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Sixth Street Sundries

Emily Midgett

A7

Customizing Die Cuts with Alcohol Markers!

This post is sponsored by Simon Says Stamp. Thanks, Simon!

Hi there! Do you love standalone dies like I do? There is something so exciting to me about a simple die cut shape, full of possibilities for customization, whether it is from colored cardstock choices to which coloring medium you choose to employ. Color combinations are one of my favorite ways to start a project. I figure out which color combination I want to use, then select which stamps and dies would work well with it. For today’s project, I was still heavily inspired by the soft cotton candy colors from THIS post and THIS post, but wanted to use my Copic markers instead of watercolors. I’ve had a project featuring this sweet bird nestled amongst the foliage ever since I saw this birdhouse die, and created this intricately detailed 5×7 card. Let’s get started with the details!

To begin my card, I die cut the Scalloped Birdhouse, Layered Songbird, Etched Meadow Flower + Leaves, Delicate Leafy Branch, and So Sorry stamps + Dies from plain white Hammermill cardstock. I found a color combination graphic on my Color Combos Pinterest Board and matched some Copics specifically to those colors. Once I had my specific colors, I used my Hex Chart to flesh out each shade so that I would have darker and lighter options for adding shadows and depth to each of the die cut images.

I kept the colors muted, with soft mauve, apricot, and sage green, accented with warm gray to create this serene little birdhouse scene. For the Layered Songbird, I “glazed” the little gray bird with some mauve to create this uniquely colored little wren. After I had colored all of the different die cut components, I set them aside to focus on the card front. Because the Scalloped Birdhouse is so generously sized, I trimmed down a panel of white cardstock to 5×7 to allow plenty of room for all of my different elements. To create the ethereal sunrise background in my head, I lightly blended Winter Sky, Pale Blush Pink, and Merlot inks on my white card front using blending brushes. Doesn’t it look just like a soft summer sunrise?

After all of my blending and coloring was complete, I began to arrange the different die cut and colored components on the card front. I used both liquid and foam adhesive to create tons of dimension on the arrangements. For the greeting, I heat embossed a greeting from So Sorry onto white cardstock using Platinum embossing powder. To keep the color scheme uniform, I lightly blended some more Pale Blush Pink ink over the embossing, then die cut the sentiment with the coordinating dies. I popped the greeting up with a double layer of foam adhesive so that it would really stand out amongst the die cuts.

Well, that’s all for this project! I think this card would look so beautiful as a special holiday card, don’t you? That Scalloped Birdhouse is just begging to be decorated with spruce sprigs, berries, and snow! Thanks so much for stopping by today, and have a marvelous day!

VIDEO: Bright Watercolored Highlights with New Pinkfresh Studio!

Hi there! I have a new video over on the Pinkfresh Studio YouTube channel with some tips on how to keep your highlights nice and white on your light colored watercoloring by using “reverse psychology” for your watercoloring! Here’s the video:

Or you can watch the video on YouTube HERE.

In case you can’t watch the video, here’s a quick rundown of how I created this project:

I started with a panel of cold press watercolor paper which I had hot foiled using my newest illustration for Pinkfresh Studio: Wonderful in Every Way. (I am so excited to see this design offered in a stamp set with coordinating stencils and die as well as a hot foil plate!) I used some satin metallic charcoal foil to create this soft silver design on this watercolor paper; the thickness of the watercolor paper creates the look of letterpress!

When I was brainstorming my project, I wanted to create a watercolored card with very pale blooms. Now, I tend to have a bit of a heavy hand when it comes to watercoloring; I love vibrant color, but I so admire the beautifully soft watercoloring that others are so capable of creating. The easiest way that I can achieve soft watercolored flowers is to do “reverse psychology” on myself by watercoloring around the pale image first with a bright contrasting color, then adding very pale watercolor to the image I want to keep pale and pastel. The contrast of the bright color around the image allows me to better visualize the lightness I’m seeking. I add diluted color to the areas that I want to be the most shadowed, pulling out the color with lots of clean water and allowing the whiteness of the watercolor paper to shine through. That extra water is key; it helps to allow the pigment to taper off into nothing, leaving those white highlights.

Once I had finished watercoloring, I trimmed my watercolor panel down to 3.5″x5.5″ in order to create an A7 card (just wanted to switch things up a bit!). I matted it with a coordinating deep green cardstock for extra contrast, then trimmed an A7 card front from some coordinating pale lavender cardstock. I added some interest to the lavender background by die cutting an Outline Floral Frame from some glittery white cardstock and selectively trimming to create a lacy border around the corners. I popped up the watercolored matted panel with some foam adhesive.

For the greeting, I used the Fancy Script Words Hot Foil Plate with the Fancy Script Words Die and some shiny Pewter foil to create this intricate, fairly large sentiment die cut. I also die cut a vellum diamond using the Nested Diamonds dies. I adhered the greeting to the vellum diamond with some foam tape, then flipped it over and added some tiny dots of adhesive to the back of the solid die cut to help hide it. I adhered the vellum diamond to the watercolored panel, slightly offsetting it and trimming off the excess. Finally, I added some Leaf Glitter Drops for a bit of added sparkle and texture.

Well, that’s all for my project today! If creating a light, airy watercolored flower intimidates you, I encourage you to try my “reverse psychology” method to keep that contrast of colors in perspective. Thanks so much for stopping by today, and have a marvelous day!