Sixth Street Sundries

Emily Midgett

etched meadow flower and leaves

Simon Says Stamp Smitten & Sweetheart Blog Hop- Day 2!

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

Hi friends! Welcome to Day 2 of the Simon Says Stamp Smitten & Sweetheart blog hop! You should have arrived here from Debby Hughes and your next stop is Lisa Addesa. This hop is a special one, celebrating the release for both last month’s Smitten release and this month’s Sweetheart release! For today’s hop, I’ve created two different projects using products from both releases. I love adding color to white standalone die cuts using Copic markers, and the Smitten release and this month’s Sweetheart release have some lovely new additions to that category. I created a pair of light, springy projects using lots of white cardstock, some new dies, and my Copic markers. Let’s get started with the details!

After the super intense, jewel-toned projects that I created for Christmas, I wanted to create something a bit lighter and more spring-like, so I pulled out the new Lady’s Mantle, Grand Corner Leaves, Etched Layered Daisy, and Charming Daisy dies.

For my first card, I die cut the Lady’s Mantle, Grand Corner Leaves dies, and Etched Layered Daisy die from Hammermill white cardstock. Before I assembled everything, I used Copic markers to add soft pastel colors to the different images, using the debossed lines as guides for where to add extra shading and depth. The colors that I selected for the daisy did not work as nicely with the leaves as I anticipated, so instead of redoing the entire thing, I simply selected a pale RV Copic marker and “glazed” all of the petals. Doing this allowed me to quickly change the overall look of the flower to be a bit brighter while still putting to use the shadows that I created previously.

After I had finished coloring and assembling the die cuts, I placed the new Heart Blooms stencil over a white A2 card front, then used a blending brush to lightly blend Dew Pawsitively Saturated Ink over the top. This light pool color coordinates nicely with the foliage and keeps things cohesive throughout the card. I arranged the flowers and foliage on the card front, then popped them up with foam squares. For the greeting, I trimmed down a sentiment from the new Bestie sentiment cards and popped it up with more foam adhesive, creating a double layer of foam tape for extra height. Finally, I topped everything off with some sparkling pale mint gems from my stash!

My second card features a new-to-me technique, creating an embellished window card using just die cuts! I started the project by die cutting the new Charming Daisy three times from Hammermill white cardstock, as well as the foliage sprigs from the Etched Meadow Flower die set. I used Copic markers in light shades of mauve, jade, and celadon to add color to the white die cuts.

To create the background for my die cut images, I die cut a window from the center of an A2 card front using one of the Nested Domed Arches. I wanted to arrange the flowers around the window and leave the area completely open, so I needed a wider sentiment that would span the width of the window opening. I cut the new Bestie sentiment die, cutting the background layer from vellum, then nestled both dies together on some white cardstock and ran it through my die cut machine, creating a sentiment with the negative space. I adhered this outline to the background vellum piece, which created a subtly bold die cut sentiment.

I arranged the flowers, sentiment die cut, and sentiment strip from the new Bestie sentiment cards around the opening, using the sentiment as a “bridge” between the flowers on left and right. I adhered all of the pieces using a combination of liquid and foam adhesive, adding tons of dimension and height to this interesting card! The final touch was to add a few more coordinating pale minty green gems.

Well, that’s all for my projects today! To celebrate this new release, Simon Says Stamp is offering a free gift with purchase: follow the instructions on the graphic at the top of the post, then enter code HTZ24 with your followers so that you can receive the Hearts and Stars stencil free with purchase!

Simon Says Stamp is also generously sponsoring a $25 coupon for each blog to be chosen from comments left along the hop! Simply leave a comment on each blog hop stop to be entered to win! The winners will be posted on the Simon Says Stamp blog on Wednesday the 17th of January. Winners can email Simon Says Stamp to claim his/her prize 🙂

Your next stop is Lisa Addesa, or you can start at the beginning of the hop over on the Simon Says Stamp Blog. (While you’re there, you can check out Day 1 of the hop… a veritable wealth of inspiration throughout!) Thanks so much for stopping by today, and happy hopping!

Gold Accents and Muted Colors for Fall Flowers!

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

Hi friends! I always feel a change in the atmosphere as we wind down the month of September. September juxtaposes crisp autumnal mornings with warm summery afternoons, and this combination of temperatures always lets me know that the short and cool days of autumn are just around the corner. I wanted to create another floral project as an homage to those last gasps of summer, but adding in some rich, warm tones to provide a sneak peek at that autumn weather. I really love how this card turned out, and I can’t wait to share all of the details with you! Let’s get started.

I cannot overstate my love for standalone flower dies. It’s so simple to switch up a color combination or cardstock type to completely change the look of your project. I chose to die cut the Etched Layered Daisy die , Etched Meadow Flower & Leaves die. and Alstroemeria Stem die from white Hammermill cardstock and add Copic coloring to the die cut pieces, creating a dusty rose pink daisy and warm orange floral sprigs, paired with gorgeous olive green for the foliage. When working with floral die cuts like this, I always place the die cut pieces where they will end up being adhered so that I can get a better idea of where to place shadows and to which pieces I should add brighter, lighter highlights. This allows me to create more depth and dimension on these layered floral die cuts.

After creating my focal point, I ran a panel of Palm cardstock from Hero Arts through my die cutting machine using the Leaf Tumble embossing folder (which is currently out of stock, but should be restocked soon! Be sure to sign up for email updates so that you don’t miss it when it comes back!). To add some extra interest and dimension to the textured background, I used a blending brush to blend Artichoke Ink from Concord & 9th around the edges and gently swiped the raised areas with the Enchanted Gold pigment ink pad from Altenew. I think the combination of embossing, blending, and gilded leaves makes the perfect backdrop for my colorful flowers!

After arranging my colorful flower die cuts on my richly embossed and colored card front, I adhered them with liquid and foam adhesive. I die cut the Enjoy die from some gold glitter cardstock to complement the gilding on the background, then gold embossed a greeting from the coordinating Enjoy Phrases set, die cutting it with the coordinating die. I adhered both of the sentiment pieces to the card front, tucking them amongst the flowers and foliage, and finally added a few shimmering Topaz Twinkle gems for one last sparkling touch!

Well, that’s all for my project today! I am shifting into autumn- and holiday-mode for the next couple of months (though I can’t guarantee that I won’t throw the odd floral card in here and there!), and I can’t wait! This is definitely my favorite time of year. Thanks so much for stopping by today, and have a marvelous day!

Customizing Die Cuts with Alcohol Markers!

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

Hi there! Do you love standalone dies like I do? There is something so exciting to me about a simple die cut shape, full of possibilities for customization, whether it is from colored cardstock choices to which coloring medium you choose to employ. Color combinations are one of my favorite ways to start a project. I figure out which color combination I want to use, then select which stamps and dies would work well with it. For today’s project, I was still heavily inspired by the soft cotton candy colors from THIS post and THIS post, but wanted to use my Copic markers instead of watercolors. I’ve had a project featuring this sweet bird nestled amongst the foliage ever since I saw this birdhouse die, and created this intricately detailed 5×7 card. Let’s get started with the details!

To begin my card, I die cut the Scalloped Birdhouse, Layered Songbird, Etched Meadow Flower + Leaves, Delicate Leafy Branch, and So Sorry stamps + Dies from plain white Hammermill cardstock. I found a color combination graphic on my Color Combos Pinterest Board and matched some Copics specifically to those colors. Once I had my specific colors, I used my Hex Chart to flesh out each shade so that I would have darker and lighter options for adding shadows and depth to each of the die cut images.

I kept the colors muted, with soft mauve, apricot, and sage green, accented with warm gray to create this serene little birdhouse scene. For the Layered Songbird, I “glazed” the little gray bird with some mauve to create this uniquely colored little wren. After I had colored all of the different die cut components, I set them aside to focus on the card front. Because the Scalloped Birdhouse is so generously sized, I trimmed down a panel of white cardstock to 5×7 to allow plenty of room for all of my different elements. To create the ethereal sunrise background in my head, I lightly blended Winter Sky, Pale Blush Pink, and Merlot inks on my white card front using blending brushes. Doesn’t it look just like a soft summer sunrise?

After all of my blending and coloring was complete, I began to arrange the different die cut and colored components on the card front. I used both liquid and foam adhesive to create tons of dimension on the arrangements. For the greeting, I heat embossed a greeting from So Sorry onto white cardstock using Platinum embossing powder. To keep the color scheme uniform, I lightly blended some more Pale Blush Pink ink over the embossing, then die cut the sentiment with the coordinating dies. I popped the greeting up with a double layer of foam adhesive so that it would really stand out amongst the die cuts.

Well, that’s all for this project! I think this card would look so beautiful as a special holiday card, don’t you? That Scalloped Birdhouse is just begging to be decorated with spruce sprigs, berries, and snow! Thanks so much for stopping by today, and have a marvelous day!