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Sixth Street Sundries

Emily Midgett

Concord and 9th

One giant leap.

Good morning! Happy Monday! I’m here with you today to share something that is a little petrifying for me, but has been on my bucket list for quite a while…

my first video.

I really hope you like it. I’ve had a few people (here’s looking at you, Donna! 🙂 ) request a video of my Zig marker coloring, and so this is my first attempt to explain why I do what I do. I hope it’s clear and maybe useful to someone!

In case you can’t watch the video or would like to have some written instructions on how to make the card showcased in the video, I started by heat embossing one of the peonies, a bud, and some foliage from Ellen Hutson’s Mondo Peony stamp set onto some Canson Montval watercolor paper with gold embossing powder. I then used Zig markers in shades of Light Violet, Purple, and Violet (and I explain exactly what I do with them in the video!) along with my damp paintbrush to add color, depth, and shading to my blooms. The leaves were colored with Turquoise Green and Persian Green Zig markers. After I had finished coloring, I fussy cut the flowers out, but you could easily use the dies and save yourself some time. 😉 I arranged my flowers in a little bouquet on an A2 card front, then picked them all up using the ever-helpful Press ‘n Seal so I wouldn’t have to fiddle with them later.

I have soooo many 6×6 (and 8.5×11 and 12×12…) patterned paper pads in my stash that I hardly ever use… it’s nice to know they’re there when I need a sheet or two, like the one sheet I used for this card! I trimmed down this black and white striped panel from a stack from Hobby Lobby and added a thin strip of fuchsia colored glitter paper at the bottom, then added several strips of dimensional adhesive. I adhered a piece of lavender card stock to my card base, then adhered my striped dimensional panel to it. After adding both liquid adhesive and dimensional adhesive to my peonies, I laid them down on my card base. My greeting is from Concord and 9th’s Kindhearted stamp set. I simply cut a strip of vellum and heat embossed the greeting using the same gold embossing powder that I used on the peony.

And that’s it! A fairly simple final layout for the semi-involved coloring.

I hope you’ve enjoyed my first foray into video making. It was definitely a process, and something I would probably never have even attempted if my friend Jess hadn’t pushed me (and guided me so well). I hope you will subscribe to my channel, because I have a few more projects up my sleeve! Hopefully, I will get more comfortable with the whole process and be able to create videos even more quickly in the future. Practice makes perfect!

Thanks for stopping by. Have a marvelous week!

Edited to add: I have had a few people ask about the Absorber that I use in my video to dab my paintbrush on. This is one of my most useful items in my craft room, and it’s economical, too! It’s basically a car chamois…. automotive types use them to dry their cars after giving them a wash. I use mine to clean my stamps off in addition to using it to dab excess water from my paintbrush. When you buy an Absorber, they are relatively large; I cut mine down into 4 squares and rotate them. I just throw them in the washing machine when they’re looking too grungy!!! I hope that helps answer any questions you might have! 🙂

Where Creativity Meets C9: Layers!

If you’re looking for my Blog Hop post for The Ton’s Summer 2017 release, please click here. 

Good morning again! Today also marks the start of a new challenge over on the Where Creativity Meets C9 blog! This month, the challenge is:

Create something layered using your Concord and 9th products! For my project, I used the Pretty Petals stamps and dies to create a layered, dimensional project. I started by die cutting the main flower die from some plain white card stock, then using my blending tools to blend Worn Lipstick and Spiced Marmalade Distress Oxide inks on the die cut, adding some shimmer spray over the top to create the “velvety” effect achieved with the Oxide inks. I stamped the detail layer using Versamark ink, then sprinkled holographic embossing powder over the top and heated it with my heat gun. The pink center really pops even more with the added sparkly heat embossing! I also die cut the center of the Pretty Petals die from some sparkly gold glitter card stock and adhered it to the center with some dimensional adhesive.

For the greeting, I used the pretty new All About You dies to cut “thank you” from some aqua card stock. I stamped some of the flower centers from the Pretty Petals stamp set onto the white card base using Delicata Gold ink, then adhered the flower with dimensional adhesive. I finally added yet another layer by adhering the sentiment die cuts with more dimensional adhesive.

It’s a little outside of my normal color scheme and style, but I like the sunny, happy colors! Definitely something different. Now, it’s your turn! Create a project with at least two layers using your Concord and 9th products, then be sure to link it up to our blog to be entered to win the $25 gift certificate generously donated by Concord and 9th!

Where Creativity Meets C9: Florals!

The 9th of each month means a new challenge for Where Creativity Meets C9. This month’s Where Creativity Meets C9 challenge is right up my alley. Florals. Be still my flower-loving heart. And Concord and 9th has some fabulous florals from which to choose…. this is going to be funnnn!!

For my project, I’ve chosen to work with one of my all-time favorite Concord and 9th floral sets: Hello Lovely. This set looks incredible in all coloring mediums. When I need to watercolor to just relax (my minions are in full scale “threenager” mode recently, and some days Mommy needs a massive break.), this is the image I pull out. I decided to do some “black magic” with it today. No-line coloring has been my favorite technique recently, and so I thought I would try it on some black card stock. I started by stamping the beautiful bouquet from Hello Lovely onto some black card stock using white pigment ink. The trick to getting beautiful, vibrant color on black cardstock, from what I’ve learned, is to lay down a layer of white colored pencil first, then add your colored pencils over the top. After you add in the color, go back with the blender pencil and blend the shading to make it more seamless. The white beneath the color does dilute the vibrancy of the colors a bit, but that just means that you have to choose some brighter colors. 🙂

After I had colored all of the pretty flowers, I decided to do a very subtle greeting, and so chose to do a dimensional die cut from the center. I started by die cutting the “beautiful” die from the very center of the colored bouquet. (There may have been some sweating and nail biting as I was cutting this out… colored pencils take forever lol!) I die cut the same “beautiful” three more times from yellow cardstock, the same color of which would end up being matted around the edge of the black panel. I glued them all together, then inlaid the dimensional die cut within the  die cut in the center.

The final touch was to add some pretty, buttery-yellow sequins to fill out the bouquet.  I love this “black magic” technique. It looks fantastic on other colors of card stock, too. I used it on pale blue card stock in this blog post, and I think the pink just really pops off of the page, don’t you! So many fun techniques that you can do with colored pencils.

Now, it’s your turn! You have until May 29 to create a project using one of Concord and 9th’s gorgeous array of floral stamps and link it up to our InLinkz on the challenge page. One lucky winner will be awarded a $25 shopping spree at Concord and 9th, generously supplied by our sponsors- Concord and 9th! Another entry will be chosen to be a guest designer on an upcoming challenge. Have fun, and good luck! Can’t wait to see the entries!

Guesting with Concord and 9th, volume 3! 

Good morning! I’m back with my third guest post for the fabulous Concord and 9th. It still makes me giddy every time I type that! Today, I wanted to focus on the absolutely gorgeous new Many Mandalas stamp and die set. This is seriously so clever, and I’ve not done them nearly enough justice with these cards. We will consider them a jumping off point for future projects, okay? 🙂

For this first project, I wanted to showcase the simple beauty of the images included in the Many Mandalas set. I know that they are inspired by the fabulous mandala coloring books that are all the rage right now, but I thought they looked like a doily, especially when coupled with the largest die from the coordinating die set. The beautiful edge that the die creates was so pretty that I just had to use it on its own. So, to start, I die the largest die from Many Mandalas from the center of an A2 panel of aqua colored card stock. This would be my guide for the heat embossing.

Using the die cut aqua panel as a guide, I laid down an A2 panel of heavyweight vellum and used the negative space and my MISTI to heat emboss the two largest layers of the mandala stamps with white embossing powder. I left the center open in order to add the greeting from Many Mandalas, also white heat embossed. I added a circle of foam adhesive, then filled my shaker with a variety of sequins from my stash. I used a medium gray card stock to back my shaker, to add a bit of contrast to the vellum embossed focal point. The final step was to tie a twine bow around the top, which I think really adds to the “doily” feel. Aren’t those dies just divine?

For my second project, I wanted to show how beautifully the Many Mandalas set worked with my (ahem, copious) collection of Concord and 9th products! I love creating custom background patterns, and the Many Mandala set is absolutely perfect for creating your own patterned paper. I went for a stark black and white color scheme, but can you imagine how gorgeous it would be with a rainbow of colors? Or using pastels? I can’t wait to play more! Anyway, I stamped my entire A2 card front using plain black ink and the mandalas in a variety of sizes. Next, I cut a 3.75×5″ panel of aqua cardstock and die cut “kind” using the Double Cut Alphabet dies. I wanted that pretty black and white pattern to show through from behind! I die cut another “kind” from black card stock and set it aside for assembly. I heat embossed the rest of my greeting using Versamark and clear embossing powder.

I adhered the aqua panel directly to the card front, inlaying the black outlines from the “kind” die cuts I had saved earlier. For the florals, I die cut the pretty flower die from the Brushed Blossom set four times, twice from a scrap of white card stock upon which I’d stamped a full mandala from Many Mandalas, and twice again from black card stock, leaving the cutouts within the white die cut. I trimmed a couple of the leaves off of the ends of the top black die cut and left the bottom one intact, adhering them to my aqua panel. I then used my Mandala-stamped die cuts to inlay the center of the flowers, just to add a little interest. The final step was to use my T-ruler to add a thin black box towards the outer edge of the aqua panel. If I’d had time, I probably would have remade this card to add a thin mat of black card stock behind the aqua, just to add a bit more definition between the patterned card base and the aqua panel, but oh well. Hindsight is 20/20, right?

Well, that’s all for me today. I hope you’ve enjoyed my musings on the Many Mandala set. It’s such a classic set that I foresee getting quite a bit of use at my craft desk! Have a marvelous day, friends!

Guesting with Concord and 9th!

Good morning! I’m back today with another guest post for Concord and 9th! I could not be more thrilled to be one of their guests this month, amongst some very talented company… and the release this month was just incredible. Seriously. Love. Today I’m focusing on their new Cuddles and Hugs stamp and die set (which you can purchase individually or as a discounted bundle. Love that Concord and 9th gives you the option for either!). Now, I always love when I’m able to use just one stamp and die set to create an entire card. This first card uses just the new Cuddles and Hugs stamp and die set, with one small addition that is totally optional. Let’s get started!

I began my project by stamping the large heart image from the Cuddles and Hugs stamp set onto some masking paper and fussy cut it. I then stamped it again onto a panel of white card stock using aqua ink. I placed my heart mask over the top of my stamped panel, then used a foam blending tool and the same aqua ink to blend a very subtle halo around the heart, highlighting the shape and the adorable words within the heart. I die cut the large puffy “hugs” die twice, once from black card stock and again from silver foil card stock, inlaying the black within the silver. So elegant, don’t you think? The silver really makes it pop off of the page! I adhered it to the heart panel, then added the rest of the greeting (also from the coordinating stamp set) using black ink.

Now, I try to live by the Rule of Three when creating. If you’re going to have an element on your card, whether it is a color, a shape, or embellishment, try to have at least three of those elements on your project. (According to the Powers That Be, and for some reason that I can’t explain, multiples of three are more visually appealing.) I had two different elements of black on my card, so I decided that I would add some black to the card base itself to add a touch more interest. I pulled out my Stripe Builder stamp set, inked it up with black ink, and added it to my white A2 card base. I adhered some strips of coordinating aqua card stock to the white panel, then used dimensional adhesive to pop the entire thing up off of the card base. The final touch was to add three die cut hearts (included with the Cuddles and Hugs die set) that I covered with Wink of Stella glitter pen and Glossy Accents.(more Rule of Three!) Bold and graphic. Not my usual style, but I’m totally loving it!

For my next project, I wanted to show how beautifully the slim Hugs die works on it’s own. If you’ve ever looked at my blog before or followed me on Instagram, you know that watercoloring with my Zig markers is just about my most favorite crafty thing, and Concord and 9th has some of my most favorite images to color. Case in point: the floral spray from Hello Lovely. I seriously cannot get enough of this gorgeous bouquet. It even has artistic splatters that I seem to be incapable of creating haha! Anyway, I stamped and heat embossed it in white onto some Canson Montval watercolor paper, then colored it in some vintage-y, subtle shades using my Zig markers and a damp paintbrush.

The skinny “hugs” die is so delicate and beautiful… but, when you layer it up, as I’ve done here, you get a gorgeous dimensional embellishment. It certainly is capable of holding its own on a card front. I simply die cut it from some mauve-y pewter shimmer card stock once, then twice more from regular white card stock, adhered them all together, then added them to the front of my 4×5.25″ watercolor panel. I white heat embossed the “friend” (from the coordinating Cuddles and Hugs stamp set) onto some pale gray card stock and popped it up with dimensional adhesive. The last step was to adhered the entire watercolored panel to an A2 sized panel of the mauve-y pewter shimmer card stock. (Mauve-y pewter is the technical name for that color. Ha!) A completely opposite style and feel from the first card, but I love them both! This stamp and die set is so versatile!

Well, what do you think? Are you loving the new Concord and 9th release as much as I am?? Can’t wait to hear what you think! Thanks so much for visiting today! Have a marvelous weekend, friends.