcoming Instagram hops. Winners will be announced on the Alex Syberia Designs GIVEAWAY WINNERS PAGE on September 18th, 2023.

Make sure to come back and check if you are a winner! Prizes not claimed within two weeks will be forfeited.

To increase your chances of winning, be sure to comment on this blog hop, the upcoming Anniversary Video Hop that starts on the 9th of Sep on Alex Syberia Designs YT Channel, and the three consecutive Instagram Hops on Alex Syberia Designs  Instagram starting on the 11th of September.

Thanks so much for stopping by today, friends, and happy anniversary to Alex Syberia Designs! May this be the first of many years of success!