Sixth Street Sundries

Emily Midgett

autumn leaf branch

Autumn Cascade with New Simon Says Stamp!

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

Hi friends! I know that we are deep into the STAMPtember celebrations, but I want to keep sharing inspiration using new products that are not limited edition, but will be restocked once they initially sell out! I love autumn; my birthday is at the end of September, so I have always enjoyed that transition from summer into fall, with the switch from the vibrant summer colors to the muted orange, burgundy, and deep greens that mark our switch from hot to cool (depending on where you are, of course.) I live in the Midwest, and while the foliage frequently is beautiful, I would love to go “leaf peeping” in the more northern climes. Autumn is about the only time of year that I truly enjoy being outside, haha! (Definitely an “indoor girl.”) Today’s project was inspired by my dreams of being a leaf peeper, combined with my favorite autumnal colors: burnt orange, deep mauve, and chocolatey brown. Let’s get started with the details on my project!

*I have gathered links to all of the products used at the bottom of the post for your convenience, using affiliate links. Thank you for shopping with my links! I truly appreciate your support for my work!*

I began my project by die cutting several sets of foliage from white cardstock using the new Autumn Leaf Branch and Acorn Bundle dies. I kept the die cuts in their negative die cut space and placed them on a Simon Says Stamp Craft Tacky Mat so that I could do some ink blending using Pawsitively Saturated Inks in shades of Cabernet, Terracotta, and Cheeky. These three inks together are such a bold and lovely combination and create such a beautiful autumn color palette! Keeping them in their negative die cut spaces on the sticky mat helps stabilize the delicate die cuts so that I can ink blend easily. Once I had finished blending, I removed the colorful cuts and die cut a few more Autumn Leaf Branches from some rosy mauve mirror cardstock, as well, for a bit of shine and textural variety.

I also used my OLO Markers to customize the acorn die cuts from the Acorn Bundle die set. You could also use your brown inks to blend these colors! I love customizing die cuts with my alcohol markers, so I chose to go that route and create deeply saturated browns to go with my abundance of foliage. Behind my autumnal cascade, I used a blending brush to blend some Terracotta Ink on a panel of deep burnt orange cardstock, keeping my blending to one corner and tapering off as I got closer to the opposite corner. I used metallic copper watercolors to splatter some additional texture and shimmer to the background before arranging my leafy cascade in the blended corner, adhering the foliage with double and single layers of foam adhesive squares.

For the greeting, I die cut the previously-released Happy Autumn die set, cutting the detail layer from some pearlescent brown cardstock and backing the detail layer with a vellum shadow. I nestled the sentiment pieces amongst the foliage, adhering them with thin strips of foam adhesive, then added my acorns and a few stray leaves to complete my foliage cascade. Finally, I added some sparkling Peachy Pawsitively Dazzling Gems, adding one final touch of sparkle and shine!

Well, that’s all for my project today! Autumn is my favorite season, and I can’t wait for things to cool down, the colors to change, and all of the festivities the changing seasons bring. (Also-begone, bugs!) Thanks so much for stopping by today, and have a marvelous day!

Chalkboard Pumpkins with New Simon Says Stamp STAMPtember!

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

Hi friends! We were enjoying the most deliciously autumnal temperatures over the last couple of weeks, but that typical Midwest “false fall” has receded back into the throes of summer temperatures again, sadly. So let’s channel fall with some pretty pumpkins and leaves on cards, shall we? The Simon Says Stamp STAMPtember mega-release that kicked off our month-long STAMPtember celebration (check it out HERE!) featured several new fall-themed products, including the beautiful Pumpkin Blessings stamp, die, and stencil set. I always love a good banner, and pairing the banner with some pretty pumpkins and autumnal florals is so classy in my opinion. When I first started crafting, chalkboard cards were all the rage, especially when a banner was involved, so I thought I would recreate that vintage (ha!) look with my colored pencils and some sparkly die cuts. Let’s get started with the details on my project!

*I have gathered links to all of the products used at the bottom of the post for your convenience, using affiliate links. Thank you for shopping with my links! I truly appreciate your support for my work!*

I began by stamping the banner image from Pumpkin Blessings onto some black cardstock using Simon Says Stamp White Pigment Ink. I like to pair white pigment ink with colored pencils on colored cardstock, because the white ink stands out beautifully and seems to absorb into the pencil coloring very nicely, creating a crisp no-line colored look. I used my favorite colored pencils to add some vibrant yellows, oranges, and greens to the flowers and pumpkins, then used a white paint pen and a careful hand to outline the lines on the banner, making them a bit more vivid on the black cardstock without having to sacrifice my no-line colored florals! It totally gives chalkboard vibes.

After I had finished coloring and enhancing the lines on my banner image, I white embossed a greeting from Pumpkin Blessings onto the banner, then die cut the image with it’s coordinating die. I also die cut the foliage from the new Autumn Leaf Branch and Acorn Bundle die sets using rose gold foil and glitter cardstocks.

I adhered the die cut Pumpkin Blessings image onto an A2 panel of black cardstock using foam adhesive, then began tucking the die cut foliage pieces around the banner, creating a visual cascade from top left to bottom right on the card. I used a mixture of foam and liquid adhesive to get los of dimension! Finally, I added a few Peachy Pawsitively Dazzling Gems which work nicely with the metallic foliage die cuts.

Well, that’s all for my project today! Thanks so much for stopping by today, and happy STAMPtember!

Happy Birthday Shaker with New Simon Says Stamp STAMPtember!

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

Hi friends! Today, I have a project featuring tons of new goodies from the Simon Says Stamp STAMPtember mega-release that kicked off our month-long STAMPtember celebration! (Check it out HERE!) We’re celebrating all things stamping, so throughout the month of September, Simon Says Stamp will have exclusive collaborations with some of our favorite stamping companies, releasing a limited edition stamp set designed in collaboration with a different company nearly every day! (Click HERE to see the Collaboration Sets page, and be sure to bookmark it so that you don’t miss out on any of the amazing limited edition sets!!) Today’s project, however, uses products that are not limited edition, but will be added to Simon Says Stamp’s regular lineup of products until further notice! I have a vibrant and super fun birthday shaker to share with you today, so let’s get started with the details!

*I have gathered links to all of the products used at the bottom of the post for your convenience, using affiliate links. Thank you for shopping with my links! I truly appreciate your support for my work!*

To begin, I cut down a panel of the Simon Says Stamp Rainbow Holographic 8.5 x 11 cardstock into four A2 card fronts, then ran the purple-to-teal blended panel through my die cutting machine using the new Boho Flowers 3D embossing folder. Pairing detailed 3D embossing folders with metallic or coated cardstock creates an absolutely magical effect; if you haven’t tried it yet, I encourage you to do so! It’s totally worth it! To perfectly match the vivid cool colors on the embossed foil panel, I used plain white cardstock to die cut the new Autumn Leaf Branch and Charming Flower Stem dies from the STAMPtember release, then used OLO Markers to color them in the coordinating colors. I assembled the flowers with thin foam adhesive for extra dimension.

To create the shaker portion of the card, I die cut a new A2 Scalloped Rectangles from some coordinating aqua glitter cardstock, then used a More A2 Rectangles die to cut out the center, creating a sweet scalloped frame! I used the same size A2 Scalloped Rectangles to die cut a panel of clear acetate and backed the frame with this clear panel, creating a window through which my shaker bits could be seen. I added foam adhesive strips around the back of the frame, then filled the shaker with Simon Says Stamp Starbright Embellishments and Simon Says Stamp Lilac Embellishments, which slide beautifully over the coated embossed cardstock!

For the greeting, I used my MISTI to create an ombré sentiment using the previously-released-but-now-has-coordinating-dies Big Scripty Greetings set! I stamped the top part of the greeting using Periwinkle, using a microfiber cloth to soften the sharp ink line, then stamped the bottom portion with Crocus, again softening the middle with a microfiber cloth, finally stamping once more over the entire greeting with embossing ink. I added some Iridescent Blue Embossing Powder over the top for some extra shimmer, then die cut the image and blended Tidepool ink over the top to make the sentiment coordinate completely with the color palette on the card. I arranged all of the die cuts around and on the shaker window using liquid and foam adhesive, then added some Prism Pawsitively Dazzling Gems and tucked a bow tied with Simon Says Stamp Iridescent White Cord for additional texture. A busy, colorful card, but so festive and perfect for a birthday!!

Well, that’s all for my project today! Thanks so much for stopping by today, and have a marvelous day!