Sixth Street Sundries

Emily Midgett

gift

Simon Says Stamp STAMPtember Blog Party!

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

Hi friends! Time to CELEBRATE all things STAMPtember with a massive and inspirational Blog Party!! Throughout STAMPtember® we will be celebrating every day posting exclusive collaborations, contests, prizes, special promotions, announcements, and more surprises on the Simon Says Stamp Blog! Today, we are skipping the traditional release blog hop in lieu of a blog party that features tons and tons of inspiration and a scavenger hunt of free gifts! You can see all of the participants in the blog party by clicking HERE. I have a pair of projects featuring some fabulous new goodies from the Simon Says Stamp STAMPtember release (click HERE!). I immediately fell in love with the whimsical and sweet autumnal and Halloween imagery from the new Haunted Garden stamp set and knew that I had to pull out all of the stops with my coloring to create some special and fun pieces to share with you. Let’s get started with the details on my projects!

I find that simple images like these from the Haunted Garden set are truly perfect for practicing my artistry. There are just few enough details that I can dig in to the shading and make the shape and shadow decisions for myself instead of relying on the lines within the stamp set to do it for me! I created this sweet little Halloween trinket dish and a coordinating card (how sweet would these be as a little gift for a friend?) with acrylic paint markers and colored pencils!

I don’t typically go for “spooky” at Halloween… life is scary enough without adding pretend blood and gore! The sweet little ghost image, however, is so precious and reminds me of an episode of Peg + Cat that my big kids used to watch when they were toddlers. I paid homage to that memory with this little ceramic trinket dish, stamping the image and pretty Boo! sentiment with gold pigment ink directly onto the unglazed ceramic.

I used acrylic paint markers to do some fun coloring on the dish, blending the colors with a dry paintbrush to add extra depth to the shadows. I also added lots of gold accents and edged the dish with gold for a little added luxury. I finished the dish off with some sealant to protect the painting. Wouldn’t this just look so cute on a coffee table or countertop?

The card features another of the images from the Haunted Garden set, this time stamped on cardstock to create this warm and elegant all-occasion card. I stamped the image and greeting using white pigment ink on some lovely chestnut brown cardstock. The white ink shows up beautifully on the colored cardstock and also blends into the colored pencil coloring very smoothly. I used colored pencils in deep shades of orange and olive, adding a pop of bright coral for the blooms, and I am truly obsessed with how vibrant the pencil colors are on the deep brown cardstock!

Once I had finished coloring the pumpkin and accents, I used a gold paint pen to cover the sentiment stamp. It’s a bit difficult to photograph, but the shine is so lovely in person! I also used a new product to embellish the penciled panel, adding an embossed decorative edge using the Embossed Card Edges die set. I love the subtle textured detail that this adds to the card front! I cut a piece of gold foil cardstock to fit the bottom of the card base that also matched my gold sentiment, then used liquid adhesive to adhere the penciled portion above it, overlapping the gold with brown. Finally, I added a few Gold Pawsitively Dazzling Gems at the point of the embellished bracket edge!

Well, that’s all for my projects today! I am so thrilled with how these came out. The possibilities are endless with the super sweet Haunted Garden stamp set!

On each stop of the Blog Party today, a unique gift with purchase code can be found within the graphic. On the graphic at the top of my blog post, you can see the fabulous embossing folder/die combo that you can receive absolutely free with a $100 purchase! Simply follow the instructions on the graphic and enter the code BBEFD at checkout to receive your free gift. Thanks so much for stopping by today, and be sure to check out the Simon Says Stamp blog to see all of the other participants in today’s Blog Party. Happy STAMPtember!!

Cottagecore Canvas with New Simon Says Stamp Shine On Release!

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

Hi friends! The beautiful new products from the new Shine On release are now available for purchase, (click HERE to see the full release!) and I am absolutely obsessed with the new Cottagecore stamps. The sweet little cottages in the set are just begging to be colored, and so I decided to take it a step further with a little painted canvas. Wouldn’t this be so cute as a housewarming gift created in the colors of the new home?

I used a combination of acrylic markers and watercolors on this project, so the canvas needed a bit of prep before I could begin my painting. I covered this gesso canvas with watercolor grounds that I purchased from an art supply store so that I could use my watercolors. Watercolors require a porous surface to work properly, so typical stretched canvas will not work with watercolors. The watercolor grounds allow you to add a porous coating on any non-porous surface, making it perfect for watercoloring! After painting at least two coats on my canvas, I set it aside to dry for a few days before beginning the fun part of my project. This technique does require a bit of prep work, but if you do several canvases at once, it can be done assembly line style and then you have a bunch of surfaces all prepped and ready to go for future projects!

Once I had completed the prep work on my canvas and allowed it to dry completely, I stamped a sweet little scene using the images from both the Cottagecore and Cottagecore Flowers stamp sets from the new Shine On release. I stamped the house and tree first, then added a little flowered bower and fence leading into the garden, as well as a mailbox and sweet puppy in the front yard! I also added some individual cloud images in the sky, creating one of those perfect summer skies with crisp white clouds in a blueberry sky. Because I planned on using acrylic paint markers to color the images, I used silver pigment ink to stamp the images, keeping the images light but easily covered with the opaque paint markers. I allowed the images to dry a bit before painting.

After my stamping was complete, I used acrylic paint markers to paint the images; the bold, solid color of the acrylic paints works perfectly with the simple lines of these illustrations, I think! I kept the color palette fairly simple with coral, blue, and almond, which I think fit perfectly with the “cottagecore” theme. Once I had finished adding the acrylic paint and given it a bit of time to dry (not much time, for they dry pretty quickly!) I used my watercolors to add blue to the sky and green to the grass! The acrylic paint resists the watercolors, so I was able to fluidly paint the sky and lawn without worrying about the detailed paint work being marred. If there was any watercolor pooling on the acrylic painted areas, I simply dabbed it away with my microfiber cloth. I think the combo of the acrylic paint with the haze of blue and green watercolor works beautifully together, and makes it so worth the extra prep time for the canvas!!

Well, that’s all for my project today! I encourage you to try your stamps out on unexpected canvases and mix your coloring media… you can create lasting gifts that the recipient will treasure!!

Also, don’t forget about the two-day blog hop happening right now! I shared my blog hop post yesterday (click HERE to check it out!) but you can see the list of all of the Day 2 participants over on the Simon Says Stamp blog by clicking HERE. So much inspiration, prizes, and a free gift are up for grabs!!

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

Ducklings for Babies with New Simon Says Stamp!

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

Hi friends! I am back with a pair of sweet baby projects featuring some darling new goodies from the  In My Heart release from Simon Says Stamp! (Click HERE to see the entire new release!) The release is filled with springtime imagery, including this absolutely precious Cute Duckling die set. I am a sucker for ducklings; their fuzzy feathers and delicate little “peeps” are so sweet! My baby shower for my big twins was duckling-themed, with “Make Way for Ducklings” as the inspiration. We even had all of the guests sign the book as a keepsake for us! I decided that I would create a sweet baby shower gift with this darling new die set: a felted embroidery hoop piece for some nursery decor and a matching card. Let’s get started with the details on my projects!

The Cute Duckling die set is only three pieces, which makes it incredibly simple to use. I thought it would be absolutely perfect to create a customized twin baby card! As someone with two sets of twins, I know firsthand how difficult it can be to find twin-themed gifts, so I knew that this die set would make the perfect twin card and coordinating gift.

To begin my card, I die cut the Cute Duckling set twice for each component, using buttery yellow and vibrant orange cardstock. I wanted to create a dark eye, and the piece for top of the head/beak helpfully provides a depression where the eye will eventually be adhered, so I used a dark gray alcohol marker to add some quick color to that spot on my orange cardstock. The assembly for this die set is super simple… score! I die cut two blue bows from the new Little Bows set and added them on my duckies’ necks. It would be super easy to customize this for whatever gender you need!!

Behind my little duckies, I added the new Garden Fence, cutting the full fence die and the detail pieces both from white cardstock. I layered them together lickety split with liquid adhesive, then popped the finished die cut up on the center of my horizontal A2 card front using foam adhesive squares. I added some pretty French country blue blooms with minty green foliage cut using dies from the Country Basket Bouquet, adhering them with both liquid and foam adhesive. I used a double layer of foam adhesive to add my duckies, finally finishing the project with a simple “congratulations” sentiment from the new A Mother’s Love stamp set, which I stamped using dark silver ink and fussy cut with my sharp scissors. Isn’t this card just darling? It could be easily customized to fit any number of babies and color palettes, too!!

For my coordinating gift, I again die cut the Cute Duckling die set, this time using felt. I also die cut several floral accents from the same shade of French Country Blue felt, as well as minty green foliage using the new Jaunty Stem die set and the Country Basket Bouquet. I filled my embroidery hoop with some lovely blue and white toile fabric and arranged the felt pieces on the fabric, creating a fluffy bow at the top with a double layer of felt bows from the Little Bows and adding a wreath of felt florals. I used felt glue and the Place and Pierce Tool from Simon Says Stamp to adhere all of the felt pieces, finally adding a touch of sparkle with a single Dusk Pawsitively Dazzling Gem for the duck’s eye!

Well, that’s all for my projects today! The new release is absolutely smashing, right? The Simon Says Stamp Blog is also hosting the first day of the two-day blog hop with tons of inspiration using this new release; check it out HERE. Don’t forget to come back here tomorrow to see more inspiration using these new products for day 2 of the hop!! Thanks so much for stopping by today, and have a marvelous day!

Fun with Felt: Valentine’s Day Edition with New Simon Says Stamp!

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

Hi friends! I am back with another Fun with Felt post, this time Valentine’s Day style! I am always up for a challenge, and finding ways to put my papercrafting products to use with anything other than paper is such a pleasure. I love the beautiful details on the new Flourish Heart die from the Heart to Heart Release  from Simon Says Stamp (click HERE to check out the entire release!) and thought that it deserved some special treatment with sparkles, beads, and felt.

*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 created two different felt projects that can be used to add a little love to your Valentine’s Day outfits: a pin and a purse charm! Let’s get started with the details!

To create the purse charm, I used the solid shadow die from the Flourish Heart die set to die cut solid maroon felt, solid maroon glitter felt, and a layer of Simon Says Stamp’s 120 lb heavystock cardstock for added stability. I used a deep maroon alcohol marker to color the edges of the white cardstock so that it would blend seamlessly into the layers! I layered all of these solid hearts together with liquid fabric glue and placed them beneath some heavy paperweights so that they would dry nice and flat. That extra layer of super thick cardstock adds so much support and stability to this purse charm!

For the details on the purse charm, I die cut two of the detail die from the Flourish Heart die set from more maroon felt and adhered them together with a few dots of liquid felt glue. I then used needle and thread to add lots of seed beads and stitched stems with metallic pink thread in order to enhance those beautiful details and make this a special gift! Once I had completed all of the stitching, I adhered this top layer to the solid hearts that had been glued together with more felt glue. I used my super strong hole punch to punch a hole in the top and added a ring so that I could hang it from my purse strap for a festive little Valentine’s Day decoration! It would also be super cute on a backpack or key ring, as well!

For the pin, I decided to create a thinner version of the keychain; the pin presumably wouldn’t be as likely to be roughly handled or jostled, so I used a single layer of felt for the shadow layer and a single layer of metallic pink felt for the detail layer. Before adhering these two heart die cuts together, I used needle and thread to stitch a pin back (purchased from my local craft store) securely, then used more felt glue to adhere the two pieces of felt together, covering up the stitches with the decorative pin front! To make it super sparkly, I used Taffy Pawsitively Dazzling Gems and some other super sparkly gems that I had in my stash to help enhance those beautiful filigree details. Using metallic felt allowed those delicate debossed lines to stand out more beautifully than with regular felt, kind of like using metallic cardstock vs regular cardstock for embossing folders. The metallic top layer just helps those delicate details pop!

Here you can see the back of each project. I think these are so fun and such a neat way to put our dies to use for something other than papercrafting!!

Well, that’s all for my projects today! I can’t wait to give my daughter the purse charm to go with her new Kurt Geiger purse that I found at the thrift store in her Valentine’s Day bag! Have you ever used your papercrafting dies with felt? It’s such fun!! Thanks so much for stopping by, and have a marvelous day!

Back to School Teacher Gift with New Simon Says Stamp!

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

Hi friends! I am back today with a project that is perfect for back to school using some new and some old goodies from Simon Says Stamp! Flashback to August of 2019, when I was preparing to send my older set of twins to full-day kindergarten after two years of half-day preschool. I was mentally preparing all of the work that I would get done, the shopping that I would enjoy without having to drag kiddos in and out of stores, the naps I could take and the shows I could enjoy in peace… and then I found out three days in that I was pregnant. Two weeks later, we found out we were pregnant with twins, again. All of those plans went right out the window as I dealt with morning sickness and general pregnancy discomfort, and then… Covid happened, and life turned completely, utterly upside down while I had newborn twins and 6 year old twins for which I had to assist with online school. Fast forward to this morning, when I dropped my Big Kids off at their first real day of junior high (say WHAT?!) and the Little Boys off at their first full day of kindergarten… it was an odd feeling. I rejoiced in the idea of the freedom that I’ve waited so long for (I was very unhappy when I realized “I’m going to be almost FORTY when they are all in school full time!”) but I confess… I feel like I’m drifting aimlessly with no kiddo chaos surrounding me while I attempt to work.

While I’m sure I will find my sea-legs in the next few days, I wanted to share this back-to-school teacher gift that I created the new Big Bus die from the Simon Says Stamp Happy Camper release in honor of those teachers who are also heading back to school for a new year full of learning, giggles, crying, germs, and hopefully, lots of fun! Let’s get started on the details for my project!

*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 bought a large selection of colorful canvas zippered pouches a few months ago with the intention of embellishing them with felt die cut shapes, and I am absolutely in love with how this sweet zippered pouch turned out! I chose a vibrant cherry red pouch, a perfect contrast with the bright yellow felt for the bus, I think. I began by stamping the older School Supplies cling stamp on the corner of the pouch with Simon Says Stamp White Pigment Ink, which works beautifully on so many different surfaces, including fabric! I did touch it up a bit with my white paint pen; if I created this project again, I would have put a foam pad inside the pouch to give a little cushion, hopefully helping create a crisp stamped impression.

Next, I worked on assembling the Big Bus die cuts. I used the typical felt colors to create this school bus, embellishing with some shining foil felt from my stash for the stop sign and the chrome parts on the wheels. I also die cut some white holographic glitter felt stars using the smallest Nested Star Die as well as a black foil felt Fancy Teachers die cut. I used felt glue to adhere all of the components together for the bus, then used the glue to adhere the felt bus, stars, and teacher die cuts to the stamped red pouch. To keep everything nice and flat while drying, I like to place a glass paperweight over the top, especially on larger die cuts like the bus.

After I had created all of the components for the pouch, I used some Red and White Baker’s Twine from Simon Says Stamp to create a tassel for the zipper. I think adding this one last detail really made a big difference in how “finished” the pouch feels! Wouldn’t think be so cute for a teacher to hold her pencils and highlighters??

Well, that’s all for my project today. Whether you’re a teacher, student, parent, or grandparent, cheers to a wonderful school year! Thanks so much for stopping by today, and have a marvelous day!