Sixth Street Sundries

Emily Midgett

glitter

Snowy Poinsettias with New Simon Says Stamp DieCember Goodies + Free Gift With Purchase!

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

Hi friends! Have you checked out the absolutely incredible Simon Says Stamp DieCember release? It’s absolutely filled to the brim with that most versatile of products: standalone dies! (Click HERE to see all of the fun goodies!) Not only do we have masses of fun new dies to play with, but we also have some super fun new embossing folders, including the truly stunning new Blooming Poinsettia 3D Embossing Folder and coordinating die! I am a sucker for these floral and botanical embossing folders, filled with exquisite details and texture that take a card from wow to WOW so easily. Let’s get started with the details on my project for today! (Keep reading all the way to the bottom to see information and inspiration with the Tim Holtz Freebie!)

*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!*

To begin, I ran a panel of white cardstock through my die cutting machine using the new Blooming Poinsettia embossing folder. I wanted the holiday bouquet to be a bit offset, rather that smack in the center of my card, so I placed my cardstock slightly farther to the side within the folder so that the poinsettia was nestled in the corner. Once I had added the detailed and textured embossed image, I used my OLO Markers to add some super vibrant red and teal to the images embossed into the card. I just love how much the alcohol marker coloring enhances the details on these cards!

After I had finished coloring the images, I wanted to add some extra wintry details and enhance the white background. I used blending brushes to blend first Aegean Pawsitively Saturated Ink as close as I could get it to the colored bouquet, blending lightly the closer I got to the bouquet so as not to cause muddiness on the vivid red poinsettia. I added some Pine Pawsitively Saturated Ink around the very edge of the card, creating a super vibrant ombré that perfectly matched the greens and blues in my colored bouquet! I splattered some Simon Says Stamp Pawsitively Perfect White Splatter Medium on the blended edges, then used Distress Opaque Texture Paste and Multi Medium Matte to add snowy Rock Candy Glitter to the poinsettia bloom.

For the greeting, I embossed the new multi-sentiment EZ Strips Christmas onto some deep red cardstock using white embossing powder, then die cut all of the sentiments in one fell swoop using the new EZ Strips Slanted Rectangles, saving the rest of the sentiments for a rainy day! I also die cut the new Warm Wishes Medley Script, cutting the detail layer from some sparkling Simon Says Stamp Crimson Glitter cardstock and the shadow layer from vellum. I popped up the sentiment die cuts on the card front with foam adhesive squares, then tucked a red twine bow beneath the sentiments and added a few Opal Pawsitively Dazzling Gems for additional sparkle!

Now for some fun freebie information! To celebrate DieCember, Simon Says Stamp is offering a super fun freebie from Tim Holtz valued at $30 with any $30 Tim Holtz purchase! Check out All Things Tim Holtz!

I used the new Snowflake Rosette die freebie to create two different projects: a silvery gift tag/ornament and a gift box! The three dimensional finished product is perfect for non-card projects like these; the gorgeous snowflake makes the gift box and tag extra special and unique, I think! Simply die cut 3-4 of the Snowflake Rosette dies (depending on how tightly you want your snowflake rosette to be put together) and use either strong double sided tape or hot glue, as I did, to assemble them!

I mounted my Snowflake Rosette on a silver pearl Hexagon die cut, adding silver glitter accents and lots of Clear Pawsitively Dazzling Gems for added sparkle! This would be so pretty adorning a package or even on a Christmas tree!

For the gift box, I die cut four of the Snowflake Rosette die cuts from white pearl paper and adhered them together with my glue gun to create the snowflake.

To increase the fancy factor for the box, I used pale blue paint to add color to a small papier mâche box that I found at the dollar store, adding some silvery snowflakes to the bottom portion of the box with a silver paint pen. I also added a velvet ribbon around the edge of the box top and some extra gems on the edges for additional sparkle. Wouldn’t this make such a pretty gift box for some jewelry or a even just a gift card? So fun personalizing gift wrap like this!

You can receive this fabulous Snowflake Rosette die (a $30 value!) for free with any Tim Holtz purchase of $30 or more! You can click HERE to see all of the items included in this gift-with-purchase sale. Some of my favorites: Rock Candy Glitter, Velvet Trims, Multi Medium Matte, and Distress Re-inkers for watercoloring!

Well, that’s all for me today! Be sure to come back tomorrow for Day 1 of the two-day DieCember Blog Hop that is sure to have tons of inspiration, prizes, and possibly a fun freebie! Thanks so much for stopping by today, and Happy DieCember!

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!

Snowy Deer with Simon Says Stamp + Colored Pencils!

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

Hi friends! Today, I have a super sweet and feminine project to share with you using the beautiful new Holiday Cheer stamp set from the November 2024 Card Kit of the Month, which is sadly sold out as a kit, but the great thing about Simon Says Stamp kits is that you can almost always purchase the kit items individually! The kits are just a really excellent value, full of coordinating products that work beautifully together and separately, so it’s totally worth it to become a Subscriber. (Click HERE to read all of the details on how you can save money with a monthly subscription!) However, the precious Christmas Cheer stamp set is still available (and with coordinating dies as a set!) and I’ve used it to create this delicate and feminine holiday card. Let’s get started with the details on my project!

To begin, I stamped the deer, the holly sprigs, and the sweet bow images from the Christmas Cheer stamp set onto some pale gray cardstock using Simon Says Stamp White Pigment ink. I like to use white pigment ink when working with colored pencils on colored cardstock, as the white pigment ink lines seem to be absorbed into the colored pencil coloring beautifully so that the images pop from the colorful background! I used my favorite Caran D’Ache colored pencils to color the images in soft shades of warm gray, sweet carnation pink, and some vibrant green for the holly leaves. After I had finished coloring the main parts of the images, I used a white gel pen and a black pigment pen to add details to the deer’s eyes, nose, and spots. Mixing the mediums helps to make the deer look super polished and professional, as I can never get the tips of my colored pencils *quite* sharp enough to get perfect coverage on those teeny areas!

After I had finished the pencil coloring, I placed one of the stencils from the Domed Arches Stencils & Masks set onto the center of an A2 panel of the same light gray cardstock that I used for the images, then used a blending tool to blend Simon Says Stamp White Pigment ink on only the curved part of the stencil opening. It reminds me of a snow globe! After I had blended the snowy images, I used a white gel pen to add some tiny dots and snowflakes on just the blended area, enhancing the snow globe feel and creating an area upon which I could ground my little deer. I also used the White Pigment Ink to stamp a greeting from the Christmas Cheer set as well as the banner, adding some white embossing powder to make the sentiment look extra crisp. I used a pair of scissors to fussy cut all of the images, then adhered them to the card front with some foam adhesive squares, which helps the tone-on-tone images pop out from the background a bit!

After I had adhered the images, I decided to trim a thin strip off of the bottom of the A2 gray panel so that I could tie in some more of the color palette from the pencil colored images. I added a very thin strip of white glitter cardstock peeking out from the bottom of the gray card front, then backed it with a slightly thicker strip of pink cardstock to tie in the pink in the color palette. I also used a Quickie glue pen on the holly leaves to add some Simon Says Stamp Unicorn Dust fine glitter, adding just a tiny bit of sparkle to the card, which I think makes it extra festive and fun!

Well, that’s all for my project today. Don’t forget to come back tomorrow for the Simon Says Stamp DieCember 2024 blog party! It’s not a traditional blog hop, but there will be an absolute wealth of inspiration using the fabulous new release, as well as fun giveaways and promotions to celebrate DieCember! Thanks so much for stopping by today, and have a marvelous day!

Hero Arts My Monthly Hero December 2021 Blog Hop+Giveaway!

Hi there! Today, Hero Arts is releasing their new collection for December 2021 (how on earth is it already December?!), called Cities and Neighborhoods! You should have arrived here from Debi Adams, and your next stop is Ilina Crouse. This month’s kit features one of my most favorite of Hero Arts’ products: a super detailed fancy cover plate die! Here’s a peek at this month’s kit:

This month, the kit contains: 4″ x 6″ Clear Stamp Set, 11 Coordinating Frame Cuts, Fancy Cover Plate Die (4.25″ x 5.5″), City Cling Stamp (6″ x 6″), 4 Sheets of Black Cardstock (5.5″ x 8.5″), 3 Reactive Ink Cubes (Berry Smoothie, Fruit Punch, Lemon Drop), and 10 Clothespins. The individual contents of the kit are valued at $70, but the kit is very reasonably priced at only $34.99! If you love the Hero Arts My Monthly Hero kits, you can always  subscribe to ensure that you get your own kit every month. I have two projects to share with you today, so let’s get started with the details!

My first project features the absolutely gorgeous cover plate die included in the December 2021 My Monthly Hero kit. I cannot get enough of these stunning cover plates from Hero Arts, because you can create super detailed and involved projects by using your various mediums to color the images and create a really involved, detailed project, or you can go super simple, as I’ve done here, allowing the details of the cover plate to be the star of the show!

I began by die cutting the the fancy cover plate die from white cardstock. Next, I used blending brushes to lightly blend Soft Vanilla, Fresh Peach, Soft Pink, and a touch of Soft Purple ink on a panel of plain white cardstock. I was inspired by a beautiful sunset sky that I saw on the last night of our vacation to the Outer Banks this past summer; we had a huge thunderstorm blow through that afternoon, bringing cool weather with it, and that evening, the sky was an absolutely incredible ombré of soft color. After I’d finished blending, I used some White Iridescent Shimmer Spray to add some subtle shimmer to the blended background and give it just a little extra touch of shine.

Once my blended shimmery background was dry, I adhered the detailed cover plate die cut to the front using liquid adhesive to make a nice smooth background. The final touch was to add a silver embossed greeting from the main kit on a strip of white cardstock, which I mounted on the card front using some foam adhesive to help it pop a bit. Simple, but that super detailed die cut doesn’t need much help to make a beautiful project!

My second project features the add-on A Warm Welcome stamp set and coordinating Frame Cuts. I know it’s not technically a Christmas set, but I am still in Christmas card mode, and I immediately thought of a snowy little neighborhood scene when I saw the stamp set. I began by heat embossing three of the outline houses and some trees on some plain white cardstock, then die cutting them with the coordinating dies. I added some medium blue Copic coloring to the doors, roofs, and curtains of each house. Simple, but intentional, touches like this make a huge difference!

I wanted to create the feel of a cozy little neighborhood inside a snowglobe, so I created a window by die cutting the Snowflake Medallion die from a little north of center of a panel of white cardstock. Flat shakers created with plastic stamp packaging seem to be all the rage right now, so I thought I’d try my hand at it for this project. I trimmed down a piece of spare packaging, adding Scor-tape along all 4 edges, but only adhering the bottom three edges to my card base. I allowed the top piece of tape to keep its release tape, creating a little pocket into which I could pour my Snowfall Glitter from Hero Arts. I love using this chunky glitter for shaker cards, because it’s nice and flat and the iridescence is absolutely gorgeous! I removed the release paper from the final piece of Scor-tape and adhered the top of my pocket to the card base to create a super flat shaker. So much fun! I also adhered my Snowflake Medallion die cut card front to the top of my glittery pocket to create a flat shaker.

Next, it was time to assemble the die cuts and greeting. I silver embossed two different sentiments from two different stamp sets, using the beautifully scripty “sending holiday cheer” from Christmas Carolers, and the “from our home to yours” from Christmas Holiday Stamp & Cut XL. I think the combination of these two fonts for one sentiment is so lovely! I adhered them to the bottom of my glittery snowglobe using foam adhesive, while also creating a ground for my little neighborhood. I arranged the house and tree die cuts along the top of the sentiment strips, again adhering them with foam adhesive for lots of dimension. I love how the blue accents of the houses complement the cool iridescence of the glitter!

I am really loving projects with simple color schemes lately…. I don’t know that my projects could ever be called “clean and simple,” but I adore the clean, crisp white with pops of color, especially for Christmas! It’s so fun to break up the simplicity of the white with lots of die cuts and textures and pops of color.

Now for some fun giveaway information!

We will give away a $50 gift card, drawn from the comments left across the hop. Enter by Sunday, December 12th at 11:59pm Pacific, and the winner will be announced on the Hero Arts blog the following week.

Your next stop is Ilina Crouse. Thanks so much for stopping by today, and happy hopping!

Spellbinders Stamp of the Month January 2020!

Hi there! I’m excited to be helping introduce the Spellbinders Stamp of the Month Club for January 2021. Each month, Spellbinders releases fantastic new kits full of fun stamps, dies, and/or foiling that you can buy individually or, if you know that you’d love to play with them all, you can subscribe and be automatically sent each month’s release. There is even the option to combine multiple kits (the “value” option) at a discounted rate! You can read all about the kits available here.

This month’s Stamp of the Month (a $20 value for only $10!) is perfect for some sweet valentines! It features several different heart designs that you can use in a myriad of ways to create simple or elaborate valentines. My project features lots of white space and some fun glittery embossing powder. Let’s get started with the details!

To start, I heat embossed three of the designs from the Stamp of the Month on white cardstock using Hot Gossip glitter embossing powder from WOW! Embossing Powders (linked below). This powder is a fun combination of hot pink powder and orange glitter, which I thought would be something traditional-but-slightly-different for a Valentine’s Day card!

After heat embossing each heart and the greeting, I fussy cut the hearts and trimmed the sentiment using my trimmer. I also trimmed three different, very thin strips of colored cardstock: one hot pink, one coral, and one deep orange to coordinate with the different colors in the glittery embossing powder! I mounted these strips on a white A2 card base on the left side of the card front using liquid adhesive.

I also adhered the thin sentiment strip on a slightly larger strip of hot pink cardstock. Before adding the hearts and sentiment, I trimmed the card front down slightly to make it 4″x5.5,” because I knew that I wanted to have the hearts hang off of the edge slightly, and keeping the card front the same width would make it too big to fit in an A2 envelope. I finally adhered all of the different pieces using foam adhesive for lots of dimension!

Well, that’s all for my project today. I highly encourage you to check out all of the fun monthly kits available from Spellbinders. So many amazing different ways to be creatively inspired every month! Thanks so much for stopping by today, and have a marvelous day!