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Sixth Street Sundries

Emily Midgett

Hero Arts

October 2018 My Monthly Hero Blog Hop + Giveaway!

Good morning! Today is the monthly Hero Arts My Monthly Hero Blog Hop celebrating the fabulous new My Monthly Hero kit! This month, we are featuring a beautiful holiday kit, chock full of gorgeous vintage-y holiday images! For today’s hop, you should have arrived from Debi Adam’s blog, and your next stop is Ilina Crouse’s blog! The My Monthly Hero kits are always an excellent value, and this month is no exception. Here’s a sneak peek at the full kit:

Absolutely fabulous, right?! The full 6×8 stamp set with gorgeous snowy images… the beautiful sparkly paper… and can we just talk about the iridescent shimmer watercolor?! A fantastic value that is worth over $70 retail is available for purchase now for only $34.99! These kits frequently sell out, so it’s always a good idea to subscribe if you want to ensure that you’ll get your hands on one! The kit & add-ons go live in the Hero Arts store on Monday, October 1 at 1pm eastern/10am pacific. The main kit is available for a limited time only – once it’s gone, it’s gone. Kits begin shipping from Hero Arts on Friday, October 5, 2018.

I have a couple of projects for you today, featuring both the kit and a few of the add-ons available for purchase today, as well. First up: A wintry, romantic shaker made using the sweet skating pair from the kit, some mistletoe, and some gorgeous chunky glitter. Let’s get started with the details!

To start, I stamped the skating pair, mistletoe, and frozen pond from this month’s My Monthly Hero kit onto some white, Copic-friendly card stock using Intense Black ink, then die cut the individual pieces with the coordinating dies included in the kit. I colored them with my Copic markers in coordinating color combination, also adding some sparkle pen to the frozen pond to make it really icy.

To create the shaker, I die cut a circle using the Circle Infinity Dies from another piece of white card stock, then backed it with acetate. I stamped the greeting from the main kit at the bottom, again using Intense Black Ink. After my sentiment had been stamped, I added some foam tape to the the back of my window panel, filled my shaker with some Snowfall Glitter, die cuts from the Snowfall Confetti Cuts cover plate, and some white sequins from Hero Arts. I added the frozen pond to the card front first, then added the ice skating couple and mistletoe to complete my snowy little scene. Wouldn’t this card be just perfect for newlyweds to send for their first Christmas together?

For my second project today, I wanted to whip up some quick little tags to get started on my tag stash for this holiday season. We have some fantastic new tag dies as add-ons this month, and you don’t need to add a whole lot to them to create a cute little gift topper. For the new Ornament Tag, I simply die cut it from white card stock, then added a background using the new Delicate Snowflakes Bold Print background using light gray ink and a sentiment using the new Merry and Bright Messages in dark gray, finishing it off with some black twine. For the tree, I used the new Tree Tags Fancy die cut from some more white card stock, then heat embossed a greeting from the new Peace, Love, and Joy stamp set using silver embossing powder. To add some color, I blended some Aegean ink over the top to create a vibrant green Christmas tree. Some twine at the top finished it off. Simple and quick enough that I won’t be saddened when they are casually thrown in the trash along with the wrapping paper at Christmas haha!

Well, that’s all for me today! The holidays are in full swing in my craft room, even if it is 80* outside haha!

Now for some fun giveaway information! Hero Arts is giving away an October My Monthly Hero kit to one lucky winner (and if you purchase a kit and then win, they will reimburse you!). All you have to do to enter is comment on the blog hop posts. The more comments you leave, the more chances to you have to win! Here’s the full lineup in case you get lost:

The Hero Arts Blog
Caly Person
Debi Adams
Emily Midgett
Ilina Crouse
Janette Kausen
Jennifer McGuire
Jessica Frost-Ballas
Julee Tilman
Kelly Latevola
Laurie Willison
Libby Hickson
Lydia Fiedler
Michelle Short
Nichol Spohr
Yana Smakula

Thanks so much for dropping by today! Happy hopping!


Nostalgic Holiday Cards…

Make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. And when they’re easily mass-produced, well, that just makes life so much easier, right? I have a cute little card for you today that was inspired by one of those beautiful ceramic holiday villages that used to grace the top of my Grammy’s credenza when I was younger. It was always so beautifully, pristinely white, so I tried to recreate it as best I could with the new Neighborhood Paper Layering dies from the Season of Wonder Holiday Catalog from Hero Arts. Super simple, and would be a great mass-produced holiday card! Let’s get started with the details!

I began by die cutting just the interior of the two dies. The die set comes with the option to die cut around the edge of the detailed central die, allowing for a full die cut, or you can simply die cut the center portion and leave the rest of the card front as is. I die cut the detailed portion from some white card stock, then popped out all of the windows and doors to create a sweet little village scene. I then stamped the greeting from Ski Holiday using Navy ink. Next, I added some foam tape to the back, taking care not to cover any windows or doors, and backed this piece with an A2 panel of Pool Layering Paper for a cool, wintry effect.

The final touch was to add some Nuvo Snowfall Glitter Accents to add some extra texture and further enhance that overall icy, wintry feel.

Well, that’s all for me today! Wouldn’t this card be so great for mass production? Leave off the foam tape and use regular adhesive and it would be super easy to mail, as well! Thanks so much for stopping by, and have a marvelous day!


More fun with the My Monthly Hero kit!

Good morning! I have another project using the September My Monthly Hero kit. The kit has SO many gorgeous images, including several vases for creating your own floral arrangements, as well as many different options for foliage and branches. The options are really endless! Today, I combined the images from the kit with some of the beautiful add-ons, so let’s get started with the details!

I started by die cutting and stamping the vase and some of the foliage from the main kit onto some watercolor paper using Intense Black ink. Next, I used the Hero Arts watercolors to add color to the images. I also stamped and die cut some of the gourds from Autumn Bounty and watercolored them, as well.

For the background, I embossed the beautiful new Patterned Lanterns Bold Prints background using Gold Sparkle embossing powder. I arranged the die cuts in a cluster and adhered them using both liquid and dimensional adhesive. I added a greeting: a heat embossed thankful from the main kit on a strip of red card stock.

Well, what do you think? I love this September My Monthly Hero kit… it’s got so many fun bits and pieces. There are still a few kits left, so if you’re on the fence about purchasing this month’s kit, be sure to head over to Hero Arts and get your kit on! These kits are limited edition, so once it’s sold out, it’s gone for good!

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


September My Monthly Hero Blog Hop+ Giveaway!

Good morning! Today is the monthly Hero Arts My Monthly Hero Blog Hop celebrating the fabulous new My Monthly Hero kit! This month, we are featuring a beautiful autumnal kit, chock full of gorgeous botanical images with a bit of Asian influence! For today’s hop, you should have arrived from Jennifer McGuire‘s blog, and your next stop is Caly Person‘s blog! The My Monthly Hero kits are always an excellent value, and this month is no exception.

This kit, including a large 6×8 stamp set, coordinating dies, beautiful fancy oval frame die, and accessories is valued at over $70, but is available for purchase now for $34.99! These kits frequently sell out, so it’s always a good idea to subscribe if you want to ensure that you’ll get your hands on one! The kit & add-ons go live in the Hero Arts store on Tuesday, September 4th at 1pm eastern/10am pacific. The main kit is available for a limited time only – once it’s gone, it’s gone. Kits begin shipping from Hero Arts on Friday, September 7th.

I combined the gorgeous autumnal fancy frame die with the new Glimmer Metallic Inks in my countdown post here, but today I wanted to show some of the beautiful botanical images included in the main stamp set. There are some stunning florals included, which the ever-knowledgeable Jessica Frost-Ballas informed me are Chinese lanterns. These plants have a bright red bulb-like flower that drip off of the main stems so gracefully… I knew I needed to do some watercoloring with these gorgeous flowers.

I began by stamping and die cutting several of the Chinese lantern images from the kit using Hero Arts’s Intense Black ink,  a waterproof ink that stays nice and crisp even on watercolor paper. I then watercolored the images using the new add-on Orange Liquid Watercolor, followed by some shadows created with the Red Glimmer Metallic Ink. I used the Glimmer Ink instead of just using Strawberry Liquid Watercolor because the Glimmer Inks are a bit more bold and slightly more intensely pigmented than the regular liquid watercolors…. plus, they’re metallic, so yay! They react similarly to the watercolors in that, when you lay down the concentrated color, you can create a nice fade with a clean, damp paintbrush. I added touches of the Red Glimmer Metallic Ink over the top of the orange, then pulled the color out with my wet paintbrush to create almost a glaze of metallic shimmer. I added some Moss Liquid Watercolor to the foliage, as well.

For the background, I used the new Patterned Leaves Bold Prints, stamped in Red Royal on some red card stock. I love the subtle texture that the tone-on-tone background provides for the floral bouquet. It’s just enough to add interest to the background without distracting from the beautiful floral images. I adhered my bouquet of exotic flowers to the card front using liquid adhesive, then added a stamped sentiment strip to the bottom of the card front using dimensional foam adhesive.

Now for some fun giveaway information! Hero Arts is giving away a September My Monthly Hero kit to one lucky winner (and if you purchase a kit and then win, they will reimburse you!). All you have to do to enter is comment on the blog hop posts. The more comments you leave, the more chances to you have to win! Here’s the full lineup in case you get lost:

The Hero Arts Blog
Ilina Crouse
Lydia Fiedler
Jessica Frost-Ballas
Libby Hickson
Janette Kausen
Amy Kolling
Kelly Latevola
Jennifer McGuire
Emily Midgett<— you are here!
Caly Person
Michelle Short
Jenn Shurkus
Yana Smakula
Nichol Spohr
Julee Tilman

Well, that’s all for me today! Happy hopping, and good luck!


Hero Arts Season of Wonder Blog Hop!

Good morning! Today, the Hero Arts Creative Team and some incredibly talented guests are taking part in a blog hop to help officially welcome the new Season of Wonder Catalog to the Hero Arts store! You may have noticed these products at your favorite retailers over the last few weeks, but they’re now officially available in the Hero Arts store. You should have arrived here from Ilina Crouse’s blog, and your next stop is Clare Prezzia’s blog. Today, I have two projects to share with you using the new products from the catalog, one holiday card (who doesn’t need to get moving on their holiday cards these days, amirite?) and one more generic, happy card using some of the new woodblock stamps. Make sure you read all the way to the end to get all of the information for the generous giveaway from Hero Arts! Let’s get started with the details!

For my first project, I decided to use the new Home For the Holidays stamp set. I love the homespun feel of the cabins… totally remind me of something out of Little House on the Prairie. I was invoking the feelings of reading The Long Winter when I created this card, with this lonely cabin on a snowy wilderness. I began by stamping one of the cabins from Home For the Holidays on some watercolor paper using Hero Arts Intense Black ink, then used the Hero Arts liquid watercolors in Artprint Brown, Black, and Strawberry to watercolor the cabin. I also created a blended winter sunset (sunrise? Is the sunset pink?) background using my Clarity Stencil Brushes and Soft Pink and Soft Sky inks.

I hand cut a snowdrift from some white card stock, placed my cabin die cut approximately where I wanted it, then removed them and stamped some wintry trees and smoke from the chimney using Soft Granite ink. I used Soft Granite to keep them subtle and in the background, allowing the detail of the cabin to really shine through. I also stamped the greeting from Home for the Holidays onto the bottom corner of the snow drift. The final touch was to add some glitter accents from Nuvo to create some sparkly snow around the cabin’s base, while also helping to hide that the watercolor paper around the edge of the die cut is not the same shade of white as the crisp white snowdrift. (Yes, I’m that persnickety and care about things like that.) Well, does it make you think of homesteaders out on the prairie, snowed in for the long winter? 🙂

Supplies used:



For my second project, I wanted to do something a bit more bright and colorful with the beautiful new Sunflower Woodblock stamp and Sunflower Stem Woodblock stamp. I began by stamping both stamps onto some watercolor card stock using Intense Black ink. I then used Dandelion, Artprint Brown, Black, and Moss Liquid Watercolors to watercolor these lovely floral images. I love how deep and saturated the liquid watercolors are when fully concentrated, but they really can be quite light and subtle with the addition of just a few drops of water!

For the background, I did a loose wash of the beautiful Indigo Liquid Watercolor onto a panel of A2 watercolor paper. That bright blue created a perfect “sky” behind the bold sunflowers. I fussy cut the sunflowers, then stamped the greeting on a strip of white card stock, finally adhering the flowers and sentiment to the card front using foam adhesive.

Supplies:


Now, for some fun giveaway information! Hero Arts is generously giving away TWO $50 shopping sprees to the Hero Arts store! All you have to do to be eligible is comment on the stops on the blog hop. The more comments you leave, the more chances you have to win!

The Hero Arts Blog
Yana Smakula
Wanda Guess
Nichol Spohr
Michelle Short
Megan Hoeppner
May Sukyong Park
Lydia Fiedler
Libby Hickson
Laurie Willison
Kelly Latevola
Jessica Frost-Ballas
Jennifer McGuire
Jenn Shurkus
Janette Kausen
Ilina Crouse
Emily Midgett<— you are here
Clare Prezzia
Amy Tsuruta
Amy Kolling

Thanks so much for dropping by! I hope you’re enjoying the hop and getting some great inspiration for both holiday and all year round crafting! Happy hopping!