Sixth Street Sundries

Emily Midgett

karin decobrush pigment

Alex Syberia Designs One-Year Anniversary Release Blog Hop | Giveaway | Over £800 ($1000) in prizes

Hi friends! Today, I am ever so excited to be joining a blog hop to celebrate one year of fabulousness from Alex Syberia Designs!! You should have arrived here from Raquel, and your next stop is Erin. You can also find the full hop list over on the Alex Syberia Designs Blog Post. To celebrate this impressive achievement, tons of your favorite companies are joining in on the fun and have sponsored marvelous giveaways. Read all the way to the bottom to find out how you can be one of the winners of these fabulous prizes!

I have a thing for birthday cards. I love to go all out on them and make them crazy festive, with tons of layers, sparkles, textures… the sky is the limit! I think going all out on the birthday card makes the recipient feel extra loved, and who wouldn’t want that? Balloons with flowers are certainly having a moment on my blog (remember this project??), and I fell in love with these beautiful, sketchy floral clusters from the Floral Balloon Extravaganza Stamps (ASD | SSS) and Dies (ASD | SSS), so much so that I created two different cards using two different techniques using these gorgeous balloons! Let’s get started with the details.

For my first project, I wanted to create some transparent balloons to make them look as life-like as possible by adding color with some light ink blending. I also wanted to test out my Karin Decobrush Pigment Markers on vellum to create the opaque flowers! I am absolutely in love with this technique and can’t wait to play with it some more.

I started by heat embossing the different balloons included in the Floral Balloon Extravaganza Stamps (ASD | SSS) set using gold embossing powder on some lighter weight vellum paper. I then die cut the individual images with the Coordinating Dies (ASD | SSS). Once I had each of the individual components ready, I flipped them over and began using the opaque Karin Decobrush Pigment Markers on the flowers only. Adding this opaque color on the back of the die cuts allows the details of the embossing to still be visible from the front. Because the floral images are on the small side, you don’t need to worry much about adding details and shading, because the embossed details on the front do the work for you. The opaque paint is solely adding color to the image, as well as a sneaky place to hide your adhesive!

After the paint had dried, keeping the balloons with the embossing face down on my work surface, I used a blending brush to blend Cheeky and Blush Pawsitively Saturated Inks. The semi-transparent vellum combined with the water-based dye ink allows the ink to simply dye the vellum without compromising the transparency! I think the balloons look positively weightless and so unique. It’s such a fun technique! I also heat embossed some balloon strings on some more vellum to allow them to “float” on my card front, as well.

For the background, I die cut a slimline panel of white cardstock using the new Slimline Nested Stitched Die (ASD | SSS). I then used the same Cheeky and Blush Pawsitively Saturated Inks with the super festive and fun new Carnival Party Stencil + Die (ASD | SSS) set from the Alex Syberia Birthday Release. I blended the two part streamer stencils on the top of my die cut panel, then lightly blended the Cheeky ink around the upper edges of the panel. I splattered the entire piece with some super sparkly gold watercolors, as well.

For the greeting, I hot foiled the sentiment strips using the new Celebrations Sentiments Hot Foil Plate (ASD | SSS) onto some white cardstock using shining gold foil, then die cut the sentiments with the Thin Stripes Cover Die (ASD | SSS). (I have a bunch of birthday sentiments ready to go-love these one-and-done hot foil plate and die sets!) I also die cut the “wish” portion of the Birthday & Wish Die Set (ASD | SSS) from some super shiny gold mirror cardstock. I arranged the balloons on my blended card front, hiding the clear dimensional adhesive behind the opaque floral bouquets, then added my sentiment pieces. The final touch was to add a few shimmering gems to this super festive card front! I love that you can still see the streamers through the balloons. So much fun!

My second card is a bit more traditional. I heat embossed the balloons and the gorgeous floral bouquet from the Floral Balloon Extravaganza Stamps (ASD | SSS) set on some watercolor paper using pale rose gold embossing powder. I then added lots of beautiful pink, peach, and jade watercolor to the images using my Karin Brushmarker Pro watercolor markers. I glazed the finished pink balloons with some super shimmery, handmade glitter watercolors from Etsy, as well. Birthday cards, especially super feminine pink floral birthday cards, need as much sparkle as you can pack on, in my opinion!

For the background, I cut down an A2 panel of Dragonfruit cardstock from Concord and 9th and blended it with the coordinating Dragonfruit Ink around the edges of the card front. I splattered some more rose gold metallic watercolor on the background to add extra interest and shimmer to the background.

For the greeting, I heat embossed one of the beautiful scripty sentiments included in the Floral Balloon Extravaganza Stamps (ASD | SSS) set using the pale rose gold embossing powder. I used the coordinating dies (notice the sentiment dies for each individual sentiment, including the tiny sentiment strips! Now that is some attention to detail! Well done, Alex!) to die cut the sentiments. I then arranged the floral bouquet and balloons on my blended, splattered card front using foam adhesive for extra dimension. I heat embossed some more balloon strings on vellum so that they were as floaty and ethereal as possible, then added them to the card front with tiny dots of liquid adhesive. I added the greeting pieces using more foam tape, finally finishing the card off with some sparkly gems!

Well, that’s all for my projects today! Now for the fun giveaway information I promised at the beginning of the post:

To celebrate their birthday, Alex Syberia Designs has collaborated with a ton of wonderful sponsors to give away a grand total of £800 ($1000) in prizes!

Alex Syberia Designs: 5x £40 ($50) Gift Cards

Altenew : $50 Gift Card
Auzz Trinklets n crafts : $30AUD Gift Card
Crafty Purple Frog: £25 Gift Card
Dies to Die For : £25 Gift Card
Doeading : 50€ Gift Card (only for EU)
Gina K  : $100 Gift Card
Glitter and ink : $50 CAD Gift Card (only for Canada)
Jennifer McGuire Ink : 1 Share Handmade Kindness goodies bag -$75value
Kit & Clowder : $15 Gift Card
Mennys Bastelshop : 2x 20€ Gift Cards (EU)
Online Card Classes : 3 x free spots to any classes
Paper & i : $25 Gift Card (only for USA)
Pear Blossom press : $25 Gift Card
Scrap Shotz : $25 CAD Gift Card (only for Canada)
Seize the Stamp : 2x CHF 25 Gift Cards
Simon Says Stamp : $100 Gift Card
SCT Magazine : $50 Gift Card
The Glitter Hubb : $25 CAD Gift Card
WOW Embossing : 2x $25 Gift Cards

Be sure to leave comments by midnight BST (London, UK time) on September 17th, 2023, for a chance to win!

Start your comment by telling us where you’re from (USA, Canada, Europe, or Australia) and what your favorite product is from this September Anniversary release.

All the winners will be chosen at random from the comments left on any of the posts in the blog hop, upcoming YouTube hop, and the three upcoming Instagram hops. Winners will be announced on the Alex Syberia Designs GIVEAWAY WINNERS PAGE on September 18th, 2023.

Make sure to come back and check if you are a winner! Prizes not claimed within two weeks will be forfeited.

To increase your chances of winning, be sure to comment on this blog hop, the upcoming Anniversary Video Hop that starts on the 9th of Sep on Alex Syberia Designs YT Channel, and the three consecutive Instagram Hops on Alex Syberia Designs  Instagram starting on the 11th of September.

Thanks so much for stopping by today, friends, and happy anniversary to Alex Syberia Designs! May this be the first of many years of success!

Adding Opaque Details to Embossing Folders with Karin!

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

Hi friends! In the midst of the STAMPtember fun, I will still be sharing some inspiration using the other gorgeous products from Simon Says Stamp, and today’s project features the utterly lovely Garden Spires Embossing Folder. I love taking these beautifully detailed embossed images and turning them into something uniquely my own with various coloring mediums. A couple of weeks ago, I shared THIS project using the opaque Karin Decobrush Pigment markers on black watercolor cardstock, and I loved the results so much that I couldn’t wait to try the technique on another project! I recently purchased the Garden Spires Embossing Folder and thought that the delicate flowers and foliage would be a great image to try putting the combination to use again. This time, though, the tiny flowers lent themselves better to putting a slightly different technique. Let’s get started with the details!

I began by running the Garden Spires Embossing Folder through my die cutting machine using a panel of thick black cardstock. My previous project used black watercolor paper, but I have used the Karin Decobrush Pigment markers successfully with plain black cardstock and thought that these images were small enough that I could do so again! Instead of using a damp paintbrush to move the color on my images as I did in the previous project, I simply put the marker tip directly to the black cardstock and added color that way. I used a pale purple for the tiny flowers and two different shades of pink for the taller, large flowers to achieve a little variation. I also used some metallic watercolors to add some extra sparkle to the larger flowers!

Because the greenery on the embossed image was so delicate, I chose to use the Karin DecoGel Sparkle pens to add some super sparkly accents to the foliage and to the flowers. I also splattered some extra little “dewdrops” on my entire card panel with some more metallic watercolors. It’s so difficult to capture in a photograph, but this card is insanely sparkly!!

After I had finished adding color to the background, it reminded me of an outdoor wedding, perhaps at a vineyard, with a large, scenic meadow of wildflowers beneath a starry sky. I decided to use a beautiful stamp from the Big Old Birthday stamp + die set, one that could easily be used for a wedding card or a birthday card! I heat embossed the greeting on some more black cardstock using silver sparkle embossing powder, then die cut it with the coordinating die. I popped it up amidst the colorful wildflowers, then added a few shimmering gems for some sparkle!

Well, that’s all for today’s project. I wish you could see how sparkly it is in person… the different elements of shimmer are utterly gorgeous! I hope you enjoyed seeing the Karin Decobrush Pigment in action again. They’re such a fun and unique medium to employ to create really special projects! Thanks so much for stopping by today, and have a marvelous day!

Using Karin Decobrush Pigment Markers with Black Watercolor Paper!

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

Hi there, friends! So you know how I’ve been obsessed with coloring 3D embossed images lately? I cannot seem to get enough of it. I have, ahem, an abundance of coloring mediums, some generously sent to me by companies, others purchased throughout the 13 years that I’ve been doing this. Having such a variety of mediums is at times a blessing and a curse; I find myself longing to use certain mediums but not having the time (like colored pencils) or forgetting to use them in favor of more tried and tested mediums (like the Karin Decobrush Pigment markers that I was obsessed with purchasing and have used maybe three times). The Karin Pigment Markers are not my usual medium. Their opacity stymies me a little, because my normal method of shading and painting doesn’t really work as well with these markers. But, as I was cleaning for my upcoming craft room move, I found some pads of black watercolor paper and had a brainwave! For today’s project, I tried to figure out how to make the Karin Decobrush Pigment markers work for me, rather than me working for them.

For today’s project, I selected the Terrace Floral 3D Embossing Folder and Die from Simon Says Stamp. This folder features just one flower and one style of leaf, so I could work with the same marker colors throughout the project. I selected a light peach and a darker coral, as well as a minty green and a deeper jade green so that I could have dark to light contrast. I also planned to put the black watercolor paper to use in aid of my shading, but we’ll get to that in a minute.

I began by running a panel of black watercolor paper through my die cut machine using the Terrace Floral 3D Embossing Folder. You don’t have to have watercolor paper in order to use the Decobrush Pigment markers, (I’ve used them successfully with plain black cardstock) but since I wanted to move the color with my damp paintbrush, the black watercolor paper was a good choice.

I like to sometimes do a little reverse psychology on myself when working with contrasting colors, especially if I am trying to keep things a little lighter. When working with this black watercolor paper, I had to do a little reverse psychology to make sure that the shadows were in the proper spot. I started with the petals in the back on each flower, that is, the petals tucked beneath the petals on top. I laid down some of the darker coral color on the tips of each petal in the back, then used my damp paintbrush to pull the color out towards the center, allowing the water to fade the opaque color into the black watercolor paper and create a shadow. Once I had painted all of the petals in the back and allowed them to dry sufficiently (you have to let each section dry before working on the spot directly next to it, otherwise the colors will bleed together, and you’ll lose your definition), I ran the lighter peach marker around the edge of the petals on the top and pulled that color out towards the center of the petals. Those top petals are closer to the light source, and therefore are less shadowed and lighter than the petals behind. I used the same approach with the foliage, allowing the black of the watercolor paper to do some of the shading work for me!

After I had finished painting, I trimmed down the panel a bit on the sides and mounted it to a panel of black cardstock, popping it up using foam adhesive and allowing strips of plain black cardstock to peek out from either side. For the sentiment, I wanted to keep things simple, so I trimmed out some strips from the Reverse Well Wishes Sentiment Card set and popped them up with a little foam adhesive. Finally, I added a few shimmering gems for the tiniest hint of sparkle on this matte and textured card front!

Well, that’s all for my project today! It’s a little different from my normal painting style, but I think the mental shift to use these markers and create a project of which I can be proud was definitely worth the experiment. I can’t wait to try it again!! Thanks so much for stopping by today, and have a marvelous day!