Sixth Street Sundries

Emily Midgett

christmas tags

Simon Says Stamp STAMPtember Exclusive: Honey Bee Stamps!

Hi friends! I am back with another STAMPtember Collaboration Release today, and we’re celebrating Honey Bee Stamps in all of it’s gorgeously vintage glory today! I have gotten to know Melissa, the owner and caretaker of Honey Bee Stamps, as a member of her Design Team and as a friend over the last several years, and she is genuinely one of my favorite people in the crafty world. She is so kind and warm and such a talented human in so many ways! The STAMPtember collaboration product is just like her: filled with beautiful details and with a touch of vintage charm. Here’s a sneak peek:

The Holly Jolly Frames (click HERE to check it out!) product suite features a variety of intricate frames and holiday imagery with which to fill the openings. I thought that the gorgeous filigree frames would be absolutely perfect to create some elegant gift tags, and so pulled out my deepest Christmas red cardstock, gold embossing powder, and some jewels and created these pretties:

Don’t the gold embossed frames just look stunning against that vibrant red cardstock? Talk about festive and oh, so elegant! For each frame, I stamped the image on Rainbow Splash Scarlet cardstock using embossing powder, then added the luminous gold embossing powder and heated it. I love how those details pop so perfectly against that deep red. After embossing each frame, I used the coordinating dies to cut them out.

Because the dies come with detachable center circles, you can cut the detailed frames with a center opening or you can leave the center circle out and cut the solid image. I die cut one more of each frame from the same Scarlet cardstock, this time leaving off the center circle die and cutting a solid backer that would fit perfectly behind the frames. I used a blending brush to blend Cherry ink on the edges of each solid die cut, adding some vintage “distressing” to the background.

To adorn the center of each frame, I heat embossed some of the holiday imagery included with Holly Jolly Frames with the same opulent red and gold color palette and die cut them with their coordinating dies. I adhered the frames to their solid, blended backers with thin foam adhesive squares, then added the holiday icons in the center of each frame, turning the frames on the diagonal so that they were diamond-shaped instead of squares. I used my Crop-A-Dile to cut a hole at the top of each diamond, then threaded some sparkling gold twine through to create the loop to easily attach the tag to a gift. Finally, I added some sparkling Cherry Pawsitively Dazzling Gems for extra sparkle and luxury!! I think these look like they came directly from the North Pole!

Well, that’s all for my projects today. Wouldn’t these be so pretty in a variety of Christmas colors and given as a gift? Or as a collage on an A7 card front? So many possibilities with these pretty frames!!

Important note: these fabulous and exclusive STAMPtember collaboration sets are limited edition, meaning that once they sell out, they won’t be restocked. Don’t wait on these! You won’t want to miss out! Thanks so much for stopping by today, and happy STAMPtember!!

Easy Tag Set for Gifting or Wrapping with Simon Says Stamp DieCember!

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

Hi friends! We are charging ever closer to Christmas with just a few more days to get everything ready, wrapped, baked, mailed, etc etc etc! My immune system decided check out, so I have been sickly for the last two weeks… not ideal with four kiddos and all of the school activities, plus work and house remodeling! Because of this, I am on an extra tight time crunch this year, so I can always appreciate a quick and simple project that still adds that little handmade touch to my holiday gifts without a huge time investment. The new 4-for-1 Christmas product suite offers an opportunity to create beautifully detailed and illustrated tags that you can customize to perfectly match your wrapping, but with the added bonus of stamping and die cutting four individual tags with one go! I have created a little tag gift set with this new suite using ink and white cardstock as well as white embossing powder and colored cardstock. 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!*

I find that the older I get, the more I appreciate a truly useful and thoughtful gift. Giving handmade projects as gifts is one of my favorite ways to show people that I care about them, and if they are truly useful gifts, so much the better! I decided to put the new 4-for-1 Christmas suite to the test to create sets of tags to give as gifts (and maybe to keep a few for my own gifts!). The images are on one large stamp, so you stamp one time and have a full sheet of tags ready to be die cut (with the handy dandy 4-for-1 Christmas Tag Die that cuts all four images in one fell swoop!) and added to your gift!

For this set, I stamped the 4-for-1 Christmas suite eight different times on eight sheets of A2 cardstock, which sounds like a lot, but when using the MISTI, it went quite quickly! I stamped the first four using embossing ink on different shades of pink and green cardstock, then embossed them with white detail embossing powder. For the next batch, I stamped the tags using Pawsitively Saturated Inks in shades of Jade, Artichoke, Guava, and Taffy, continuing my pink and green theme. Which technique do you like better: embossed or inked?

After I had stamped, embossed, and die cut all of the tags, I die cut the newer Holes & Reinforcers dies from silver glitter cardstock, then added them to the top of each tag. Not only does this addition reinforce the tag’s hanger, it adds a little extra bling to the tag and makes it look so professional, I think!

Finally, I added loops of Simon Says Stamp Silver Cord to each reinforced hole, creating an easy way to add your handmade tags to a gift. To give these as a gift, I simply strung a variety of the tags onto a Simon Says Stamp Ring Clip and added a pretty coordinating pink bow to make it extra festive!

Well, that’s all for my projects today! Are you feeling the last minute holiday crunch or are you more prepare (and healthier! Cough cough) than me? My kiddos get out of school early today for their Christmas break… nearly 3 weeks of fun and plenty of cookies, chaos, and celebrating! Thanks so much for stopping by today, and happy holidays!

Hero Arts December 2023 My Monthly Hero Kit Launch Blog Hop + Giveaway!

Hi friends! Happy Monday! It’s the first Monday of the month, and that means that it’s time for another kit release from my friends at Hero Arts! You should have arrived here from the marvelous Kelly Taylor, and this is your last stop on the hop! This month’s theme is dedicated to all things alphabet. I received my kit a bit late, so I have some very quick and easy tags to share with you. We can all use “quick and easy” around this time, can’t we? Here’s a peek at this month’s Classic Kit:

And a look at the Premium Kit:

The contents of these kits retail individually for over double the kit purchase price. The My Monthly Hero Classic kit can be yours for $36.99, and the Premium Kit can be purchased for $49.99! There are also a ton of marvelous, universally-useful add-ons which coordinate with the kits or can be used as standalone products. Let’s get started with my projects!!

Whenever I see alphabet dies, my mind immediately goes to personalized stationery. I started my cardmaking journey when I was newly married and wanted to create the perfect monogram stationery to send as thank you notes, and so new alphabet products always bring me back to my roots. Now, as a momma of four kids, personalization is important, because my kids like to make sure that everybody knows whose toy is whose!! (lol and cry simultaneously) I die cut the new cover plate die from the Classic Kit from using Pitch Black cardstock and realized that my boys’ names are short enough that the die cut letters could easily be added onto some tags. My little boys are learning how to spell their names in preschool, and seeing their letters anywhere (stop sign, mail, gas station sign, etc) brings them a thrill that I thought seeing a personalized tag on their “want” gift would make them so happy!

I die cut three tags from Cherry cardstock using the Bulb Ornament Infinity Dies which are unfortunately out of stock at the moment, but you can easily sign up for email notification for when they come back in stock! They’re super useful, especially considering the variety of sizes included in the set. I used a Post-It note to mask off the top of the ornament bulbs and blended Cranberry ink around the edges to add some extra dimension. I then used the Snowflake Fancy Die and white glitter cardstock from the Glitter Basics cardstock pack to add a festive snowflake pattern to each snowflake, snipping off the extras spilling over the edges. I popped up the die cut letters from the My Monthly Hero Classic Kit using foam adhesive and added a bit of sparkly silver twine from which my tag could swing!

On the back of the tag, I used more Pitch Black cardstock to add a die cut “from” from the Holiday Words Fancy Die set. I love that these tags came together so quickly and easily. They’d be super easy to mass produce and would be darling as tags for gifts or even place cards for a family meal!

For my lone girl child, I wanted to create a variation on the same tags with a bit more feminine color palette. Her name is a bit longer than the boys’ names, so I used the “V” die from the new S-V Fancy Dies. Having a V for her first initial makes it a bit more challenging to find monogrammed items, so she really enjoys seeing her monogram on anything!! I die cut the large Bulb Ornament Infinity Dies from Mist cardstock, then placed my Post-It Note mask on the top and blended Paradise ink around the edges. I added more sparkly snowflakes, then die cut the large V from S-V Fancy Dies from Adriatic cardstock and popped it up with foam adhesive, I added a sparkly silver twine bow and loop. Super cute and sparkly! I think she will probably even keep it as an ornament for her little Christmas tree in her bedroom.

When I opened my release package last week, I was immediately struck by the generous size of the new Alphabet Fancy Dies and knew that I wanted to create a festive word garland for my office Christmas tree! My new office gave me enough space to have a tree of my very own, a white tree decorated in blush pink and rose gold, and it was such fun to create this little banner to decorate it. I die cut the Alphabet Fancy Dies from some light pink shimmer cardstock as well as regular white cardstock, then adhered them together to add a bit of extra stability. Then, I dug out my glue gun (haven’t used that in awhile!) and adhered the letters to some sparkly rose gold twine.

I think it looks fabulous on my little tree!

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

Hero Arts will give away a $50 gift card, drawn from the comments left across the hop. Enter by Sunday, December 10th at 11:59pm Pacific, and the winner will be announced on the Hero Arts blog the following week.

I’m the last stop on the hop, so if you’ve made it this far, you’re all done! You can also start back a the beginning at the Hero Arts blog if you got out of order. Thanks so much for stopping by today, and have a marvelous day!

Hero Arts October 2021 My Monthly Hero Blog Hop + Giveaway!

Hi there! Today, Hero Arts is releasing their October My Monthly Hero products, and we’re doing a Victorian Christmas this month! You should have arrived here from Debi Adams, and your next stop is Ilina Crouse. We have a beautifully detailed Victorian theme for you this month. Here’s a peek at this month’s kit:

Look through the window onto a joyous holiday scene with the October My Monthly Hero Kit. The candles are lit, the classic toys are under the tree and the champagne is flowing. This month’s kit includes Victorian Christmas-inspired imagery in a large 6×8 stamp set, and a gorgeous window die that sets the stage for the scenes you will create. Rounding out the kit are acetate sheets to mimic window glass, lovely jewel tone cardstock and glitter to add a bit of sparkle.

This month’s kit features a large 6″ x 8″ Clear Stamp Set, 12 Coordinating Frame Cuts, Window Shop Cover Plate Die, 6 4.25″ x 5.5″ Sheets of Biodegradable Acetate, 7 5.5″ x 8.5″ Sheets of Cardstock in Assorted Holiday Jewel Tones, Prisma Glitter, 0.5 oz. The contents are valued individually at $72, but the kit is for sale for $34.99! If you love the Hero Arts My Monthly Hero kits, you can always  subscribe to ensure that you get your own kit every month. I have two projects to share with you today, so let’s get started with the details!

White on white is one of my most favorite elegant looks for holiday cards, especially when paired with sparkling silver accents. I began my card by die cutting the beautifully intricate window die from the main kit from some plain white cardstock, then backed it with acetate to create a crisp white window front.

Inside the window, I heat embossed the super detailed tree on a white card base using Silver Sparkle embossing powder. I used a few Copic markers to add some color to the ornaments and candles on the tree.

I filled the shaker window with some sparkling sequins, then heat embossed the greeting from the main kit using some more Silver Sparkle embossing powder. The final touch was to add a few sparkling clear gems to the top of the window.

For my second project, I created a pair of sweet, simple gift tags using the new Vintage Toys Fancy Dies, the older Paper Layering Poinsettia dies, and the Tag Infinity Dies. I continued my white-on-white color scheme, beginning by die cutting the teddy bear and rocking horse Vintage Toys Fancy Dies from some white cardstock, then used my Copic markers to add some simple red and black accents to the toys.

Next, I die cut the Paper Layering Poinsettia from some Cranberry cardstock for the flowers and sparkling silver leaves and flower centers using the Holiday Glitter cardstock.

I die cut two tags from Decorative Woodgrain Cardstock using the Tag Infinity Dies, then layered the die cuts on the front of the tags using foam adhesive. I added a greeting from the Hero Greetings Christmas Gift Shop stamped in black on some strips of white cardstock. The final touch was to add some cheery red ribbon. I love crisp white with that pop of vivid red at Christmas!

Well, that’s all for my projects today. Hero Arts is sponsoring a giveaway to celebrate this release!

We will give away ALL OF THE OCTOBER ADD-ON PRODUCTS, drawn from the comments left across the hop. Enter by Sunday, October 10th at 11:59pm Pacific, and the winner will be announced on the Hero Arts blog the following week.

Your next stop is Ilina Crouse. Thanks so much for stopping by, and happy hopping!