Sixth Street Sundries

Emily Midgett

gift card

More Simon Says Stamp Bright Christmas Card Kit!

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

Hi friends! I am back with some more inspiration using the beautiful new Bright Christmas Card Kit of the Month from Simon Says Stamp! (Click HERE to see the full kit!) These kits always come filled with supplies to create tons of projects, from patterned papers, stamps and dies, cardstock, and embellishments! I love creating coordinating gift sets, and who doesn’t love a coordinating card and tag gift set at Christmas? Giving something handmade that the recipient can put to good use is such a fulfilling way to use our supplies! Let’s get started with the details on my projects.

*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!*

For today’s project suite, I filled a glassine bag with a group of gift tags, a gift card envelope, and a simple-but-elegant coordinating A2 card, embellishing the bag with some vibrant red cardstock and the beautiful linocut illustrations in the card kit!

To create my cigar band for the gift bag, I used a strip of red 12×12 cardstock, folding it over the folded bag and connecting the ends with one of the linocut images, stamped on Simon Says Stamp Ivory Cardstock with Kale Pawsitively Saturated Ink. To make this cigar band a touch more festive, I added some Distress Medium Matte and Rock Candy Glitter to the tops of the trees and the roofs of the houses, then adhered a red satin bow with my glue gun!

For the coordinating card, I stamped the gorgeous deer image from the Bright Christmas set again using Kale ink, trimming the edges down and mounting it on a slightly larger panel of red cardstock, creating a crisp red mat. I also stamped some of the individual sentiments on a separate strip of Ivory cardstock, trimming them down and mounting them on another, slightly larger strip of red cardstock. I popped both of these red framed stamped images up on my A2 Ivory card base, then added a touch of whimsy and texture with a red hemp twine bow on the deer’s neck! A simple, elegant card that was super simple to make and simple to mail!

For the hang tags, I used my trimmer to trim down the Emerald cardstock to 3″ x 6″ strips, folding them in half to create square tags. I used my hole punch to add some small holes in the corner, then threaded some loops of red twine through. I used the included cardstock stickers and patterned papers to add simple embellishments to the front of the tags! These simple tags add just a touch of handmade affection to your gifts without taking up a ton of your time! It makes my heart hurt a bit to see tags upon which I’ve worked painstakingly tossed in the trash, so it makes me feel better to make such quick work of these tags with the help of the patterned papers and cardstock stickers!

Finally, I used the marvelous new Pine and Post Gift Card Envelope die set included in the kit with some patterned paper, twine, an eyelet, and a cardstock sticker to create a fun coordinating gift card holder! I die cut the envelope from some green plaid patterned paper, then assembled the envelope and adhered the flaps with strong double sided tape. I added one of the cardstock stickers that reminds me of vintage gift tags as the perfect spot for the gift-giver to write their to/from information!

To keep the gift card safely tucked inside the envelope, I used one of Simon Says Stamp’s newer Antique Brass Eyelets to add some red twine, which I wrapped around the envelope twice before tying in a pretty bow!

Well, that’s all for my projects today! I loved this month’s Card Kit so much that I created two different suites of coordinating projects, perfect for gift-giving! It’s such a joy to give handmade gifts, and these card kits make it super easy to create coordinating gifts, tags, and cards with the gorgeous goodies included in the kit.

The Simon Says Stamp Card Kits are such an incredible value; the value of the individual elements of each kit equals far more than the $44.99 price tag, so you’re getting incredible bang for your buck. If you are consistently interested in the Simon Says Stamp Card Kit of the Month, you can sign up HERE to become a subscriber for an even bigger discount on these carefully curated products. As always, Simon also makes each individual element of the kits available a la carte, so that you can pick and choose what you would like to purchase if buying the entire kit isn’t really your thing. Who can say no to such incredible value though, right?

Thanks so much for stopping by today, and have a marvelous day!

Holiday Joy in Pink and Green with New Simon Says Stamp DieCember!

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

Hi friends! With the Simon Says Stamp DieCember release and celebration of all things die cutting, I have been having so much fun with die cutting lately, pushing myself to move outside of my typical cards and wanting to do something with my newest obsession: felt! I recently fell down a felt and stitching rabbit hole, and so I am looking for any and all excuses to felt everything up. (I used felt with some of the new DieCember dies HERE to create the sweetest cardinal holiday ornament!) One of the reasons that I have been looking to expand outside of paper is that paper just feels so…. disposable, you know? Something that people can throw away without much afterthought. Felt and fabric feel a bit more permanent, something that has the power to last a bit longer, at least in my opinion. For my projects today, I paired a fun hot pink and lime color palette with a newer embossing folder and some dies to create this pretty gift set. Let’s get started with the details!

*I have gathered links to all of the products used at the bottom of the post for your convenience, using affiliate links. Thank you for shopping with my links! I truly appreciate your support for my work!*

I love watercoloring on embossed images using various watercolor mediums. The depth and dimension that you can achieve when pairing watercoloring with the 3D texture of the embossing folders is unmatched in my opinion! I love using Karin Brushmarker Pro Watercolor Markers with these embossing folders; their vivid color palette creates are wonderful to create unique and super colorful cards. I carried that hot pink and green color palette into my stocking gift card holder, as well, finding felt in my stash that matched beautifully!

I began by running an A2-sized panel of Arches Cold Press watercolor paper through my die cutting machine using the newer Holly Wreath Embossing Folder. The texture on the Arches Cold Press works beautifully with these deeply etched embossing folders. It’s amazing how much detail this heavy duty watercolor paper picks up! I used the Karin Brushmarker Pro Watercolor Markers with a damp paintbrush to add lots of vivid color to the images. When working with watercolor markers, I like to scribble the color onto my glass work surface, then pick up the color with my damp paintbrush. This allows me a bit more control over the concentration of the color while also helping to create the contrast needed to create definition on the images for this no-line coloring style of painting. After I had painted the main images, I pulled out my handmade shimmer watercolor palette and added some sparkling green to the pine boughs and some shimmering splatters around the edges. It’s so difficult to capture the sparkle and shine on this card in photos!

For the greeting, I paired the new Fanciful Joy die set with the coordinating greetings in the Reverse Joy EZ strips. These user-friendly strips are printed with toner, and so can be paired with toner foil and a Minc or a laminator to create super shiny foiled sentiment strips that you can use to create buildable sentiments. I used Pink & Main Cherry Red Cheerfoil to add foil to these sentiments (don’t you just love that font?) and cut the detail layer of the Fanciful Joy die from some Pinkfresh Studio Magenta Glitter Cardstock and the shadow layer from vellum. I layered the sentiment pieces over the wreath, popping them up with some foam adhesive. I added a coordinating glitter accent strip and a pretty pink bow to accent the wreath and add additional texture. Finally, I added a few Sprout Pawsitively Dazzling Gems for even more sparkle!

For my second project, I used the new Stocking Gift Card Holder with some deep pink felt to create this sweet little gift card holder that can be used as an ornament after it’s fulfilled its gift-giving purpose! I am really enjoying using non-stitching dies to create fun stitched projects lately. I’m finding that my biggest limitation is my creative imagination!! I die cut the main stocking portion twice from deep pink felt and added the top portion using some white felt. Before stitching the two stocking die cuts together, I added some holly leaves and berries, adding some stitching details to the veins on the leaves with coordinating tone-on-tone floss. I also added some sequins and beads to the pale pink berries to add extra texture. I am in love with these pretty colors and the luxurious texture of the felt!

After I had stitched the berries and leaves onto my stocking, I used coordinating pink embroidery floss to stitch the stocking together, adding an olive green velvet ribbon loop to the top corner. I used felt glue to add the white “fur” to the top of the stocking; the felt glue keeps things nice and clean. I’ve been using felt glue a lot lately, making it super simple to put fun felt scenes together as easily as with paper and glue! For one last feminine touch, I added a coordinating olive green velvet bow next to my holly berries. Wouldn’t this be so cute hanging from a Christmas tree or embellishing a pretty Christmas gift?

Well, that’s all for my projects today! I still have so many fun things to share with you using the new DieCember release… if you’d like to receive an email each time I post, you can sign up to become an email subscriber so that you don’t miss any inspiration! I appreciate all of you very much! Thanks so much for stopping by today, and happy DieCember!

More Gingerbread Inspiration with NEW Simon Says Stamp!

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

Hi friends! I am back today with more gingerbread inspiration using some new products from the Simon Says Stamp Festive Fun release! Simon definitely leaned into the gingerbread theme for this gorgeous release, with several super festive products that are as sweet as they are adorable! (pun intended, ha) I thought the sweet little Gingermas House stamp would create a perfect tag for a bag full of sweets. I always make lots of Christmas cookies and happily hand them out as gifts for friends and family, and I think these darling little gingerbread houses will make the perfect adornment for my packages. Let’s get started with the details!

*I have gathered links to all of the products used at the bottom of the post for your convenience, using affiliate links. Thank you for shopping with my links! I truly appreciate your support for my work!*

To begin, I stamped the outline of the Gingermas House onto some Hammermill cardstock using Simon Says Stamp Nocturne black ink and clear embossed it, then used my OLO Markers to add color to the image, creating a sweet brown, red, and pink color palette. I die cut the finished gingerbread house with the coordinating die and decided to add some sparkling, sugary “snow” with a Quickie Glue Pen and some glitter!

To create the tag, I die cut the main part of the Gift Card Pocket Tag from some more white cardstock, as well as several snowflakes included with the tag set from some sparkling white glitter paper. I also die cut the little circle included with the Gift Card Pocket Tag set (lots of little extras included with this die set, making it super versatile!) to create a “charm” to include with my sweet tag. I adhered the white glitter snowflakes to the tags, trimming the excess off and setting them aside to use them for the tag insert.

The Gift Card Pocket Tag die cuts the complete large tag front with a score line and scalloped diagonal edge which can be folded over to create a pocket for a gift card! I created a crisp edge by folding the pocket over on the score line, then running my bone folder over the fold to create a crisp fold. I added some Tear-rific Tape to the other two edges to quickly create my pocket. I decided to create a to/from insert using the “to” and “from” die cuts included with the Gift Card Pocket Tag set. (See? Lots of extras with this set!)

I added the scripty to/from die cuts to my tag insert, then decorated the edges with the remainders of the glittery snowflakes to add some extra special sparkle to my tag insert. After my tag had been completed, I filled a glassine bag with some peppermints (not nearly as special as homemade treats, but shelf-stable for display!) and folded down the top, using my Crop-A-Dile to punch some holes for my tag. I threaded some thin red ribbon through the punched holes and added my tag to it with some Red & White twine for a (literally) sweet little gift! You could easily fill this with some homemade treats and add a gift card to the pocket on the tag (as intended) for an extra special gift.

Well, that’s all for my project today! I am obsessed with fun packaging right now, and the new goodies from the Festive Fun release are perfect for dressing up your holiday gifts. Also, did you know that this little Gingermas House is part of the Simon Says Stamp Gingermas Wonder Box? There are still a very small amount of these boxes available, filled with gingery goodies that would make a perfect gift for a crafty friend. You can see the reveal of each day’s treat HERE. If you are interested in this crafty advent calendar, don’t wait too much longer, because once it’s gone, it’s gone!! Thanks so much for stopping by today, and have a marvelous day!

Simon Says Stamp STAMPtember Christmas Card Kit Surprise!

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

Hi friends! Boy do I have a fun surprise for you today…. Although Simon Says Stamp’s STAMPtember is winding down, we still have a few super fun surprises in store for you, including this jam-packed, Limited Edition Holiday Card Kit! The Simon kits are always a phenomenal value, with individual elements retailing for well over the purchase price, but this one… it blew me away. SO many fun and unique elements that you can use together, individually, or pair with products from your stash! Here’s a peek at the kit:

So many fabulous elements that you almost don’t know where to start first, right? This Holiday Card Kit includes the most darling large stamp set, interactive mitten die that you can use to create a focal point or a gift card holder, layering stencils, 3D embossing folder, gorgeous patterned papers, white pigment ink and blending brushes, and tons of individual consumable elements that coordinate so beautifully to create marvelous holiday goodies to make your gift giving extra special! The individual elements of the Holiday Card Kit are valued at well over $100, but you can purchase them in a bundle for only $69.99. I love that there are so many reusable elements included in the kit, not just consumables, making the value on this one truly incredible!

**note: this Holiday Card Kit is being sold as a preorder. It is anticipated to ship in mid-October.

Whenever I am working with a Holiday Card Kit like this, I like to take my color palette from the patterned papers, which usually have an underlying color scheme throughout, so that I can create a cohesive set of projects. The beautiful 6×6 patterned papers included in the kit feature lush blues and greens, with touches of red, coral, and pink. I used those colors and the deep navy cardstock (also included in the kit!) as my starting point for today’s projects. Let’s get started with the details!

*I have linked all of the products used at the bottom of the post for your convenience using affiliate links. Thank you for shopping with my links! I truly appreciate your support for my work!*

I absolutely love the look of snowmen in colored pencil on dark cardstock, and as soon as I saw that navy cardstock in the kit and the adorable snowman stamps in the Warm Heart set, I knew that would be my starting point. I stamped the smiling snowman and pile of penguins onto some of the deep navy cardstock using the White Pigment ink, handily included with the kit. When using colored pencils on stamped images with colored cardstock, I like to stamp with white pigment ink. The white pigment ink sits atop the cardstock without sinking in, making it easy to blend the lines into the colored pencil work!

After I had stamped the images, I used my favorite colored pencils to color the images. The trick with snowmen is to keep the white pencil work as clean as possible, adding only the gentlest of shadows to indicate shape. I always keep extra white pencils around to make sure that I can easily blend and add highlights. For the scarf, I used only a red and white pencil, as I didn’t have a pink that matched perfectly, instead creating my own pink by using a light hand with the red pencil and blending it out with the white! The penguins had the tiniest bit of shadow to make sure that their little tummies looked nice and round, and I used a fine tipped black pen to add details to the eyes and mouth on the snowman, as well. The little details make a big difference with colored pencil work, I think.

After I had finished the colored pencil work, I used a blending brush dedicated to white pigment ink with the white inkpad included in the kit to blend around the edges of the card front, creating a lovely frosted effect. I stamped snowflakes from the Warm Heart set directly over the top of both the blended area and the colored images, also adding snowflakes in various sizes with my white gel pen and some sparkle with Clear Pawsitively Dazzling Gems. Finally, I stamped a greeting from Warm Heart on some leftover navy cardstock using the white pigment ink, adding Iridescent Blue embossing powder over the top to create a gorgeous, shimmery sentiment that stands out on the dark cardstock beautifully. I used the coordinating die to cut the sentiment and popped it up with some thin foam squares, making this card almost completely flat and easy to mail!

For my second project, I used the fantastic Mitten Gift Card Holder die included with the Holiday Card Kit, along with some fo the beautiful patterned paper that reminds me so much of Rifle Paper Company patterns. I first die cut the blue cardstock mitten, cutting the entirety of the mitten from some Altenew Winter Lake cardstock, then running the panel through my die cutting machine with the Neatly Knitted embossing folder and lightly blending Dusk ink around the edges. I die cut the cuff of the mitten from some of Simon Says Stamp’s Pawsitively Velvet Snow cardstock to add luxurious texture to the mitten. Taking my color cues from the pretty patterned paper, I die cut some florals using the Aurora Blooms die set, adhering all of the individual die cut components to the blue textured die cut.

To create the card, I created a card to hold a gift card by doing some fancy die cutting. I die cut a folded A2 card using the mitten die, making sure that the die overlapped the crease, creating a shaped card base. I also die cut an interior mitten using some of the beautiful floral patterned paper, adding in the gift card holder die cut from the Mitten Gift Card Holder set and adhering this to the inside of the card. It’s super easy to slip a gift card in the slots, and this entire card fits perfectly inside a typical A2 envelope!

Well, that’s all for my projects today. I wouldn’t wait long on this jam-packed kit, because it’s sure to sell out quickly! But, the good news is that if you miss out on the kit, you can still purchase the individual elements, which I’ve linked below. And don’t forget your free shipping code!

Thanks so much for stopping by today, and have a marvelous day!

Simon Says Stamp STAMPtember Blog Party + Free Gift With Purchase!

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

Well hello friends, and welcome to the Simon Says Stamp STAMPtember Blog Party! We are partying it up to celebrate the 15th STAMPtember celebration! If you’re new to STAMPtember, it’s an entire month dedicated to the joys of this stamping hobby, filled with tons of fabulous products, giveaways, and fun surprises to inspire your crafting! Today’s party starts over on the Simon Says Stamp blog, and it features an absolutely crazy amount of inspiration using the new release. Not only do you have the opportunity to feast your eyes on beautiful inspiration projects using the new goodies from the STAMPtember release, you also have the opportunity to do a “scavenger hunt” of sorts; each party stop has a unique graphic and code featuring a fabulous gift with purchase! You can see all of the details for my scavenger hunt code at the bottom of this post. 🙂

For my projects today, I did some therapeutic no-line watercoloring with the new Grateful Florals stamps and dies and some of my favorite Daniel Smith watercolors. Let’s get started with the details on my projects!

To start, I stamped all of the floral images from the new Grateful Florals stamps and dies onto some Arches Hot Press watercolor paper using Contour Ink from Hero Arts. I taped the panel down to my watercolor board to avoid warping, then used several shades of burnt orange, deep magenta, and coral red with some verdant greens to add lots of vivid color to the images. The key with no-line watercolor is to keep the wet sections separate from each other to avoid the wet areas bleeding into one another, which helps to keep the definition between the individual petals and leaves. I like to do lots of layers of color, which helps to develop the contrast between the areas in front versus behind. As a final touch, I added some highlights to the edges of some of the petals using white gouache, helping to increase the levels of contrast!

For my first card, I decided to take advantage of the generous size of the main floral bouquet by creating an A7 card. I began by running a panel of vellum through my die cutting machine using the new Tiny Tufts embossing folder. I then used my trimmer to cut out the center of an A7 card front, creating a window in the center of my card behind which I could adhere the embossed vellum panel. I adhered the vellum with some Tear-rific Tape and enhanced the frame with two widths of glittering A7 Thin Frames.

After I had created my card base, I adhered the large watercolored and die cut bouquet from the Grateful Florals product suite using some foam adhesive. I heat embossed a sentiment, also from Grateful Florals, onto some coordinating magenta cardstock using white embossing powder and die cut it with its coordinating die. I tucked a delicate twine bow beneath the sentiment and finished the card off with some Taffy Pawsitively Dazzling Gems for added sparkle! I love the drama and extra large size of this card!

Because I had also watercolored the extra little standalone flowers and foliage, I decided to create a sweet little coordinating gift card envelope. I die cut the Gift Card Envelope Die from some white cardstock and trimmed down a panel to fit on the front using some more white cardstock. I ran that smaller panel through my die cut machine, again using the Tiny Tufts embossing folder for some lovely, somewhat neutral botanical texture behind my floral watercolored pieces. I popped up the standalone watercolored pieces from the Grateful Florals product suite using some foam adhesive, finally adding another heat embossed sentiment, a twine bow, and some more Taffy Pawsitively Dazzling Gems. How special would it be to receive this with a gift card in it?

Well, that’s all for my projects today! I have tons more inspiration to share using the new items from the STAMPtember release, so if you’re not subscribed to my blog already, you can do that by entering your email address in the box on the top left hand side of my blog to make sure that you don’t miss anything!

To help celebrate and make this party truly exciting, each participating blog has it’s own fabulous freebie gift with purchase! To receive your freebie from my specific graphic, you can follow the instructions on the graphic below:

Isn’t that Beautiful Friend stamp and die set simply fabulous?? And what an incredible value! All you have to do to receive it is spend $100 in the Simon Says Stamp store, which is super, super easy to do with the incredible new STAMPtember release!

Be sure to check out all of the participating blogs over on the Simon Says Stamp blog to find all of the fantastic freebies that are available as a free gift with purchase to celebrate the 15th STAMPtember celebration! Thanks so much for stopping by, and happy STAMPtember!!!