Sixth Street Sundries

Emily Midgett

card set

Thanks Two-fer with Simon Says Stamp!

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

Hi friends! It’s a new week, so we have some new inspiration to talk about here on my blog. I love, love, love the detailed images in the new Big Botanicals stamp set from the You Are My Favorite Release from Simon Says Stamp. Sets like this are wonderful for people who maybe don’t love coloring; the size and the level of detail in the images means that you don’t have to color the images to make a huge impact on your card! I used some specialty embossing powder to create this pair of semi-simple “thanks” cards, so let’s get started with the details on my projects!

*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 the large tulip and hyacinth images from the new Big Botanicals using Simon Says Stamp White Pigment Ink on Concord and 9th’s Blueberry and Juniper cardstock, then added Hero Arts’s Iridescent Blue embossing powder over the top. The iridescent shine on the embossing powder adds incredible shimmer, while the semi-translucence still allows the colorful cardstock background to shine through, creating a somewhat monochromatic effect! I die cut the images with their coordinating dies to create large focal points for my A2 card set.

For both cards, I die cut the gorgeous Daisy Oval Frame from some iridescent white mirror cardstock. The coated cardstock cuts like a dream with these super intricate dies! I adhered each frame in the center of my coordinating A2 colored cardstock card front using liquid adhesive, then popped up the heat embossed flower die cut in the center of each frame using foam adhesive squares. To add a little extra interest to the card front, I used the little bracket stamp from Big Botanicals with Juniper ink from Concord and 9th and Night ink from Simon Says Stamp in each corner.

After I had finished the overall card design, it was time to add a sentiment. I used some white glitter cardstock to die cut the older Thanks Frame die cut, which is super elegant and such a generous size; it’s proportions work perfectly with the large botanical embossed images! I backed the glittery die cut sentiment frames with a darker shade of the card front so that it would stand out from the color-saturated background. I popped the greeting die cuts up over the stems of the blooms with a double layer of foam adhesive to give them even more prominence, then added some Prism Pawsitively Dazzling Gems to adorn each bracket in the corners of the card front. These cards each have so many elements of shimmer and shine that are difficult to pick up in a still photo, but they practically glow in real life!

Well, that’s all for my projects today! I love being able to create a pair of coordinating projects that still each have their own unique aesthetic and color palette. The Big Botanicals stamp set adds incredible imagery to your stash, great for colorists and non-colorists alike! Thanks so much for stopping by today, and have a marvelous day!

New Pastel Inks from Simon Says Stamp!

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

Hi friends! I am back with some more inspiration using several different items from the beautiful new Festive Fun release from Simon Says Stamp. The new release included lots of beautiful goodies, including gorgeous new Pastel Pigment Inks that create the softest, most beautifully blended pastel colors. I have a quartet of projects to share with you today using the inks and their coordinating Pawsitively Dazzling Gems along with some other goodies from the Festive Fun release, 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!*

I love creating coordinating card sets that work together as a group but also are each just a little unique, and these gorgeous new Pastel Pigment Inks were perfect for some light mass production! I don’t normally think of pastels for holiday cards, but combining these lovely inks with their coordinating Pastel Pawsitively Dazzling Gems and some wintry imagery made for beautifully unique and festive cards!

*Note: I do have dedicated blending brushes specifically for these pigment inks. I would not recommend mixing the dye and pigment inks on the same brush, as the different formulations for the opaque pigment inks and translucent dye inks don’t play nicely together on the brushes*

When mass producing, I like to keep the basic layout very similar, but switch up some of the products used. I paired the Pastel Blue ink and Pastel Pink ink with the new Shimmer Lattice Embossing Folder, first blending the panels of 3.75″ x 5″ white cardstock with Pastel Blue and Pastel Pink inks, then running those blended panels through my die cutting machine with the Shimmer Lattice Embossing Folder. Doing the ink blending first keep the details from the embossing consistent throughout, whereas ink blending after embossing would enhance the details in the blended areas.

After I had finished ink blending and embossing each panel, I splattered some glittering handmade watercolors on each panel to add extra festiveness and sparkle. I mounted each panel on an A2 card base, then added a white glitter Heartfelt Snowflake die cut to the center of each card with some tiny pieces of foam adhesive. I also used my Minc machine to addsilver toner foil to the Holiday Greetings Sentiment Cards. After I had added the sentiment strips over the center of each glittering snowflake, I used the coordinating Bubblegum and Dusk Pawsitively Dazzling Gems at the tips of each snowflake spire. So sparkly and wintry, even with the somewhat springy colors!

For my second set, I paired the same technique with the new Pastel Yellow and Pastel Green inks and the Splendid Snowflakes Embossing Folder, blending first and then running the panels through my die cutting machine with the embossing folder and splattering each panel with more shimmering iridescent glitter watercolors.

I again centered the white glitter Heartfelt Snowflake die cut, layering the silver foiled Holiday Greetings Sentiment Card sentiment strip over the center of each snowflake. Finally, I added even more shimmer with the coordinating Butter Pawsitively Dazzling Gems and Sprout Pawsitively Dazzling Gems. My color-coordinated-loving-heart goes wild for these matching gems and inks!!

Well, that’s all for my projects today! These new inks blend like a dream and will work for so many different seasons and subjects… I can’t wait to play with them even more. Thanks so much for stopping by today, and have a marvelous day!

Songs of the Season: Christmas Is a Feeling In Your Heart!

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

Hello friends, and Merry Christmas to you! I am back for this month’s Songs of the Season post, made extra special due to the fact that today is the big day… Christmas Day! I adore holiday crafting in all forms… cardmaking, crafting, baking, etc etc… and I always listen to Christmas music while I am channeling my love for Christmas into something tangible. My mom and I used to listen to the “Sounds of Christmas” album from Johnny Mathis while we baked cookies when I was a child, and so my heart always feels lighter whenever I hear the jubilant introduction to this album. This month, as I have been crafting and baking, taking my kiddos to look at Christmas lights, and traveling to watch the Nutcracker, I have been reflecting on how much I enjoy Christmas and the feelings of happiness the season bring.

One of the lines in the song “Christmas is a Feeling In Your Heart” particularly resonated with me:

Faith and hope, goodwill to man
Love and peace, and faith again
Let the prayers that Christmas bring
Brush your heart like angel wings

In this time of such turmoil around the globe, I want to encourage you to carry those feelings and prayers of love, peace, and goodwill towards our fellow humans that we feel so much more deeply at Christmas into our daily life. We are all citizens of our world, and I hope desperately that the coming year brings peace and calm.

I have been having a love affair with the gorgeous tree in the Winter Woodlands set from Tim Holtz. It is just the perfect Christmas tree! I was shopping at Target with my kiddos last weekend, meandering in the Christmas section, when I saw some beautiful monochromatic holiday cards, featuring a tree that looked so similar to the perfect tree in this stamp set that I wanted to create my own version in a rainbow of colors! The vintage pastel pink of the cards in the store reminded me that pastel colors can certainly be used as holiday colors if applied in the right way. Let’s get started on the details for my card!

For this quartet of cards, I first pulled out four different shades of cardstock, in light bubblegum pink, lilac, sky blue, and mint green. To coordinate with the different cardstock colors, I pulled out Carnation, Lilac, Marine, and Tropic Pawsitively Saturated Inks. I wanted to create a “glow” behind the Christmas trees, before stamping my trees, I used blending brushes to lightly blend a bit of coordinating color in the center of each colorful A2 card front. I used my handmade sparkling watercolors to splatter some shimmering coordinating “snow,” adding to the magical feel of the cards!

After I had created my quartet of colorful backgrounds and left them to dry, I used my MISTI to stamp the large tree stamp from the Winter Woodlands stamp set from Tim Holtz. I stamped each tree on another panel of the same pastel shades of cardstock using the coordinating ink color, then stamped them again using embossing ink directly over the initial stamped image and sprinkled holographic glitter embossing powder over the top. The effect is so colorful and sparkly!

I die cut all of the sparkly trees using the DieCember Winter Woodlands Coordinating Die (which is now back in stock!) and adhered them on each coordinating blended card front using foam adhesive squares. I also added a smattering of shimmering gems on each tree in coordinating shades to create super sparkly, monochromatic holiday trees!

For the greeting, I stamped a sentiment from Holiday Typewriter using the same shades of ink on their coordinating cardstock colors and die cut them with the coordinating die. I popped up the greetings on each card with a double layer of adhesive to help them pop even more from their background. The pastel shades look so beautiful for Christmas with all of the different elements of sparkle and shimmer! The simple design on these four cards came together really quickly, and having the different color schemes would be a great way to “mass produce” without being boring.

Well, that’s all for my projects today. I hope that, if you celebrate, you are having a wonderful holiday with lots of family, yummy food, and maybe some gifts, and remember: Christmas is a feeling in your heart. 🙂 If this season is a difficult one for you for any reason, I am sending you lots of love and hugs. Thanks so much for stopping by today, and have a marvelous holiday!

Make Your Sentiment Die Cuts Pop with Foam!

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

I love giving card sets as gifts. Sending cards on the whole is not a very common method of communication anymore, even when you have super pretty cards to send; I myself am guilty of sending a text rather than a cards, and we all know the sheer volume of cards that I create! With that being said, I wanted to share a trio of pretty notecards that I created using a simple process: a big black foam sentiment on a pretty floral background. Let’s get started with the details!

All three of my cards today feature the gorgeous Pretty Peonies background stamp from Simon Says Stamp. This is another stamp that I’ve been keeping (hoarding?) in my stash for too long, waiting for just the right project on which to use it! I love using super detailed stamps like this, with its intricate floral pattern, to create lush backgrounds, allowing the large sentiments to be the star of the card. I decided to stamp the three notecards in three lovely shades of pink: Sweets, Watermelon, and Blush Pawsitively Saturated Inks. I stamped an A2 panel of white cardstock using each of these three shades of ink, then used Blending Brushes with the coordinating shade of ink to blend around the edges of each panel, creating a halo of color around the patterned center!

My first card uses the Blush stamped panel. I used the large scale You’re In Our Thoughts sentiment die to die cut a greeting from black glitter foam. The black glitter foam creates a dimensional die cut that stands out beautifully from the soft pink floral background! I also stamped a sentiment on a strip of white cardstock from the Clean Line Stacks stamp set.

I adhered the sentiment pieces to the card front, then added a few white die cut dogwood flowers around the sentiment pieces. I accented the centers of the dogwood flowers with some black gems, then added a few Milk Glass Gems for some more sparkle!

The second card features the Pretty Peonies background stamp stamped in Watermelon ink. I die cut the Big Hugs die from some more black glitter foam, as well as another black stamped sentiment from the Clean Line Stacks stamp set. The flexibility is one of the biggest benefits of using the dimensional glitter foam die cuts. I adhered the sentiment at a bit of an angle, curving it slightly around the sentiment strip.

I added a few more white dogwood flowers, popped up with foam adhesive and accented with some more jewels!

My last project features the bright pink background, stamped with Sweets ink. I die cut the super generously-sized Huge Big Thank You greeting from some more glittery black foam. I also added a black frame cut using the A2 Thin Frames dies and some crisp black cardstock.

I arranged the sentiment die cut on the card front with some liquid adhesive, curling it slightly so that it covered more of the card front. I popped up the sentiment strip using foam tape, then added a few milk glass gems for some more sparkle!

Well, that’s all for these projects! The Pretty Peonies background stamp is so lovely that it can easily stand on its own, but I can’t wait to color it up, as well! Thanks so much for stopping by today, and have a marvelous day!

Simple Two-fer Notecard Set with Simon Says Stamp!

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

I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I have a thing for card sets. I’ve always been someone who loves to keep everything coordinated, from my clothes to my jewelry (must always be the same type of metal!) to my accessories to the decor in my house to my artistic endeavors. There’s something so polished about all of the elements perfectly coordinating. I think that must be why I love monochromatic cards so much. Anyway, I saw the delicate new Just A Note die from the new Simon Says Stamp Just A Note Release and new I wanted to create a set of ladylike stationery that my Grammy would have been proud to send out!

This serene duo started with the Layered Flowers stencils from Simon Says Stamp. I blended one full A2 sized panel using Surf Blue, Winter Sky, Dusty Sage, and Laurel Green inks, creating a cool and muted floral background panel. I used some circle dies to die cut a window from the center of the full A2 stenciled background, leaving me with the components for two different cards!

For my first card, I trimmed down the larger window panel slightly so that I could mount it on an A2 Sea Glass cardstock front and leave a pale blue frame around the edge, then adhered it with Simon’s Dot Runner to make it nice and flat. I die cut the components of the Dandy Flower dies using white cardstock, then layered them together with liquid adhesive. The tone-on-tone adds just a hint of texture and dimension without making the color scheme any more complicated than necessary. I also die cut some Privet Branch foliage using Juniper cardstock and snipped the leaves apart so that I could arrange them how I wanted.

Before arranging the florals, I die cut the Circle Thin Frames die from some plain white cardstock and selected a circle just slightly smaller than the window opening on the stenciled card front. I adhered the frame using liquid adhesive, then die cut the Just A Note die twice from pearlescent white cardstock. I adhered the two sentiment die cuts together to create a dimensional die cut, then arranged the sentiment and floral die cuts on my card, creating a floral swag to accent the dainty sentiment!

My second card uses some of the leftovers from my first card. I selected another circular frame die cut, slightly smaller than the circle floral die cut and adhered it in the center. I trimmed down another panel of Sea Glass cardstock (isn’t that color just dreamy??) and added the circle to the front with some more Dot Runner adhesive. I arranged some leftover florals and foliage, adhering them with foam adhesive.

To help make the sentiment stand out a bit from the patterned circle background, I die cut the outline layer from the Just A Note die set from some heavyweight vellum and adhered my pearlescent detail die cut. The vellum helps to soften the pattern behind it and helps to draw the eye to the white sentiment. I arranged the flowers, adhering them with some foam adhesive, then added a few iridescent white gems for some sparkle!

Well, that’s all for me today! Do you like to send little notes in the mail? If not, this is the perfect time to start! Who doesn’t love receiving a card in the mail? Something to look forward to besides bills! Thanks so much for stopping by today, and have a marvelous day!