Sixth Street Sundries

Emily Midgett

from the heart messages

Inspired By A Sweater!

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

Hi friends! I have mentioned before that fashion is a huge inspiration for me, and today’s project is one that was inspired by one of the boutiques that I follow. Around Valentine’s Day (yes, I know that was almost 6 months ago) one of my favorite boutiques posted a photo of a sweater with big red, coral, and purple hearts all over it, with some of the hearts edged with pearl beads. I immediately thought what a cute card it would make! The shape of the Nested Round Hearts from Simon Says Stamp is so unique; I immediately started constructing this card in my head using those dies. Fast forward six months and I finally put those hearts in my head onto a card! Let’s get started with the details.

I began by selecting several shades of cardstock and ink from Concord and 9th: Fig, Dragonfruit, Sweet Pea, and Nectar. Using the Nested Round Hearts dies, I die cut several sizes of heart from each of the cardstock colors, reserving the A2 Dragonfruit panel for my background. I also heat embossed a greeting from From the Heart Messages stamp set using white embossing powder on a Fig heart die cut. I love the contrast of the bright white embossing powder and the dark purple! I used blending brushes and the coordinating ink colors to blend around each heart die cut to add a little more interest and dimension to the die cuts.

For the background, I used the Spun Glass embossing folder with the Dragonfruit cardstock panel to add some extra texture to the card base. I initially was searching for a cable knit embossing folder, but didn’t have one. I thought that the repetitive placement and shape of the images in the Spun Glass folder was really similar a cable knit and am really happy at how it worked with the project. I blended Dragonfruit ink around the edges of the blended panel, then splattered some white gouache on the background.

After arranging my hearts carefully on the blended and textured background, I popped them up with foam adhesive for tons of dimension. The heart sweater had one other element that I still needed to add: pearl edging! I pulled out some adhesive gems and added them around the edges of the Sweet Pea hearts. I noticed that there were a few holes in the background that needed a little extra something, so I die cut a few tiny glittering hearts and tucked them here and there. I think this turned out to be so fun and cheerful! The bright colors would make anyone smile!

Well, that’s all for my project today! If you’re needing a jumpstart for your creativity, I highly encourage you to check out your favorite boutique for fun patterns, textures, and color palettes. Thanks so much for stopping by today, and have a marvelous day!

Simon Says Stamp Hugs & Kisses Release Blog Hop + Giveaway!

Hi there! I am thrilled to be a stop on Day 1 of the Hugs & Kisses Release Blog Hop! You should have arrived here from Alberto Gava, and your next stop is Vicky Papaioannou. You can also start back at the beginning at the Simon Says Stamp Blog. After a little holiday break, we are celebrating both the Simon Says Stamp Hugs release from December 2022 and the brand new Kisses release from January 2023! Both of these releases are love-themed, and many of the products work beautifully together. I have two blushing projects to share with you today, so let’s get started with the details!

Every few weeks, we get little glimpses of springtime with some lovely mild temperatures, and I was channeling those memories of pleasant spring days when I worked on these projects. I realized after I created them that the color palette was very similar to my projects from the November Holiday Sparkle Blog Hop, this time with a floral springtime vibe! I can’t seem to get enough of that blushy cardstock paired with metallic accents, and both of these cards feature that soft pink, this time paired with the new Champagne Matte Cardstock and a ton of new and old goodies!

My first card features the Heart Panes die from the Hugs release, die cut from the new Champagne Matte Cardstock. The heart opening in the center is the perfect size to fit the “sending love” greeting from the new From the Heart Messages stamp set. I cut a piece of blush colored cardstock down to A2 size, then arranged my champagne cover plate die cut over the top of the blush background and placed the entire panel inside my MISTI. I placed the stamp from the From the Heart Messages set in the center and closed the door, then removed the die cut.

I heat embossed the greeting using Metallic Platinum Sparkle embossing powder, which was a near-perfect match for the Champagne Matte Cardstock. After I had embossed the greeting in the center, I lightly blended some Cheeky ink around the edges to add a little extra dimension to the background. I adhered the cover plate die over the top of the blended, embossed background panel.

To accent the heart, I wanted to add some simple die cut flowers from that same blush cardstock. I die cut the Etched Magnolia Blossom and Blossom Vine dies from the blush cardstock, then die cut some foliage from the leftover panes of Champagne cardstock using the Privet Branch die. I lightly blended some more Cheeky ink around the edges of the die cut magnolia pieces using a small blending brush and adhered the pieces using both liquid and foam adhesive for lots of dimension. I arranged the die cuts in a swag around the foil heart and sentiment, adding a sentiment strip and some Champagne Glitter Drops for some more sparkle!

My second card features the same color scheme, this time using the Flourishing Bloom cover plate die to create a lovely floral background! I began with another A2 panel of the blush cardstock, blended around the edges with Cheeky ink to add some extra interest to the background. I then die cut the Flourishing Bloom cover plate die from the Champagne Matte Cardstock and mounted it on the blush background using liquid adhesive.

To accent the foiled foliage, I die cut the Flourishing Bloom cover plate from another panel of the blush cardstock, then used my sharp scissors to trim each of the individual flowers off of the large die cut. I used the same small blending brush with Cheeky ink to add some extra dimension to the blooms. This helps them pop from the background a bit! I adhered all of the die cut blooms to the floral background using foam tape to help give them even more interest and dimension.

For the greeting, I used the brand new Hi There sentiment die set. I die cut the background layer from some heavyweight vellum, then adhered the detail layer cut from some Champagne Matte Cardstock. I popped the sentiment up with some thin strips of foam tape, hidden behind the solid portion of the die cuts to keep it from showing through the semi-transparent vellum! I also added some Champagne Glitter Drops to the center of the flowers. Lots of height and texture on this card’s background!

Well, that’s all for my projects today! Now for some fun giveaways and freebie information!

Simon Says Stamp is giving away a $25 coupon to each stop on the hop. The winner will be selected from the comments and announced on the Simon Says Stamp blog on January 25, 2023! To be entered to win, simply leave a comment on each blog across the hop. The more comments you leave, the more chances you have to win!

Simon Says Stamp is also adding a sweet little freebie with purchase. Simply add code RBW23 at checkout to receive the Rainbow 3×4 stamp set with your order!

Your next stop is Vicky Papaioannou Thanks so much for stopping by today, and happy hopping!

Simon Says Stamp Kisses New Release!

Hi there! Tonight, Simon Says Stamp is releasing their latest product collection: Kisses! This new collection is full of fun products to create cards filled with love for the recipient. I used the new Painted Heart Wreath stamp to create two super-shiny, watercolored projects today, so let’s get started with the details!

Both of my projects today feature the Painted Heart Wreath. I began by stamping this beautiful new cling stamp using Contour Ink from Hero Arts onto a 6×6 panel of watercolor paper. This solid stamp stamps as one complete image, so in order to create a multicolored finished product, I did some watercoloring on the individual elements. The Contour Ink stamps in a very light gray, and it does not interfere with the colors of the watercoloring itself! Score! I used my Tombow Dual Brush markers to add lots of vibrant color to these individual images, scribbling color onto my glass work surface and picking it up with my damp paintbrush, then moving the color around on the solid images of the stamped panel. Once those had dried, I got out my handmade, super shiny, metallic watercolors from IUILE and added some sparkles over the top. I love the finished effect!

For my first card, I trimmed the Painted Heart Wreath panel that I watercolored down to mini-slimline size. The 6×6 panel was the perfect size for this mini-slimline card, and I even had leftovers!

I stamped one of the greetings from the From the Heart Messages stamp set using Platinum Sparkle embossing powder from WOW! Embossing. This glittery not-quite-silver-but-not-quite-gold worked beautifully with the sparkly watercolored elements. To add a touch of extra texture and sparkle to this relatively-simple card front, I added a few Milk Glass gems.

My second card uses some of the leftover pieces from my Painted Heart Wreath panel. There wasn’t quite enough left of the stamped pattern to use the full panel for a card, so I trimmed out a few of the elements using my sharp scissors to use them as sparkly accents!

Using the same shades of Tombow Dual Brush markers, I watercolored a vibrant-but-still-soft lilac ombré on some more watercolor paper. I die cut it out using the Big Hugs die from Simon Says Stamp, then, keeping the die cut within the negative space, I added some super sparkly watercolor over the top. The sparkles are very subtle, but they catch the light so beautifully, as you can see in the photo above. I die cut the same Big Hugs die twice more from some plain white cardstock scraps and layered all three die cuts together to create a dimensional die cut greeting.

Using the new Matte Champagne Foil cardstock from the Kisses release, I die cut the new Heart Chain die, reserving the full size negative hearts from the centers of the die cut. I adhered the Heart Chain with some liquid adhesive to the white A2 card base, then began arranging the sentiment die cut and watercolored, sparkling Painted Heart Wreath leftovers with foam adhesive. I added the heart die cuts from the Heart Chain die cut using foam adhesive, as well, which remind me of bubbles floating from the focal point. The final touch was to add a few more Milk Glass gems for a bit more texture and sparkle!

Well, that’s all for these projects! I hope you’ll check out the new Kisses release over at Simon Says Stamp. So many unique and fun new products that are full of beautiful images, poignant and clever sentiments, and creative dies. And be sure to come back later this week for the blog hop! Thanks so much for stopping by today, and have a marvelous day!