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Sixth Street Sundries

Emily Midgett

Hero Arts

My Monthly Hero January 2020 Blog Hop+Giveaway!

Hi there! Today is the first Monday of 2020, which means a new My Monthly Hero kit (and fabulous add-ons) is now available for purchase! We are celebrating with a blog hop and giveaway. You should have arrived here from Debi Adams, and your next stop is Ilina Crouse. This first kit for the new year is one of the prettiest kits I’ve seen, featuring a huge branch of cherry blossoms, beautiful sentiments, a fun honeycomb die, and the cutest little chubby bumblebees that you ever did see!

This gorgeous kit contains: 6″ x 8″ Clear Stamp Set, Coordinating Frame Cuts, Honeycomb Window Die, Honey Lacquer Pen, six 5.5″ x 8.5″ Sheets of Paper (2 each in Pale Yellow Glitter, Black Glitter and Gold Brillanca). The kit is valued at $70, but is available for only $34.99! These kits frequently sell out very quickly, so don’t hesitate to purchase, because once it’s gone, it’s gone! You can also subscribe to ensure that you get your own kit every month.

For my project today, I couldn’t resist doing some coloring with that absolutely gorgeous cherry blossom branch from the main kit. I stamped it on Copic-friendly cardstock using Intens-ified Black ink, then used my Copic markers to color the blossoms and foliage. I also stamped that cute, chunky little bee and colored him a pretty shade of gold.

In order to highlight the black on the stamped images (and as an excuse to use that beautiful glitzy black paper included in the kit), I die cut the honeycomb window die from some plain white cardstock and backed it with the black glitter paper.

I stamped a greeting from the main kit on a strip of white cardstock, then adhered the die cuts and sentiment using foam adhesive. I finally added some black enamel dots to the card front to complete the “rule of three” (i.e.- three different uses of black) and also add some more texture ot the card front.

Well, that’s all for my project today! I hope you check out the add-ons for this kit (I tore my craft room apart last week in an attempt to get organized for the new year and ran out of time to play with the absolutely darling add-ons!), because they’re so, so cute.

Now for some fun giveaway information!

We will give away one $50 gift card, drawn from the comments left across the hop. Enter by Sunday, January 10th 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 on the hop is Ilina Crouse. Thanks so much for stopping by today, and happy hopping!

Elegant Christmas Cards in 20 Minutes or Less: Volume 5 with Hero Arts!

Hi there! I’m back again with the final installment of my “Christmas Cards in 20 Minutes or Less” video series. I hope you’ve gotten a tip or two on how to make elegant Christmas cards without having to make a huge time investment! For my final card today, I’m utilizing a gorgeous fancy die from Hero Arts called Floral Holiday Tree and some shiny gold foil cardstock. Here’s the video:

Or you can watch in HD here.

Shiny foil cardstock is one of the easiest ways to make an impact on your card front. Adding different textures, such as foil or glitter, makes a quick impact on your card front. The vivid background coupled with the ink blending and metallic splatters to help spotlight the die cut also add to the dramatic impact of the shiny die cut.

For this card, I began by die cutting the Floral Holiday Tree from some shiny gold foil cardstock. I then blended some Red Royal ink on a deep red cardstock and added some gold splatters with gold gouache. I heat embossed a greeting from Christmas Blessings on another strip of red cardstock, then added both the die cut and the sentiment strip using foam adhesive. The final touch was some glittery gems from Studio Katia!

I hope you’ve enjoyed this series and perhaps found it useful for your holiday cardmaking. I certainly am feeling the last minute crunch to get everything done! Thanks so much for stopping by today, and have a marvelous day!

December 2020 My Monthly Hero Blog Hop+Giveaway!

Hi there! Today is the first Monday of the new month, which means a new My Monthly Hero kit (and fabulous add-ons) is now available for purchase! We are celebrating with a blog hop and giveaway. You should have arrived here from Debi Adams, and your next stop is Ilina Crouse. This month’s kit is filled with absolutely gorgeous images that project the hopeful feeling I think we can all admit that we feel for 2021!

The kit includes: 6″ x 8″ Clear Stamp Set, Hope Word Fancy Die, Cloud Fancy Die, Cloud Window Die, 4 Reactive Ink Cubes (Early Dawn, Morning Mist, Yellow Chartreuse, Thistle), Yellow Prisma Embossing Powder 0.5 oz.. The kit is valued at $78, but retails for only $34.99! These kits frequently sell out very quickly, so don’t hesitate to purchase, because once it’s gone, it’s gone! You can also subscribe to ensure that you get your own kit every month.

I have two projects to share with you today, one using the main kit, and one using a couple of the lovely add-ons. Let’s get started with the details!

I started my card using the main kit by die cutting the beautiful cloud window from some plain white cardstock. I also die cut a couple of the standalone clouds from some more of the same white cardstock.

I placed the cloud window over another A2 panel of white cardstock, then used that as a guide to blend a lovely morning sky using Pool and Bubble Gum inks with blending brushes. I also spritzed some Iridescent Shimmer Spray on the blended card front to add some glimmer.

After the blended panel had dried, I added the sunshine rays using Silver Shadow Ink. I adhered the cloud panel using liquid adhesive, then added the clouds and a greeting from the main kit using foam adhesive for extra dimension. The final touch was a bit of glitter on the clouds to add extra emphasis on the die cut dimension on the clouds!

For my second card, I used the absolutely beautiful Sea and Sky stencil as my focus. I blended Pool, Bubble Gum, and Butter Bar inks to create my morning sea background. While the stencil was still adhered to my white card front, I spritzed it with some more Iridescent Shimmer Spray. The spray has the added benefit of kind of smoothing out the blended background.

After the background had dried completely, I applied my anti-static tool to the center of the sun, then heat embossed the cheerful greeting from You Shine.

I trimmed the blended panel down just slightly and adhered it to a Canary card base. Simple, subtle, but some pretty shimmer and shine to help the background pop!

Well, that’s all for my projects today, and 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, December 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. Happy hopping!

Hero Arts My Monthly Hero October 2020 Blog Hop+Giveaway!

Hi there! Hero Arts’s My Monthly Hero kit for October 2020 launches today, and we are celebrating this gorgeous kit and fantastic add-ons with a fun blog hop! You should have arrived here from Debi Adams, and your next stop is Ilina Crouse. This month’s kit has a beautiful holiday-theme, filled with traditional holiday silhouettes with a Nordic/folksy twist, a gorgeous ornament, and some super fun dies to create tags, ornaments, shakers…. so many options with this kit! The kit includes:

• 6″ x 8″ Clear Stamp Set
• 12 Coordinating Frame Cuts
• 1 Ornament Shape Die
• 2 Inner Ornament Dies
• 3 Embossing Powders (Red, Glacier Blue, White Sparkle), 1/2 oz. each
• 1 Watermark & Embossing Ink Cube

This individual items in this kit are valued at over $75, but is priced at only $34.99! Don’t wait too long on this one… I predict it will sell like hotcakes. You can also subscribe to be guaranteed your My Monthly Hero kit each month. And don’t forget to check out the add-ons; this month’s extras have a fantastic folksy theme, and I love all of them. I have a two projects using the main kit and one with some of the add-ons, so let’s get started with the details!

I tend to only use red at Christmas, and for these projects I thought I’d make things super fun and modern with a bright, lime-y green and super vibrant firetruck red. I created a tag and a card using the same color scheme, but these would be super pretty in shades of blue or aqua, as well!

For the tag, I began by die cutting the solid tag from the kit from white cardstock, then again with the oval insert in the center to create a frame. (There are SO many fun things that you can do with these ornament die cuts. Hello, shaker ornament with a family portrait!?) I stamped the greeting using Intens-ified Black ink, then added the folksy accents using Fresh Lawn, Neon Red, and Silver Dye inks in symmetrical pattern. I popped up the white frame using foam adhesive, then added some red and white twine to finish it off.

For the matching card, I used the new Northern Winter Cover Plate add-on die as a backdrop for the oval labels included in the kit. I die cut it from some Kiwi cardstock and layered it on an A2 panel of glittery white cardstock. I love the sparkle and subtle texture the glittery cardstock adds to the background!

I die cut one of the scalloped ovals from the main kit, then blended Neon Red ink around the edges to create a colorful mat for the sentiment oval (the leftovers from the ornament made earlier!). I stamped the greeting, again using Intens-ified Black ink, then stamped the Christmas trees included in the kit with Fresh Lawn ink, stamping off once to keep the tree images from overwhelming the sentiment. I popped everything up with some foam adhesive, then added some bright red gems to the Northern Winter Cover Plate die cut for a bit of extra texture and sparkle!

My next project uses the new Christmas Folks stamps and dies, as well as the new Holiday Graphic Patterns Bold Prints. I began by stamping the Santa and Mrs. Claus from Christmas Folks on some white cardstock using Intens-ified Black ink, then colored them using Copic markers in the same fire-engine red and neon green color scheme used previously, this time adding in some black accents, as well. I die cut the finished images using the coordinating frame cuts.

Next, I heat embossed the Holiday Graphic Patterns Bold Prints on some plain white cardstock using the white sparkle embossing powder included in the kit for some subtle, sparkling, tone-on-tone texture for the background.

I trimmed the embossed panel down just slightly, then mounted it on an A2 panel of Cherry cardstock. I popped up Santa and the Mrs. using foam adhesive, then stamped a greeting from Christmas Folks (love that font!) and matted it with some Pitch Black cardstock and popped it up, too. Clean and bright but with lots of texture and dimension!

Well, that’s all for my projects today. To celebrate this release, Hero Arts is giving away a $50 gift certificate to their online store! All you have to do to enter is leave a comment on participating blogs. The more comments you leave, the more chances you have to win! Your next stop is Ilina Crouse. Thanks so much for stopping by, and have a marvelous day!

Simon Say Stamptember with Hero Arts!

Hi there! I have the pleasure of helping introduce this year’s Stamptember collaboration with Hero Arts: Park Scene! This sweet stamp set is full of images perfect for building an idyllic park scene in a huge variety of styles, scenes, and layouts. Here’s a peek at this exclusive stamp set:

I was running a little short on time this week, but I was able to create this super cute card in under an hour using the Park Scene stamps and the older Nesting Wood Frame Cuts to create this charming little card. Let’s get started with the details!

I began by stamping the bench, trees, and sentiment from Park Scene on an A2 panel of white cardstock using Intens-ified Black ink. I then used Pine and Fresh Lawn inks with the solid leaf stamps to add foliage to the treetops. I also added some Copic shading to the bench and tree trunks.

Next, I used an ink blending brush to add some Soft Sky ink to the background. I die cut a Nesting Wood Frame Cuts from some Pitch Black cardstock. I adhered the stamped scene to the back of the frame, then popped it up on a white A2 card base to add some dimension.

Well, that’s all for me today! I hope you’re enjoying all of these super fun Stamptember releases. Remember, if you like something, be sure to grab it ASAP-once these babies are gone, they’re not coming back! Thanks so much for dropping by today, and have a marvelous day!