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Sixth Street Sundries

Emily Midgett

Hero Arts

October My Monthly Hero Blog Hop+Giveaway!

Hi there! Welcome to this month’s Hero Arts My Monthly Hero Blog Hop! You should have arrived from Debi Adams, and your next stop is Ilina Crouse. This month’s My Monthly Hero Kit features a super fun retro holiday theme for your holiday crafting enjoyment. This kit was such a blast to play with… so many fun elements to play with. Let’s take a peek at the kit contents:

This month’s kit contains:

6″ x 8″ Clear Stamp Set
19 Coordinating Frame Cuts
2 5.5″ x 8.5″ Sheets of Chrome Cardstock
6 5.5″ x 8.5″ Sheets of Neon Cardstock
Clay Snowflake Embellishments
Prisma Glitter 0.5 oz.

This kit has so many components. The value is over $75, but it’s available for purchase for only $34.99! These kits frequently sell out, and once they’re gone, they’re gone… so don’t wait and miss out! You can also subscribe to make sure that you get first dibs every month. The kits will begin shipping from the warehouse on Friday, October 11, 2019. I have two projects to share with you today, so let’s get started with the details!

For my first card, I used the fabulous vintage car from the main kit to create this utterly retro scene. My absolute favorite holiday movie is National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation. Remember that memory from when Clark is a kid and he’s helping his parents unload all of the gifts from the trunk of their car? That scene was the inspiration for this project.

I began by stamping the fabulous 50’s car and a bunch of presents using Intens-ified Black Ink on some Copic-friendly white cardstock. I then used my Copic markers in super retro shades of aqua and red to color the images, finally die cutting them with the coordinating frame cuts, included in the main kit.

For the card base, I subtly blended some Aegean ink on a white card base using a blender brush, then used the snowflakes included in the main kit’s stamp set to stamp some Strawberry and Aegean snowflakes. I stamped a few of the snowflakes full strength, but stamped off once for the rest of them, creating a much more subtle effect. I stamped the greeting from the main kit on the bottom using more Intens-ified Black ink, then added the die cuts to the card front using dimensional foam adhesive.

For my second project, I wanted to use my favorite of the add-ons from this month: Ornament Pieces Cover Plate. The cover plate add-on dies are some of my favorite part of each My Monthly Hero release. They contain so much detail that they can easily stand on their own as a design for a card front! Talk about perfect for holiday mass-production! I took this project a couple of steps further, adding some ink blending and turning it into a shaker card, but it could easily be simplified for mass production.

I began by die cutting the Ornament Pieces Cover Plate from some Cherry cardstock. I added a panel of acetate behind it to create the windows for my shaker card. Next, I trimmed down an A2 panel of Arctic cardstock and blended some more Aegean ink around the edges to add a bit more interest to the background.

I filled the shaker with some sparkly sequins and closed it up. The final touch was to add a greeting from the new Merry Christmas Script stamp & cut set, which I die cut from some sparkling white cardstock created by putting super strong adhesive on white cardstock and adding some of the beautiful new Prisma Glitter included in the main kit!

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

We will give away one $50 gift card, drawn from the comments left across the hop. Enter by Sunday, October 13th at 11:59pm pacific, and the winner will be announced on the Hero Arts blog the following week. The more comments you leave, the more chances you have to win!

Your next stop is Ilina Crouse. Thanks so much for stopping by today, and happy hopping!

Hero Arts Partners Blog Hop: Lawn Fawn!

Hi there! I’m back today with another collaboration blog hop to celebrate Hero Arts and their incredible 45 year anniversary in this fabulous crafty industry! You should have arrived here from Elise Constable’s blog, and your next stop is Grace Camou. The folks at Hero Arts have collaborated with Concord and 9th, Gina K, Pinkfresh Studio, and this month, we are so excited to work with the creative ladies at Lawn Fawn! Who doesn’t love some adorable Lawn Fawn-y cuteness? We have lots of inspiration using this new set, called Big Thanks, as well as fantastic prizes, so be sure to read all the way to the end to get all of the details! Let’s get started!

For my project today, I combined the darling little rhino pals in Big Thanks with some of Hero Arts’s most beloved dies and fantastic inks to create a little scene! I began by stamping several of the images from Big Thanks onto some white cardstock using Intensified Black Ink, then used my Copic markers to color the images in and cut them out with the coordinating Frame Cuts.

To “ground” the little scene that I intended to create, I die cut a heart using the Nesting Hearts Infinity Dies from some Periwinkle cardstock. I then blended some Blue Hawaii Reactive Ink along the top portion of the heart die cut to give it a bit of extra dimension. I mounted the heart on an A2 panel of white cardstock using foam tape.

Next, I stamped the greeting from Big Thanks on some strips of white cardstock, which I then used as my baseline for my little scene. I arranged the rhinos and other accoutrements on the card front, adhering them to the blended blue heart “sky.”

Well, that’s all for my project today! Now, for some fun prizes!

There will be 3 prizes, drawn from comments left across the blog hop:
– One winner will receive the stamp set and dies!
– One winner will receive a $25 shopping spree at Lawn Fawn
– One winner will receive a $25 shopping spree at Hero Arts
You have until Sunday, September 29 to leave your comments, and the winner will be announced on the Hero Arts blog the following week. The more comments you leave, the more chances you have to win, so be sure to comment on all of the stops!

Your next stop on the hop is Grace Camou. Or, you can head back to the Hero Arts blog to see the full list of stops.

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

September 2019 My Monthly Hero+Giveaway!

Hi there! Today’s the day…. it’s (almost) the first Monday of the new month, so we have the newest My Monthly Hero release and blog hop to share with you today! This month’s kit is perfect for those difficult-to-create masculine cards. Let’s get started with some of the details!

This month’s My Monthly Hero kit features another of the super popular peekaboo die sets, this time with a “Cabinet of Curiosities” theme just in time for Halloween! The kit features a 6×8 stamp set, cover plate die, three word dies, some fabulous specialty card stocks, little bee and key charms, and some Bronze Silk ink. The contents of this kit values at over $75, but the price is only $34.99! These kits frequently sell out, and once they’re gone, they’re gone… so don’t wait and miss out! You can also subscribe to make sure that you get first dibs every month. The kits will begin shipping from the warehouse on Friday, September 6, 2019. I have two projects to share with you today, so let’s get started with the details!

For my first project, I wanted to show you a different way to use the contents of the kit’s stamp set, so I decided to create a little framed collection of “rarities.” I stamped several of the botanical jars on some white card stock with Intensified Black Ink, then used my Copic markers to add color and fussy cut them.

I die cut a frame from some of the olive green woodgrain card stock from the kit using the Woodgrain Infinity Dies. I layered it on some of the shimmery brown card stock from the kit and popped it up with some foam tape. The final touch was to add a bit of color with some yellow enamel dots!

For my second project, I wanted to use one of the pretty add-ons: Sacred Florals. I heat embossed one of the main images and some of the bubbles using silver embossing powder on some watercolor cardstock. I used my Daniel Smith watercolors in a pretty, summery color scheme with a lovely coral peony in the center. I die cut the images using the coordinating frame cuts.

I used the same shades of watercolors to create a watercolor wash panel for the background. I added the die cut pieces to the front using foam and liquid adhesive. For the greeting, I heat embossed a white sentiment from the Sacred Florals stamp set on a small rectangle of Lapis cardstock. The final touch was to add some blue and aqua enamel dots for a bit of texture!

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

Hero Arts is giving away one kit to a lucky commenter (and if you’ve already purchased one, they will reimburse you!). All you have to do to be eligible is leave a comment on each stop on the blog hop. The more comments you leave, the more chances you have to win!

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

The Hero Arts Blog Amy Kolling Caly Person Debi Adams Emily Midgett Ilina Crouse Janette Kausen Julee Tilman Laurie Willison Libby Hickson Lydia Fiedler Mariana Grigsby Michelle Short Nichol Spohr

Hero Arts Oh What Fun Catalog Release+Blog Hop!

Hi there! Today is the blog hop for this year’s holiday catalog from Hero Arts. You should have arrived here from Debi Adams’s blog, and your next stop is Ilina Crouse’s blog. There are some fantastic new products in this Oh What Fun catalog, with lots of beautiful, classy dies and some adorable new autumn and holiday stamp sets. I have two projects that I created for the catalog to share with you today, so let’s get started with the details! Be sure to read all the way to the end to get all of the information on the giveaways up for grabs!

I stuck with a bold red, silver, black, and white color scheme for both of my projects today, allowing the super detailed and stunning new dies to take center stage. For my first card, I stamped the Holiday Florals Bold Prints background on a panel of white cardstock using Silver ink, then die cut one of the beautiful new Poinsettia and Ornament Fancy Die from the center of the patterned panel. I also die cut another Poinsettia and Ornament Fancy Die from some Cherry card stock.

I wanted to create a shaker card from the negative space with a bright red inlaid die cut, so I backed the patterned die cut panel with acetate and adhered the red detailed die cut piece over the top of the acetate. I also die cut one of the beautiful new Holidays Fancy Message Dies from Pitch Black card stock and adhered it at an angle over the top of my shaker front.

I filled my shaker with some beautiful shimmering sequins and sealed it up! A fun and sparkling project with a hint of elegance using these beautiful new dies from the Oh What Fun catalog.

For my second project, I used the die cut created from the patterned panel from the first project Poinsettia and Ornament Fancy Die as part of the focal point. (Waste not; want not, right?) It had already been stamped with that lovely silver pattern, so I simply black embossed a sentiment from the new Holiday Messages and Icons (which is totally a must-have holiday sentiment set, in my opinion. So many gorgeous greetings with a lovely font.) in the center of the patterned ornament.

In keeping with my bold color scheme, I die cut the fabulous new Paper Layering Poinsettia from some more Cherry cardstock, with leaves of Palm.

I arranged all of the die cuts on a white card base, adding some white Nuvo drops to the poinsettia centers for a bit of extra texture, then adhered everything using foam adhesive for lots of dimension for this bright white card. The final touch was to add a few Ombre Blush sequins!

Well, that’s all for my projects today. There is a veritable creative smorgasbord of inspiration using the new products on this hop, so be sure to check out each stop!

There is a $50 gift certificate up for grabs to help celebrate this latest catalog release from Hero Arts. All you have to do to win is leave comments on each stop on the hop. The more comments you leave, the more chances you have to win! Your next stop is Ilina Crouse’s blog. Happy hopping!

Hero Arts
Caly Person
Debby Hughes
Debi Adams
Emily Midgett
Ilina Crouse
Janette Kausen
Jenn Shurkus
Jennifer McGuire
Jessica Frost-Ballas
Julee Tilman
Laura Bassen
Libby Hickson
Lydia Fiedler
Mariana Grigsby
Nichol Spohr
Wanda Guess
Yana Smakula

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

Hero Arts and Pinkfresh Studio Collaboration Celebration Blog Hop!

Hi there! Today, I’m super excited to be taking part in another fabulous blog hop featuring a collaborative effort from two of my favorite stamp companies: Hero Arts and Pinkfresh Studios! I am lucky enough to serve on the design teams for both of these fantastic companies, so I was extra thrilled when I heard that they were going to be working together for a collaborative stamp set! This beautiful new set features a gorgeous floral frame, as well as some fantastic sentiments drawn by my friend Caly Person. You should have arrived here from Cathy Zielske’s blog, and your next stop is Heather Hoffman’s blog.

The stamp set, called You Make A Difference (you can see it here on the Hero Arts website as well as here on the Pinkfresh Studios website), features such beautiful, poignant sentiments in addition to that gorgeous floral frame. A must-have, to be sure! I’ve paired it with my Caran D’Ache colored pencils for a hand-drawn look. Let’s get started with the details!

I began by stamping the beautiful floral image from the stamp set on an A2 panel of Pebble card stock using Unicorn White pigment ink. I then used a variety of plum, blue, and fuchsia pencils to add color to the beautifully detailed image, coloring directly over the top of the stamped images.

After I’d finished my pencil coloring, I used Wet Cement ink and the Life Changing Blender Brushes from Picket Fence Studios to blend a bit of a halo around the edges of the panel. The gray ended up picking up a bit of the green from the foliage as I blended, but I really liked the effect! It reminded me of a mystical glen or something. (Ha, that’s stretching it a bit, Emily…)

After I’d finished with my card base, I die cut the Love Stamp and Cut from Hero Arts three times using Plum card stock and adhered them together to create a dimensional die cut. I also white embossed the coordinating greeting, also from the Love Stamp and Cut, on some strips of Pebble card stock. I popped them up with a bit of foam tape for extra dimension.

Well, that’s all for my project today! Now, I’ve got some fun giveaway information for you!

3 different prizes are up for grabs, drawn from comments left across the blog hop:
One winner will receive the stamp set!
One winner will receive a $25 shopping spree at Pinkfresh Studio
One winner will receive a $25 shopping spree at Hero Arts

The more comments you leave, the more chances you have to win!

Your next stop on the hop is Heather Hoffman. You can also head back to the Hero Arts blog to start at the beginning if you get lost. Thanks so much for stopping by today, and have a marvelous day!