Sixth Street Sundries

Emily Midgett

blog hop

Simon Says Stamp Always There Blog Hop, Day 2 + Free Gift!

This post was sponsored by Simon Says Stamp. Thanks, Simon! *I have gathered links to all of the products used at the bottom of the post for your convenience, using affiliate links at no extra cost to you. Thank you for shopping with my links! I truly appreciate your support for my work!*

Hi friends! It’s Day 2 of the Simon Says Stamp Always There Blog Hop, celebrating the fabulous Always There release! (Click HERE to see the entire collection!) You should have arrived here from Barbara Tarayao, and your next stop is Nichol Spohr. You can check the full hop list over on the Simon Says Stamp Blog. As always, there is a fun freebies to celebrate the release and the blog hop!

This month’s release is an ode to springtime with gorgeous flowers and greenery in stamp, stencil, and die form, and I am so happy that I have designed two different sets for this release: Keep Palm (click HERE) and Blooms of Encouragement (click HERE). I love coloring large scale images, and the flowers in Blooms of Encouragement are some of my favorite flowers that I’ve illustrated. I created this gift set featuring a fun framed painting on glass and a coordinating card made with layered stamped blooms from the new Heirloom Roses. Let’s get started on the details for my projects!

To begin my card, I stamped the gorgeous blooms and foliage from Heirloom Roses using Pawsitively Saturated Inks in shades of Jade, Eucalyptus, Shell, Salmon, Coral. These colors are so beautifully springy to me, with that bright pop of coral juxtaposed with the soft minty greens. I used the coordinating dies to cut the stamped images out, as well as a greeting from Heirloom Roses stamped using Juniper ink on crisp white cardstock.

Behind the blooms and sentiment, I wanted to create some tone-on-tone texture using the new Willowweave Plate. I die cut the plate from white cardstock, as well as a frame using the new A2 Notched Rectangles, nestling two of the nested dies together to create the frame. I added adhesive on the back of the Notched Rectangle die cut, then placed the Willowweave die cut on it, creating a decorative framed backdrop for the flowers. I trimmed off any excess foliage from the Willowweave die cut, then popped up the frame on my A2 card front. The extra texture that these vines of foliage add behind the blooms is just so pretty, I think! I added the blooms and sentiment die cuts over the framed backdrop with more foam adhesive, then added a few Opal Pawsitively Dazzling Gems for a bit of sparkle.

For the gift portion of the set, I used the pretty dahlia image from Blooms of Encouragement to create this framed painted artwork. I used a technique that was quite new to me. I started by stamping the bouquet on a piece of cardstock, then placing the glass from a 4×4 inch frame that I purchased from the local dollar store over the stamped image, taping it to the panel with some washi tape. I didn’t want to stamp the image directly to the glass, so I took advantage of the clear glass to use it as a guide to create this pretty painted bloom.

I used acrylic paint markers to add color to the glass, following the lines of the stamped image on the paper. This method of painting is quite forgiving; as long as you start with the parts of the image that are closest to you, mistakes are minimal. The opacity of the markers ensures that the images painted first are the ones that are visible when the painting is flipped over to the proper side. The markers moved like a warm knife through butter over the glass, and I was so impressed with how the painting turned out!

I did use a dry paintbrush to blend some some of the petals a bit, creating a smoother transition between colors for shadows and shape. Once I had completed the painting, I used a hot glue gun to securely place the glass back in the frame, allowing the clear glass to remain safely in the frame without having to add the backer which which the frame was purchased. To protect the painting from potential scratches, I also hot glued a piece of clear acetate on the back, cut to fit the glass frame. Finally, since the frame back that I discarded contained the hanger for the frame, I decided to hot glue some coordinating satin ribbon to the frame. I can’t wait to hang this in my new craft room and am so excited to experiment more with this technique. A simple dollar store frame can be so much more with a little creativity!

Well, that’s all for my projects today! This release is fantastic, right? So gorgeous! And Simon Says Stamp is offering the adorable gift-with-purchase that you see in the graphic at the top of the post with any purchase from the Always There release! (Click HERE to see the entire collection!)

Don’t forget to check out Day 1 of the blog hop, as well! (Click HERE to see the full list from yesterday’s hop!)Your next stop on the hop is Nichol Spohr. Thanks so much for stopping by today, and happy hopping!

Simon Says Stamp Heart to Heart Release Blog Hop + Freebie + Giveaway!

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

Hi friends! We are hopping along today to share tons of inspiration using the beautiful new Heart to Heart Release (click HERE to check out the entire release!). Yesterday’s hop was filled to the brim with beautiful samples using these new products (click HERE to see the hop list for Day 1). For today’s hop, you should have arrived here from Barbara Tarayao and your next stop is Lisa Addesa. You can also start at the beginning at the Simon Says Stamp Blog in case you get lost! I am extra excited for this month’s release, because I have two new floral stamp sets that I’ve illustrated, called Loving You Bouquet and Make My Heart Flutter. I shared a project using the Loving You Bouquet stamp set yesterday (see it HERE), and today I have a cheerful springy project using my new Make My Heart Flutter illustration, featuring sunny yellows and lots of textures. 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 at no extra cost to you. Thank you for shopping with my links! I truly appreciate your support for my work!*

To begin, I stamped the large sunflower and butterfly image from my new Make My Heart Flutter stamp set, which features a large sunflower image, a delicate butterfly resting on the petals, and lots of greenery. I also included a few individual butterflies in this set so that you could create your own butterfly garden! I stamped the image using alcohol marker-friendly Intense Black ink and colored the image using my OLO Markers, keeping the color palette warm and somewhat muted, adding some nutmeg-brown to the most deeply shadowed petals and reserving the pale, buttery yellow for the topmost petals. I maintained the same color palette on the butterfly, creating an almost stained glass effect with the individual colors inside each section. Once completely colored, I die cut the image with the detailed coordinating die. I love how closely this intricate image is cut out with the die!

For the background, I used a blending brush to blend the new Flax Pawsitively Saturated Ink, a lovely muted shade of pale yellow, onto a crisp white A2 card front. I used the same Flax ink to stamp some individual butterflies on the blended area, creating a subtle, tone-on-tone texture to add interest behind my floral bouquet. For one last touch of texture, I splattered some glittery mica watercolors on the background and set it aside to dry.

For the greeting, I used Nocturne Ink to stamp one of the semi-punny sentiments from Make My Heart Flutter onto some more white cardstock, then added clear embossing powder to the sticky black ink. I used another detailed coordinating die to cut the sentiment out. To assemble the card, I adhered the colored floral bouquet on the blended card front using thin foam adhesive, then used a double layer of the thin foam adhesive to nestle the sentiment over the top of the florals; the crisp black embossed sentiment pops so beautifully from the sunny floral bouquet! I tucked a twine bow beneath the sentiment for added texture, then added some Butter Pawsitively Dazzling Gems for one last touch of sparkle.

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

Simon Says Stamp is giving away a $25 coupon at every stop along the hop, selected from each blog’s comment section. Winners will be selected and announced on the Simon Says Stamp blog on Wednesday, January 14th, along with redemption details.

To sweeten the release, Simon Says Stamp is also offering a free gift-with-purchase! Simply purchase any product from the new Heart to Heart Release (click HERE to check out the entire release!) to receive the not-yet-released Friend Like You stamp set for free, no code needed!

Your next stop on the hop is Lisa Addesa. Don’t forget to check out Day 1 of the Blog Hop (click HERE to check it out) if you haven’t already! Thanks so much for stopping by today, and happy hopping!

Simon Says Stamp To Love and To Be Loved Release Blog Hop!

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

Hi friends! I am hopping along with my friends at Simon Says Stamp to celebrate not one, but two new releases! The December 2024 To Love release is the companion release to this month’s To Be Loved release, and we are celebrating with a massive blog hop! You should have arrived here from Barbara Tarayao, and your next stop is Amy Rysavy. You can also start back at the beginning at the Simon Says Stamp Blog! I have a project featuring products from both releases, including my newest stamp set called Anemone Wreath, 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 stamped my new Anemone Wreath stamp from the To Love release onto some white cardstock using Altenew’s Permanent Mist Gray ink, which is great for no-line coloring. I then used Copic markers in cheery shades of sunny yellow and jade green to do some no-line coloring, coloring only a couple of the blooms and foliage. I made sure to select blooms and foliage that were completely intact, not tucked behind another flower or leaf, so that I could do some fussy cutting and create a completely unique arrangement. Selectively using individual flowers is another great way to stretch this stamp set! After I had finished coloring the images, I used my sharp scissors to fussy cut the images, adding a pale gray border around the edges with a Copic marker that coordinated perfectly with the Simon Says Stamp Steel cardstock that I planned to use in the background.

For that background, I ran an A2 sized panel of the Steel cardstock through my die cutting machine using the new Dancing Floral Embossing Folder. The delicate floral pattern on this embossing folder was just neutral enough that it added beautiful texture behind my focal points without distracting from the vibrant yellow flowers!

For the greeting, I die cut the detail layer of the new I’m Sorry die from some more Steel cardstock as well as the shadow layer from some Simon Says Stamp Vellum cardstock, layering the two together with liquid adhesive. The vellum shadow helps the tone-on-tone sentiment stand out from the background a bit. I also stamped a greeting from the I’m Sorry Sentiments stamp set onto a small rectangle of Steel cardstock using Simon Says Stamp White Pigment Ink, then added some White Pearl Embossing Powder over the top of the sticky pigment ink to create a lovely and subtle pearlescent accompaniment to the chunky greeting die cut. I arranged the die cut, sentiment block, and vibrant blooms on the embossed card front, adhering them with some foam adhesive for added dimension. Finally, I added a smattering of Opal Pawsitively Dazzling Gems for a touch of shimmer. Pairing gray and yellow is such an unusual color palette for me, but I am always encouraged to use it more frequently whenever I do use it; it’s such a striking combination, perfect for these dreary gray January days!

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

Simon Says Stamp is giving away a $25 coupon to every stop on the hop from your blog comment section. Winners will be selected and posted on the Simon Says Stamp blog on Wednesday the 15th of January. Winners can email the Simon team to claim his/her prize 🙂

To celebrate this release duo, Simon Says Stamp is also offering a fabulous freebie with purchase! Simply follow the instructions in the graphic at the top of the post to receive the Circle Hoops Embossing Folder for free with your order.

Your next stop is Amy Rysavy. Don’t forget to check back on the Simon Says Stamp Blog tomorrow for Day 2 of the hop for even more fabulous inspiration using these new products! Thanks so much for stopping by today, and happy hopping!

Hero Arts Winter 2022 Catalog Release Blog Hop + Giveaway!

Hi there! Today, the fabulous folks at Hero Arts are officially releasing their new Holiday 2022 Collection! This collection features the sometimes beautiful, sometimes whimsical, sometimes creepy (think zombies!), always creative images that you have come to associate with Hero Arts! AND! I am super excited that Hero Arts has released their own hot foil plates! These new plates are absolutely fantastic, filled with classic images, some of which you can use year round for non-holiday projects. You should have arrived here from Daniel West, and your next stop is Ilina Crouse. I have two watercolored projects to share with you today using some of the new goodies, so let’s get started with the details!

My first project features the stunning new Finch Greetings stamp and die bundle. I stamped the image on some Arches cold press watercolor paper using Contour Ink, then watercolored the images using the Hero Arts Daniel Smith watercolor palette. I die cut the images with the coordinating dies included in the bundle.

For a subtle background for my winter birds, I used the oldie-but-goodie Greenery Fancy Die, cut from the center of a white A2 card base. I popped it up with foam tape on a solid white A2 card base to add some subtle texture and interest to the background while still keeping a relatively “nature-esque” theme. I love how the foam tape adds so much extra oomph to the background-even the white-on-white! Easily one of my most favorite techniques.

I popped up the birds with some more foam tape, creating a double layer of foam tape in spots for tons of height. For the greeting, I used one of the beautiful scripty greetings included in the Finch Greetings stamp set, which I heat embossed in gold on some of Hero Arts’s Heavyweight Vellum cardstock. I tucked it behind the watercolored bird die cuts, sneaking dots of adhesive in the areas that would be covered by the solid watercolored die cuts.

I have some more watercoloring for my second card, featuring one of the gorgeous, brand-spanking-new hot foil plates: Ornament Border Hot Foil Plate! I first hot foiled the image (I love how detailed and enormous this image is!) onto some hot press watercolor paper using gold foil. The smooth surface of the hot press watercolor paper makes it perfect canvas for the hot foil!

I taped down the hot foiled image to my watercolor board to try to minimize the warping, then added lots of vivid color in muted shades of teal and green, with a few tiny pops of deep berry red for the berries! The hot foil behaves similarly to embossed images, creating a kind of resist technique. So fun to use with so many mediums!

Once I had finished the watercoloring and allowed the image to dry completely overnight (allowing it to dry naturally while taped down rather than forcing it to dry with a heat tool also minimizes warping!), I added a greeting created using the new Christmas Words Fancy Dies. I die cut the top layer from some Holiday Sparkle Glitter Paper, then cut two more layers from plain white cardstock. I adhered all three layers together to create dimensional die cut greetings. Very simple, but very effective, and so sturdy- they would hold up great in the mail!

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

Hero Arts will give away *THREE* $50 gift cards, drawn from the comments left across the hop. Enter by Wednesday, August 31st at 11:59pm Pacific, and the winner will be announced on the Hero Arts blog the following week.

Your next stop is Ilina Crouse. You can also start at the beginning at the Hero Arts Blog. Thanks so much for stopping by today, and happy hopping!

Altenew June 2022 Fine & Dandy Collection Release Blog Hop + Giveaway ($300 in total prizes)

Hi there! Altenew is hopping along today to introduce their gorgeous new Fine and Dandy collection! You should have arrived here from Linda Westfall, and your next stop is Nenette S. Madero. You can also start back at the beginning at the Altenew Blog in case you get lost! The new Fine and Dandy collection is full of stunning new hot foil plates, versatile dies, and beautiful embossing folders. I have four projects to share with you today, so let’s get started with the details!

Each of my four projects features a similar color scheme to make them a cohesive set: pink-y metallics, crisp white, and lots of beautiful, muted peony pink. It’s tone-on-tone with a twist!

This first project features the beautiful new Delightful Flowers Hot Foil Plate, which I used with some heavyweight vellum and rose gold hot foil. I love how subtle the foil looks on this vellum cardstock; this would also be a fun technique to use with the “stained glass” coloring technique by coloring with alcohol markers on the back of the hot foiled panel!

To allow the hot foiled floral image to be the star of the show, I used the new Fine Rings Hot Foil Plate set with the Coordinating Dies to create a background for my die cut greeting. I added a simple “hugs” greeting from the Simple Greetings die set, cut from some brand new Brushed Copper Metallic Cardstock! These new metallic cardstocks are absolutely gorgeous and perfect for intricate die cuts. They cut so smoothly. I added a few shiny metallic rose gold gems for some more shine.

My second card features the beautiful Delightful Flowers Hot Foil Plate, this time hot foiled onto some Watercolor Paper, again using rose gold foil. The smooth surface of the watercolor paper makes it ideal for hot foiling this intricate image. I watercolored the flowers and foliage using the Artists’ 24 Pan Watercolor Set in shades of coral and flamingo pink, with some olive green foliage.

For the greeting, I die cut the Fancy Thanks die from some more of the new Brushed Copper Metallic Cardstock. I added a circular frame created with the Fine Rings hot foil plate and die combo. I mounted both the foiled frame and the die cut sentiment to the watercolored panel using foam adhesive for extra height and dimension, then added a few iridescent coral gems to add more sparkle.

My next card starts with a white-on-white Garden Trellis cover plate die cut background. It was the perfect neutral-but-lightly-textured background for some Itty Bitty Branches die cuts, cut from some more muted peony and jade green cardstocks.

I paired a solid hot foil plate with the Fine Rings hot foil plates and dies to create this iridescent gold foiled frame. I arranged the solid botanical die cuts on one edge of the circular foiled die cut, then added a white Circled Greetings: Thanks die cut over the top, adhering all of it with foam adhesive to make sure that the focal points popped from the white textured background. The final touch was to add a few iridescent white pearls to bring out the iridescent quality of the foil.

My last card pays one final tribute to the monochromatic-with-a-twist color scheme from all of our projects today! I began by die cutting a partial Floral Lace die from some plain white cardstock. I also die cut a new Labels and Tags 1 die cut from some heavyweight vellum.

I arranged the vellum tag on an A2 peony pink cardstock base to determine placement, then before adhering the vellum, I adhered the lacy white die cut over the top of the vellum die cut. I flipped over the two die cuts (now adhered together to create one die cut) and hid small dots of adhesive on the back, essentially hiding the adhesive behind the solid die cut to prevent it from marring my translucent vellum die cut. I added a Circled Hugs greeting, cut from once some Brushed Rose Metallic Cardstock and once from white cardstock, then adhered together to give it a little extra height. Finally, I added one more touch of white and shine with some iridescent white pearls.

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

$300 in total prizes! To celebrate this release, Altenew is giving away a $50 gift certificate to 2 lucky winners and a $25 gift certificate to 8 winners! Please leave a comment on the Altenew Card Blog and/or each designer’s blog post on the blog hop list below by 06/27/2022 for a chance to win. Altenew will draw 10 random winners from the comments left on each stop of this blog hop and announce the winners on the Altenew Winners Page on 06/29/2022.

Your next stop is Nenette S. Madero. Thanks so much for stopping by today, and happy hopping!