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Sixth Street Sundries

Emily Midgett

christmas card

Alex Syberia Designs November Collection Blog Hop & Giveaway

Hi there! Today, I am so excited to be hopping along with Alex Syberia to celebrate her newest release for November 2023. You should have arrived here from Emelie, and your next stop is Erica. You can also find the full hop list at the Alex Syberia Designs Blog. This month’s release is filled with beautiful holiday designs, both traditional and a bit non-traditional, and they’re absolutely scrumptious! (You can check it out HERE at Simon Says Stamp, as well!) I have two monochromatic holiday cards today that fit that non-traditional description, but I think they’re so elegant and super festive. Let’s get started with the details!

Both of my projects feature a unique blend of different shades of aqua. I have come to think of aqua as basically a neutral that can work as a supporting actor to lots of different colors, but sometimes aqua is so gorgeous that I want it to shine all on its own. I particularly love Juniper and Tidepool shades from Concord and 9th; they’re two different intensities of the same shade of serene aqua, with more green than blue, and today I’ve paired them with Peacock ink from Concord and 9th to help brighten them up and bring out the undertones of blue.

For my first card, I blended some Peacock ink around the edges of a Juniper cardstock panel, then splattered some shimmering glitter watercolors to add some beautiful texture and shimmer to the background of my card. I then die cut the incredibly beautiful new Snowflake Petals cover plate die (ASD | SSS) from the Alex Syberia Designs November 2023 release using a new addition to my craft room: Holographic Aqua Mirror cardstock from Simon Says Stamp. You can see how incredible the shine is on this cardstock in the photos, but paired with the stunning greens of the card front panel… chef’s kiss!! I adhered the delicate Snowflake Petals cover plate die cut using some liquid adhesive.

For the greeting, I blended Tidepool and Juniper ink on some Tide Pool cardstock using the bow and sentiment stencils in the Holiday Wreath Branch Stencil & Die set (ASD | SSS). I also die cut some glittering aqua foliage using the foliage dies from the new Joyful Poinsettia die set (ASD | SSS) and some gorgeous glitter paper from Altenew. My best tip for creating monochromatic cards like this is to be creative with the textures; if you want to keep the viewer’s eye busy and interested in the project, having multiple textures in similar shades of the same color helps prevent your recipient from being bored! I arranged the foliage in a little swag tied together with the stenciled bow, then popped up the greeting with some foam adhesive. I added a few seafoam gems for some more sparkle.

My second card features the Juniper, Tidepool, and Peacock ink again, this time blended to create a monochromatic ombré background. After blending my card front with these inks and blending brushes, I again splattered the vivid background with some more sparkling handmade glitter watercolors. This extra step adds subtle-but-beautiful texture and shine to the background! To coordinate with the background, I die cut the different layers of the Joyful Poinsettia die set (ASD|SSS) from coordinating colored cardstock, blending on the edges of the die cut layers with the coordinating shades of ink. This added blending helps to bring out the beautiful embossed details on the die cuts, as well. I die cut some more foliage using the foliage dies from the Joyful Poinsettia die set (ASD|SSS) using the same glitter paper from Altenew used on the first card.

After I had die cut my focal point, I die cut the detail layer of the Noel die (ASD | SSS) using some more Holographic Aqua Mirror cardstock and the background bubble layer using some thin vellum. I adhered the two layers together using liquid adhesive, then began arranging my flower and foliage, I placed the poinsettia in the center of the blended background, offsetting it slightly to the left and popping it up with foam adhesive. I adhered the foliage behind the flower, arranging the die cut pieces so that it was almost radiating out from the flower. I popped up the greeting die cut with some more foam adhesive, then added a few more gems in coordinating colors for some more sparkle!

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

Alex Syberia Designs is giving away a £85 ($100) gift certificate to 1 lucky winner and a £15 ($18) gift card to 5 winners. 
Open internationally. All 6 winners will be drawn from the entrants that have played along with this Blog hop by midnight BST November 26th, 2023. Winners will be announced on the Alex Syberia Designs blog ‘Giveaway Winners’ page on November 27th, 2023.

Your next stop on the hop is Erica. Thanks so much for stopping by today, and happy hopping!

Video: Unexpected Holiday Anemones with Pinkfresh Studio!

Hi friends! I am over on the Pinkfresh Studio YouTube channel today with this vibrant holiday card featuring the gorgeous new Nothing But the Best stamps + dies and Karin Brushmarker Pro watercolor markers.

Watch the video below or HERE on YouTube.

In case you can’t watch the video, here are some of the highlights:

I started by heat embossing the Nothing But the Best stamp onto some Fabriano Artistico cold press watercolor paper using silver embossing powder. I taped the panel down to my watercolor board, then used Karin Brushmarker Pro markers in jewel-toned shades of red and green to create a stunning holiday floral arrangement. A friend of mine had deep red anemones with black centers for her bridal bouquet, and since then I’ve adored the idea of these intense flowers as an addition to a holiday bouquet! After watercoloring, I die cut the image with the coordinating die.

To add some texture behind the watercolored floral arrangement, I ran an A2 panel of plain white cardstock through my die cut machine using the Diagonal Stitched Plaid cover plate. This die adds a hint of texture and pattern to the background, and I think that plaid is the quintessential holiday pattern, don’t you? I also die cut a vellum tag from the Shaker Tag Book die and a black glitter bow from the Wrap Around Elements die set to accent the hot foiled “peace and joy” sentiment (from what I now realize is a discontinued set- but a heat embossed greeting from the Holiday Large Sentiments Stamps + Coordinating Dies product suite would be a good replacement!)

After fiddling with my die cuts to decide the best arrangement, I decided to be brave and chop my watercolored flower bouquet in half so that I could create a visual cascade running down the front of my card. Before adhering the two floral die cut pieces, I adhered a glittering Ornate Rectangle Frame die cut with some foam adhesive, then added my remaining die cuts with some more foam adhesive, hiding the foam tape behind the solid die cut adhered to the vellum tag. The final touch was a few Matte Silver Pearls to add one more element of silver to my card front!

Well, that’s all for my project today. I love using unexpected combinations to create unique holiday cards. Thanks so much for stopping by today, and have a marvelous day!

Holiday Lilies with Simon Says Stamp!

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

Hi friends! I am back today with another project featuring the lily stamp from my new Festive Bouquets illustrations. When researching flowers for my drawing, I always look at different floral arrangements for weddings and holidays, and I was struck by how frequently large lilies are used in holiday bouquets. I couldn’t remember ever seeing a holiday lily stamp before, so I created a large arrangement to use on your holiday cards and was super fun to color!! Let’s get started with the details on my project.

I began by stamping the lily image from the Festive Bouquets stamp set onto some Hammermill white cardstock using Intense Black ink. I then used OLO markers to create vivid red, almost a bright coral, lilies and lime green foliage. This image would be beautiful in no-line style, as well, but I think that the crisp black lines with the vivid red flowers are such a classic pairing that I couldn’t resist using it for this project. I die cut the image with the coordinating die.

To add some subtle, but still festive, texture behind my floral bouquet, I ran an A2 panel of Hammermill white cardstock through my die cut machine using the new Twining Berries embossing folder. This embossing folder has such classic holiday botanical imagery and added such lovely texture behind my floral bouquet. The only enhancement that I made was to add some shimmering gold watercolor splatters to the embossed panel, though this panel would also be gorgeous colored with your choice of medium!! I added my floral bouquet to the bottom corner of my card front and trimmed off the excess from the edges. To coordinate with the gold splatters on the background, I also added some shimmering gold to the centers of the lilies.

For the sentiment, I heat embossed a greeting from the Graceful Holiday Greetings set onto some black cardstock using gold sparkle embossing powder. I die cut the greeting with the coordinating die, then added a sentiment strip from the CZ Design Typed Christmas Sentiment Strips cards. These cards are printed with toner, so they can be foiled using a Minc or a laminator. Such fun to add that little extra bit of shine! I popped up the greeting pieces on the embossed card front using foam adhesive, then added a few iridescent red gems for extra sparkle.

Well, that’s all for my project today! Simple, elegant, and lots of shimmer and shine to make it extra festive. Thanks so much for stopping by today, and have a marvelous day!

Greenery Swag with All the Joy!

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

Hi friends! I have been dealing with a stomach bug (thanks kiddos for sharing those germs… not what I meant when I said I wanted you to share!!), but I wanted to pop in quickly with this project featuring some dramatic die cutting using goodies from the new Simon Says Stamp All the Joy release. This card doesn’t have a smidge of stamping on it, just lots of die cuts and textures from different cardstocks. Let’s get started with the details!

To start, I die cut the different elements using the new Greenery Swag die from some different shades of green and sparkling red glitter cardstock. I love adding botanical elements to holiday cards, and the Greenery Swag die set features some classic holiday botanical imagery in a lovely swag. I always like to customize my die cut cards by snipping them apart to create unique arrangements, and there are lots of elements in the Greenery Swag die set that can easily stand alone depending on where you snip them off!

To add some interesting texture behind my botanical arrangement, I ran a panel of Rainbow Splash Black cardstock through my die cut machine with the new Twining Berries embossing folder. I also die cut the center of another A2 panel of black cardstock using the Nested Domed Arches die, reserving the actual die cut for another project and adhering the frame from the negative space to my embossed panel using black foam adhesive. I arranged the botanical die cuts to the bottom of the frame, adding some more individual leaves off of another die cut to allow them to peek from behind the arched frame.

After I had added all of the leafy bits to my card, I die cut the detail layer of the new All the Joy die cut from black glitter paper, then die cut the background outline piece from heavyweight vellum. I added the die cut greeting to the card with more black foam tape, then added a sentiment strip trimmed down from the Reverse Christmas sentiment card set. Finally, I accented the centers of the flowers and a few other spots with some Onyx gems for a bit of extra sparkle!

Well, that’s all for my project today. Do you like to customize your die cuts by trimming them and arranging them on your project in a unique group? It’s one of my favorite ways to customize my cards! Thanks so much for stopping by today, and have a marvelous day!

Pinkfresh Studio November 2023 Stamp, Die, Stencil, and Embellishment Release

Good morning, and welcome to the November 2023 Pinkfresh Studio Release Blog Hop! You should have arrived here from Cheryl, and your next stop is Heather. The November 2023 Release features a variety of goodies to share with you, including a fabulous new alphabet set, some snowy holiday beauty, and of course, some gorgeous flowers. I have two projects using some non-traditional holiday colors to share with you, so let’s get started with the details!

While I tend to use red a lot for holiday cards, I couldn’t resist using some totally non-traditional pinks, greens, and sparkling metallics for these cards today! I thought that the whimsical and unique aesthetic of the new Folk Snowflake set would lend itself beautifully to some intense, vibrant pink.

For my first card, I began by blending Bubble Gum, Raspberry Bliss, and Regal Kiss inks on a plain white card front using blending brushes, then stamped the Snowflakes background stamp using Calico White ink. I was amazed at how well the white pigment ink popped on the super vivid blended background. If you haven’t tried out the new Calico White ink, you definitely should! It’s awesome! I die cut a large Ornate Rectangle Frame die from some Dazzling Diamond glitter cardstock and popped it up around the edge of the blended and stamped background.

Next, I heat embossed the large snowflake image from the new Folk Snowflake stamp set onto some Dragonfruit cardstock from Concord and 9th. I used the coordinating Folk Snowflake stencils to add some deep pink and purple details to the image, accenting them with some glittering handmade watercolor. I also heat embossed a greeting from Folk Snowflake onto some more vivid pink cardstock, die cutting both embossed images with the coordinating Folk Snowflake dies. I popped them up on the card front using foam adhesive, then accented the shimmering white details with some new Ice clear drops. So much vivid color and shine on this project!

My next project uses the large snowflake image from the Folk Snowflake set to create a patterned background. I began by silver embossing the large snowflake a few times on a 4″ x 6″ piece of cold press watercolor paper. I then used regular pan watercolors as well as sparkling glitter watercolors from IUILE (on Etsy) to add tons of vibrant pink and green to the panel. It’s super bright and shimmery, but I think that Christmas is the perfect time to layer up on the sparkle for your holiday cards!

To create the greeting, I die cut “joyful” using the beautiful new Kaitlin Alpha die set and some green mirror foil cardstock. I also silver embossed a sentiment from the Folk Snowflake stamp set onto some pale pink cardstock, die cutting it with the coordinating die. I popped up the greeting components using foam adhesive, then tucked a few die cut snowflakes on the card front, created using the smallest of the Large Snowflakes dies and some Silver glitter cardstock. I matted the watercolored panel first with some more green mirror foil cardstock, then a full size A7 piece of pale pink cardstock. Finally, I added some shiny Leaf Clear Drops for more texture and gloss!

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

Pinkfresh Studio will be giving away the full release on the Pinkfresh blog & YouTube channel. They will also be giving away a total of TEN $25  gift cards along the hop. The winners will be selected from the comments along the hop. Winners will be posted on November 21, 2023 on our GIVEAWAY PAGE. Winners must check that page & claim their prize within 2 weeks.

Here’s the full hop list in case you get lost:

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

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