Sixth Street Sundries

Emily Midgett

anita jeram

Stamptember + Colorado Craft Company!

Have you been following along with the fabulous Simon Says Stamp Stamptember collaboration releases? Throughout the month of September (can we just call September “Stamptember” from now on?), many of the stamp companies that we know and love collaborate with Simon Says Stamp to release unique, limited edition stamp sets to celebrate Stamptember! They are so highly anticipated… it’s not surprising that they’ve been selling out so quickly!! Tonight’s collaboration stamp set comes from one of my favorite companies: Colorado Craft Company! It’s a darling Anita Jeram design, featuring a large mouse on the hunt for some falling stars, as well as a variety of sizes of stars and some lovely, uplifting sentiments. I have a slimline project to share with you today, so let’s get started with the details!

I trimmed down a slimline card base (3.5″x8.5″) from some Copic-friendly white cardstock. I stamped the mouse on the bottom of the card base using Copic-friendly black ink, then stamped the stars in what is hopefully a relatively random pattern. I used OLO markers to add some subtle warm gray shadows to the mouse and colored the stars a lovely shade of muted gold.

After I’d finished coloring the images, I used Altenew’s Obsidian pigment ink and clear embossing powder to add the greeting from the CCC Stamptember set. The use of the pigment ink and embossing powder helps to create a darker, more crisp sentiment that stands out from the black outlines of the colored images themselves.

I added some subtle Simon Says Stamp Morning Pawsitively Saturated ink, blending lightly around the edge of the slimline card base just to add a little extra interest to the background. Finally, I used a Gold Nuvo Shimmer brush to add some subtle gold sparkle to the stars. This card would be super easy to mail, with just one layer! I love how large the Anita Jeram images are… they make quick work of a large card front!

Well, that’s all for my projects today! I know that it is very likely that this Colorado Craft Company Stamptember collaboration stamp set will sell out very quickly. (Last year’s CCC Stamptember set sold out within minutes) If you’re at all interested in this set, don’t hesitate! If you’ve missed out, don’t forget that there are many other Anita Jeram mice stamp sets at Simon Says Stamp that you can pick up, as well! You can check out all of the Colorado Craft Company sets HERE. I just published a blog post sharing some fun inspiration using some of the recent AJ sets, which you can check out HERE.

Thanks so much for stopping by today, and happy shopping!

Movie Inspiration with Colorado Craft Company + Anita Jeram!

Hi there! With summer coming to an end, I have realized how many cards I made over the last few weeks that I have just been too tired to blog at the end of the day. Colorado Craft Company has had some really beautiful Anita Jeram releases over the last couple of months, and I was excited to get the chance to play with them! I have two cards using the Time of My Life stamps and coordinating dies, and another using the more recently-released Magic Time and Fairy Godmother stamps. Let’s get started with the details!

This first card features the darling Dirty Dancing-inspired dancing kitties from Time of My Life. In my head, anytime I’m drawing a “couple,” they always have the coloring of my husband and I, even in feline form. (haha!) I stamped the dancing duo onto some white cardstock using alcohol-friendly black ink, then used OLO markers to color the images. (Patrick Swayze had reddish hair, didn’t he? Maybe I’m making that up 😉 ) I used the coordinating dies to cut out the finished images.

For the background, I wanted to create a subtle, but still magical, backdrop, so I used the Layered Confetti stencils from Simon Says Stamp. I began by lightly blending Heather, Tidepool, and Bubblegum Pawsitively Saturated inks around just the edges of my white A2 card base, then layered the stencils over the top of that subtle blending. The finished product looks like a romantic bokeh effect. It reminds me of 16 Candles or Pretty In Pink or another classic 80’s movie that culminates at a high school dance haha!

I adhered the dancing kitties on my blended card front using foam adhesive, then stamped some sentiments from the Time of My Life set on some strips of white cardstock. I popped them up on the card front with some more foam adhesive. I can’t wait to give this card to my ginger husband!!

For my second project, I did some no-line coloring using the recently-released Magic Time and Fairy Godmother stamps. I began by stamping a little scene on my card front using Contour Ink from Hero Arts. I again used my OLO markers to do some no-line coloring with these sweet mice! I couldn’t resist giving Cinderella a blue dress, and these shades of muted silvery blue were perfect for my pale gray mouse. I kept the rest of the colors muted, as well, giving the fairy godmother a cocoa brown and pink dress, and that pumpkin…. those shades blended together like butter, and I love how simultaneously bright and vibrant but still somewhat muted they are! I blended some Morning Pawsitively Saturated ink around the top, just to add a hint of color to the background.

The details on the dresses were covered up with the marker coloring, so I used handmade metallic watercolors from IUILE to add sparkling details to the dresses, the fairy godmother’s wand, and the little shower of sparkles from Cinderella’s transformation from servant to princess. I was afraid that the watercolor would warp the white cardstock, but it didn’t affect it at all! I just love the incredible sparkle this adds to the cards; watching them in real life is breathtaking!

Finally, I added a sentiment from the Fairy Godmother, which I heat embossed on a strip of Glacier cardstock from Spellbinders. It was the perfect shade of pale blue to coordinate with Cinderella’s dress and the ink blended background!

Well, that’s all for these projects today! I hope you’ll check out the Anita Jeram line from Colorado Craft Company. So many darling stamps that fit so many occasions! They are whimsical, but still maintain an element of elegance. Thanks so much for stopping by today, and have a marvelous day!

Colorado Craft Company’s November Anita Jeram Release Blog Hop!

Hi there! My friends at Colorado Craft Company have a new release featuring more precious stamps designed by Anita Jeram featuring some sweet critters up to holiday antics! We are celebrating these sweet new stamps with a blog hop. You should have arrived here from Daniel West, and your next stop is Jenn Shurkus. The Anita Jeram critter stamps are always so darling, and the sentiments are one of my favorite elements in the sets. From the darling fonts to the sweet (and sometimes a little sassy!) statements, they are so wonderful. I’ve created two projects featuring the new Hiding Presents and Santa Bunny. Let’s get started with the details!

I love to keep holiday cards somewhat simple, in both color scheme and layout. I don’t normally do much in the way of mass-production, but these cards would be fairly easy to recreate in multiples. I am really embracing pops of red on bright white holiday cards, but I wanted to add some subtle texture and pattern to the background, so I heat embossed several snowflakes from the Big & Bold Slimline Nordic Snowflakes using some white pearl embossing powder on two white A2 card fronts.

My first project features the darling Hiding Presents stamp set. I stamped the sweet (momma?) bunny hiding gifts in the tree. This set really resonated with me, as I have Christmas presents for the kids hidden in all kinds of nooks and crannies all over the house… the sentiment “I just hope I remember where I hid it all!” particularly hit home, haha!

I stamped the bunny using some Copic-friendly black ink and colored the image using some warm gray, gray-ish brown for the tree, and then some very bright pops of red for the gift and the scarf. I used the coordinating dies to cut the finished image out.

I stamped the sweet greeting on a rectangle of white cardstock using some more black ink, then trimmed it down. I popped up the die cut image and the greeting using foam tape. I love the bright, clean feel to this card, and that pop of red makes it feel so festive!

I used the same basic color scheme for my second card, this time flipping my pearly snowflake background vertically. I stamped the sneaky Santa Bunny on some more white cardstock using Copic-friendly black ink, then colored it using the same muted grays and browns, bringing the coat to life with that vivid red. I die cut the colored bunny using the coordinating dies.

I adored the whimsical arrangement of the sentiment from Santa Bunny with that swirl, so I stamped it on some more white cardstock and fussy cut it with my sharp scissors.

I adhered the die cut Santa and the sentiment using some more foam tape. I’ve found that one of the most important elements when doing cards with lots of tone-on-tone color scheme is to make sure that there are a variety of textures and dimension to help keep things from feeling flat.

Well, that’s all for my projects today! Your next stop on the hop is Jenn Shurkus. Thanks so very much for stopping by, and happy hopping!

Simon Says Stamp Stamptember with Colorado Craft Company!

Hi there! So if you’re in the stamping community, you’ll probably have heard about Stamptember and all of the wonderful collaborations that help celebrate this wonderful hobby of ours. Today’s collaboration features one of my favorite brands: Colorado Craft Company! The sweet stamp set for today features some new illustrations from Anita Jeram. I have a sweet, simple project featuring the new images, so let’s get started on the details!

I began by stamping the adorable little mice on a panel of Copic-friendly white cardstock using Hero Arts Intens-ified Black ink. I colored the image with Copic markers with warm grays and some yummy looking chocolate browns.

Next, I stamped the same image on some Inkadinkado Masking Paper and cut it out with my sharp scissors. I placed it over the top of the stamped Copic-colored image, then used a blending brush to blend some Maliblue ink to create a subtle blue background. I trimmed the colored card front down slightly, then matted it on a coordinating light blue card base using foam adhesive. A simple card, but I think the simplicity allows the adorable images to shine!

These fun Stamptember sets are limited edition, so if you like this Colorado Craft Company set, don’t hesitate to hit the order button! Thanks so much for stopping by today, and Happy Stamptember!

Colorado Craft Company September Anita Jeram Release Blog Hop + Giveaway!

Hi there! I’m so excited to be hopping along with my friends at Colorado Craft Company to celebrate their latest Anita Jeram release! You should have arrived here from Daniel West, and your next stop is Mansi Bhatia. The Anita Jeram line is just so wonderfully sweet. If you’ve read the “Guess How Much I Love You” books, you’ll have seen the delightful illustrations. It’s so much fun to be able to create my own little storybook cards with these darling stamp sets in the Anita Jeram line! I particularly enjoy no-line watercoloring these beautiful images… the whimsical storybook feel is right in my comfort zone! Let’s get started with the details.

I have been itching to get more practice in with my Holbein gouache paints. I have a bad habit of collecting various mediums and brands and not getting the opportunity to really dig in and play with them, so I thought this was the perfect opportunity to get some practice in! From what I understand, illustrators frequently use gouache for their paintings because it is opaque and completely flat, and therefore won’t have any reflections when they go to scan their paintings. I wanted to be super authentic (ha) so I thought these sweet bunnies from Flurries of Fun were a perfect match for some gouache practice!

I began by stamping the sweet little bunnies, bird, and snowbunny from Flurries of Fun onto some Fabriano Artistico hot press paper using Ink On 3’s Fadeout Ink. Next, I used Holbein gouache to do some watercoloring on the image, allowing the blue sky to help create plenty of contrast to keep the snowbunny looking white. Gouache is a bit more intense and opaque than traditional watercolors; you can treat it like acrylic paints and keep things thick and completely opaque, layering your colors to achieve shadows and depth, or you can use it more like traditional watercolors and allow the wet paintbrush and water to move the pigment for you. I treated the gouache more like traditional watercolors, but the opacity helps to keep the colors super vibrant. I also found glazing (glazing=adding more color over the top of a dried section to intensify the color or add more depth/shadows) to be much more intense with the gouache. Such a fun medium!

The blue sky was particularly receptive to the glazing technique; I was able to achieve a really fun, artsy background with layers of blue and lavender gouache and lots of water. I splattered the background with some white gouache to create snowflakes, but it kind of sank in to the blue and wasn’t very visible. I think I had diluted it with water a bit too much. (Practice makes progress!) I ended up dotting the background with my white gel pen to create more visible flurries.

After I’d finished my painting, I used some black pigment ink to add a simple sentiment from Flurries of Fun to the card front. This would be a perfect thank you note for a Christmas gift or winter birthday or something! Plus, totally flat, so very easy to mail.

Now, to celebrate this release, Colorado Craft Company will be choosing one winner from the comments on each stop on the blog hop! Winners will receive one stamp set of their choice from the new release. The cutoff for entries is September 6th at midnight mountain time. 3C will pick and announce the winners on the Colorado Craft Company blog September 8th. The more comments you leave, the more chances you have to win!

Your next stop is the über-talented Mansi Bhatia. Thanks so much for stopping by today, and happy hopping!