Sixth Street Sundries

Emily Midgett

favorite things

VIDEO: Double Letter Press Gatefold Card with Pinkfresh Studio!

Hi friends! I am over on the Pinkfresh Studio YouTube channel today with a old-for-most-people-but-new-to-me technique: Gatefold Cards! I used bunches of new Better Press plates, some fancy folding, and touches of springy color to create this unique project. Here’s the video:

Or you can click HERE to watch it on YouTube.

To create this card, I pulled out a supply that doesn’t get much of a spotlight in my office: my score board. This handy little tool has one basic function: to evenly and precisely score your cardstock, creating crisp creases on card bases, fancy folding cards, and rosettes, and you can even use it to create textural patterns in the background of your card front! It’s one of those tools that you don’t realize how much you’ve needed one until you actually have one.

For my project, I used Garnet ink from the Spellbinders Better Press Jet Set Ink Collection to impress the beautiful floral images from the Breezy Blossoms Press Plate set. The Garnet ink is a lovely match for Peony Ink from Pinkfresh Studio, which I paired with Hydrangea Ink to add some softly blended color to my flowers using the Breezy Blossoms coordinating stencils. I used the 1/2″ blending brushes from Pinkfresh Studio to do some soft, but precise, blending on the flowers and foliage, keeping the color palette light and springy with the pink and purple inks. I die cut the finished florals with the Breezy Blossoms coordinating die.

For the interior of my gatefold card, I used the new Stippled Plaid Press Plate without ink to create some subtle texture. I simply ran a panel of Porcelain Press Paper A7 through my Better Press System without inking the plate, which creates a crisp, but still subtle, impression into the letterpress paper. I love to create these subtle patterns for the background of my focal point, enhancing the pattern with some ink blending. I used some larger blending brushes to blend the same Peony Ink and Hydrangea Ink around the edge of my letterpressed panel, trimming the Stippled Plaid panel down to 4″ x 5 1/4″. This slightly smaller size leaves a tiny 1/8″ frame around the edge to make sure that your belly band slides over comfortably!

For the sentiment, I used Mulberry Ink from the Regal Tones Ink Collection to impress a greeting from the Favorite Things Sentiments Press Plate set directly over the center of my letterpressed background. The dark ink creates a stark contrast on the light, slightly textured background!

To create the gatefold card:
Trim down a piece of 4 1/4″ x 11″ vellum. Using a score board and a bone folder, score the cardstock at 2 3/4″, then turn the cardstock 180* and score again at 2 3/4″. This will leave you with a 4 1/4″ x 5 1/2″ rectangle in the center, with symmetrical “gates” on either side.

To create the belly band:
Trim down a 1″ x 11″ strip of cardstock, then score at 2 5/8″, flip 180*, and score at 2 3/4″. The two different scoring measurements leaves a little wiggle room on your belly band so that it slides on and off easily.

After I had created the vellum card base, I die cut a Blanket Stitched Circle die from some pearlescent white cardstock to cover up the gap in my belly band as well as the sentiment behind my vellum “gate.” I popped up a greeting from Basic Banners Celebrate, which I had stamped using Hydrangea Ink and heat embossed over the top with some iridescent purple embossing powder for extra shine and die cut with the coordinating Basic Banners Die. I arranged the floral die cuts around the sentiment banner, popping some up with foam adhesive, adhering others with liquid adhesive for different heights throughout the card. For a little added sparkle, I adhered some Twilight Glitter Ombré Drops on the die cut circle and added some sparkling glitter watercolors to the stamens and flower centers.

Well, that’s all for my project today! I hope this inspires you to use your score board for something other than your typical card bases. I am going to have to look for more fun card folds. So fun to do something outside the box! Thanks so much for stopping by today, and have a marvelous day!

VIDEO: Pinkfresh Studio Window Card with Die Cuts and Hot Foil!

This video was sponsored by Pinkfresh Studio. Thanks, Pinkfresh!

Hi friends! I am up on the Pinkfresh Studio YouTube channel today with this fun monochromatic window card, complete with hot foiled and die cut accents. You can check out the video below or HERE on YouTube:

This shaped card features a fun window on the card front that I backed with some foiled acetate and adorned with some floral die cuts in monochromatic shades of aqua. Let’s get started with the details on my project!

I began by die trimming down a panel of icy blue cardstock to 6″ x 4.25″, then using a score board to score a fold 1/2″ away from the top, creating a lip upon which I would later adhere the back of my card base. The plates on my die cutting machine are pretty beaten up, so I used two separate panels to create my top-folding A2 card base in order to keep the back panel as clean as possible. After I had scored the top fold, I used a die from the Nested Arches Die set to cut a window from the center of the front card panel. To fill in the open window, I used an acetate panel that I had created previously using the Ornate Trellis Better Press Plate and the Solid Hot Foil Plate. I love using heat-resistant acetate with the Solid Hot Foil Plate and leftover hot foil pieces; the super smooth surface of the acetate hot foils the solid foil pieces with immaculate results. I backed the open window with the hot foiled piece, adhering it with some super strong double sided tape.

Once I had created my card base, it was time to embellish my card! I used the Stylized Florals Stencils with Sky Blue, Waterfall, and Paradise inks, keeping my aqua blue monochromatic color palette true throughout the process. I die cut the individually-stenciled flowers in one fell swoop with the one-piece Stylized Florals Dies, then cut the foliage from another panel of icy blue cardstock as well as some Aqua Glitter Paper. I adhered the die cuts together on the die cut foliage swag, using the color-printed schematic in the product packaging as my guide for placement. To add a bit more interest to the layers of the flowers, I added a smattering of Ice Clear Drops to the centers of a few of the flowers, adding one more element of texture and shine.

For the greeting, I used a silver hot foiled sentiment from the Favorite Things Sentiments Better Press set. This sentiment set is one of my favorites from Pinkfresh Studio; it features so many lovely sentiments, making it truly all-purpose! I used some residual ink left over on my blending brushes from my stenciled flowers to blend over the silver-foiled sentiment die cut to continue my monochromatic aqua color palette throughout the card. I thought this sentiment worked perfectly for a birthday card, so I also used some deep teal cardstock to die cut HBD using the Julieta Alpha Dies. (In the video, I share a trick for adhering alphabet die cuts in a perfectly straight line!) I popped up the greeting die cuts with foam adhesive, completing the card!

Well, that’s all for my project today. I just love a good monochromatic card, don’t you? It’s such fun to find new ways to keep things texturally and visually interesting while still staying in the same color family! Thanks so much for stopping by today, and have a marvelous day!

VIDEO: Better Press Plates Used for More than Just Letterpress!

Hi friends! I am up on the Pinkfresh Studio YouTube channel using one of my new illustrations for Pinkfresh Studio’s Better Press Plate line: Beautiful Roses! I used the plate to create this card without inking it up at all. Watch below or check it out HERE on YouTube!

One of my favorite attributes of the Better Press system and plates is that they don’t just have to be used for the letter press technique. Not only do they imprint gloriously detailed images into your paper, but they also can be used for hot foiling and adding delicious texture to your letter press paper. In today’s video, I use my new Beautiful Roses Press Plate illustration from Pinkfresh Studio (PFS | SSS) to both deboss a floral background pattern and hot foil the detailed floral image onto some super smooth vellum. Let’s get started with the details!

To start, I hot foiled the Beautiful Roses Press Plate (PFS | SSS) onto some vellum from Simon Says Stamp using the Glimmer Hot Foil machine from Spellbinders (SB | SSS | PFS). I have had good luck using delicate images on this super smooth vellum, and the Blush foil from Spellbinders (PFS | SSS | SB) worked beautifully with the Beautiful Roses plate! After hot foiling, I die cut the image using the coordinating die (PFS | SSS).

Next, I used the Beautiful Roses Press Plate (PFS | SSS) without ink to create this textured, debossed pattern on the background of my Porcelain Better Press paper (SB | SSS). Using the grid guides on the magnetic plate and clear platen from the Better Press system (SB | SSS), I was able to arrange the Beautiful Roses Press Plate (PFS | SSS) around the edge of my A2 panel of Porcelain Better Press paper (SB | SSS), rotating it to make the pattern as cohesive and natural as possible. In the video, I also show how I took advantage of the magnetic attributes of the system to ensure perfect placement on my paper! Debossing the pattern into the paper creates a beautifully subtle texture, which I enhanced by blending Cherry Blossom, Begonia, and Mulberry Blush inks using blending brushes. The ink concentrates in the debossed lines, making the pattern pop a bit from the background. After I had finished blending, I splattered the entire panel with some rose gold glitter watercolors.

To ground my foiled vellum image, I die cut the smaller Mini Slimline Frame (PFS | SSS) using Rose Gold Glitter Cardstock (PFS | SSS). This pinky metallic gold glitter paper coordinates beautifully with the Blush foil! I popped up the frame with foam adhesive, offsetting it to the left and trimming off the excess. For the greeting, I hot foiled a few sentiments from the Favorite Things Sentiments Press Plates (PFS | SSS) set using more Blush foil, then hot foiled the leftover negative images with the Solid Hot Foil Plate (PFS | SSS). I die cut the greetings with the Coordinating Dies (PFS | SSS), then adhered the solid die cut to the transparent vellum, flipping it over to add foam adhesive behind the solid die cut so as to keep the vellum clean of unsightly adhesive. I added a melon twine bow and some Champagne Glitter Drops (PFS | SSS) for extra sparkle and texture!

Well, that’s all for my project today! I love experimenting with the Better Press plates and machine. It’s such fun to find new ways to get more uses out of your supplies, and it’s so surreal to see and use my own illustrations as a Press Plate! Thanks so much for stopping by today, and have a marvelous day.