Sixth Street Sundries

Emily Midgett

lots of luck

Shades of Blue with Simon Says Stamp!

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

Hi friends! I am back today with a pair of cards with some unconventional blue peonies. I have been in a blue mood lately; this transition time between winter and spring always seems to bring out my love for different shades of blue, as it can be both icy and cold for winter or fresh and crisp for springtime. I never tire of monochromatic projects, so I pulled out lots of different blue cardstock, my Peony Background, the gorgeous Half Spring Floral Mandala, and some other goodies and got to work creating this coordinating card set!

Navy blue is one of those colors that works well as a neutral nearly all the time. It pairs beautifully with so many different colors, and while I normally would pair this deep blue with magenta or coral, I thought it would unique to have some pale, icy blue peonies!

For my first project, I die cut the totally gorgeous new Half Spring Floral Mandala from Simon Says Stamp’s Holographic Aqua cardstock. This super thick iridescent mirror cardstock die cut this intricate die beautifully. The die cuts a delicately-patterned half circle, so I mounted it on my navy blue A2 card base using liquid glue, then added a thin strip of Midnight Navy Glitter Cardstock, nestling it right along the edge of the intricate die cut. This tone-on-tone glitter cardstock helps to create a visual buffer between the edge of the die cut and the solid blue background so that it’s not just floating in midair.

To embellish my lacy background and frame the greeting, I die cut the Etched Peony Blossom from Sea Glass cardstock and some foliage using the Abundant Leaves dies and some iridescent white foil cardstock. I arranged the flowers and foliage over the seam of the glitter paper strip and the die cut, popping them up with foam adhesive. For the greeting, I white embossed a sentiment from the new Birthday Basics on some cornflower blue cardstock, then die cut the larger sentiment with the coordinating die and popped them up with a double layer of foam adhesive to make them extra visible. Finally, I added a few Pawsitively Dazzling Gems Cool Tones for a bit extra sparkle and shine!

For my second project, I wanted to put the Box & Ribbon Gift Card die to use. I have always loved creating extra special gift packaging, but rarely find the time to dedicate to a specific gift, so I thought it might be a good idea to have some on hand the next time I need something! I wanted to create fancy “wrapping paper,” so I heat embossed my Peony Background illustration on some navy blue cardstock using Hero Arts Iridescent Blue embossing powder, masking off the back part of the gift card holder with some Post-It Notes to keep it nice and clean. This Iridescent Blue embossing powder creates the most beautiful tone-on-tone shimmer on colorful cardstock. Depending on the angle, it can take on a more aqua hue or, when angled the opposite way, can look almost purple. So unique and beautiful! I love that the details from the Peony Background are not lost in the slightest, even with this tone-on-tone project.

To embellish my “gift” gift card holder, I die cut the layered bow included in the Box & Ribbon Gift Card die set from some Midnight Navy Glitter Cardstock. I assembled the bow off to the side of the box, popping the top part up with some foam adhesive squares. (If you assemble the bow in the center of the card, it will fit into an A2 envelope when complete. This one won’t quite fit into an A2 envelope, but fits nicely into an A7!) I die cut some Gentle Blooms dies from Sea Glass cardstock and tucked them beneath the bow and greeting from Lots of Luck. Finally, I added a few coordinating aqua Pawsitively Dazzling Gems Cool Tones for extra sparkle!

Well, that’s all for my projects today! I am so in love with this pair of navy blue projects. Monochromatic blue cards are always a winner in my book! Thanks so much for stopping by today, and have a marvelous day!

Monochromatic Toile Watercolor!

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

Hi friends! It’s getting warmer out, and so my brain has switched into flower mode. Be prepared for lots of flowers over the next few weeks! I have always loved monochromatic patterns. My wedding colors were selected because of my love of blue and white Delft china and toile, and so I wanted to channel that with my project today! I used my huge Peony Background, which is one of my older illustrations but still definitely a favorite! I love the idea of monochromatic neutral paintings, but I wanted to try my hand at creating my own version of toile using my super detailed Peony Background stamp and just a few painting supplies. Let’s get started with the details!

I started my project by stamping the Peony Background onto some Arches Hot Press watercolor paper using Contour Ink. I selected two different shades of blue Karin Brushmarker Pro markers, one dark and one medium. I like to use hot press watercolor paper when working with Karin markers; I find that the smooth surface of the hot press allows the color to move nicely. I taped my stamped panel down to my watercolor board and began the watercoloring process!

One of my favorite things about watercolor is the ability to stretch the colors by changing the water to pigment ratio. The more water you add, the more diluted your color will be, allowing you to create a wide color gradient with each shade. I have found that, for at least the first layer of color with your Karin Brushmarker Pro markers, you will achieve better results if you scribble the color out onto your glass mat or watercolor palette and pick up the color using your damp paintbrush. This allows you to control the vividness of the color being laid down on the watercolor paper. I have found that if you put the marker directly to the paper for the first layer, it sometimes is reluctant to move with your damp paintbrush. I have no idea if there is any scientific reason behind this or if it is just my painting style, but it seems that once you have that initial layer of diluted color laid down, the paper is almost “primed” and the color will move even more easily for you!

Because the first layer of color is diluted with water when I pick up the color from my palette, the color is less intense. For the second layer of color, I want to increase the intensity and the shading, so I put the marker directly to the paper in just the areas that I want to be really shadowed. Using both of these methods allows me to expand that color gradient, keeping some of the white highlights with the diluted color and creating deep shadows with the undiluted color.

After I had finished using my blue watercolors, I used some Artistry by Altenew White Artists’ Gouache to clean up the edges of some of the petals. I squeezed a small amount of the white gouache out onto my glass mat, then wet my brush fairly well and picked up some of the gouache. Using a careful hand, I ran the crisp tip of my paintbrush along the edge of each petal, cleaned my brush, and then pulled the edges of that gouache out so that it faded seamlessly into the blue. The opaque gouache covers up any messy spots or untidy edges, while the medium’s ability to move with water makes it super simple to use.

Once I had finished my painting (I fussed with this for far longer than I should have… no-line watercoloring stirs up my need for perfection!!), I wanted to keep the rest of the card simple, so I die cut the new Fancy Lucky die from Simon Says Stamp’s Splendor Release using Midnight Navy glitter paper for the detail layer and Simon Says Stamp vellum for the shadow layer. I also white embossed and die cut a greeting from Lots of Luck onto some navy blue cardstock. Before adding my sentiments, I trimmed 1/4″ off of the long sides of my watercolor panel and added some strips of Midnight Navy glitter paper peeking out from each side. I popped up the greeting pieces using some foam adhesive, then added a few coordinating Pawsitively Dazzling blue gems for even more sparkle!

Well, that’s all for my project today. I adore how this monochromatic “toile” card came out. I think it was totally worth the time spent fussing on the details! Thanks so much for stopping by today, and have a marvelous day!

Bunnies in the Clover with Simon Says Stamp!

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

Hi friends! Today, I have some Easter inspiration that combines two of the new stamp sets from the Simon Says Stamp Splendor release: Lots of Luck and Bunny Kisses. Whenever I am mixing stamp sets, I try to ensure that all of the sets with which I am working are illustrated in a similar style. I don’t like to mix outline images with solid stamped or standalone die cut images, simply because in my mind, they are in different imaginative dimensions. When I saw the bold graphic style of these two stamp sets, I knew that they would work beautifully together for a large-scale A7 card! I also was inspired by a cute family story: my husband used to have a small garden at our old house that was right underneath our dining room window. One night after supper, he went out to tend to the tomatoes and lettuce plants and found a family of teeny bunnies!! The purple twilight of that night has been stuck in my mind all of these years later (my big kids were only 2.5 at the time!), and I was definitely channeling that memory today! Let’s get started on the details for my project.

The new Lots of Luck stamp set features some pretty clover flowers, clover, and foliage in a layered stamp style. I am loving the fact that Simon Says Stamp has been printing the colored layering schematics on the back of the stamp packaging as well as labeling each layer on the stamp set itself to make layering your images super simple and quick! I like to start projects like this by stamping lots of different elements and then arranging them later. It helps me to keep the process organized in my head to keep all of the die cut stamped images together, so I stamped the sweet bunny from Bunny Kisses and lots of clover flowers, leaves, and grasses from Lots of Luck using Pawsitively Saturated Ink Trio 21,Pawsitively Saturated Ink Trio 16, Fawn and Cozy Pawsitively Saturated inks, and finishing the bunny’s ears and nose off with Ballet Rainbow Splash Ink, then die cut them with the coordinating dies from each set.

Because of the large scale and the framed scene that I had in my head, I started my card front by trimming down an A7 card front from Hammermill white cardstock, then masked around the edges using some Very Very Low Tack Tape. I used a blending brush to lightly blend Orchid ink at the top of my card front, creating a subtle twilight sky. After I had finished blending, I removed the mask, leaving a crisp white frame around the edges. I wanted to accent the focal point as well as make my canvas for my scene a bit smaller, so I die cut the A7 Thin Frames dies from some Pinkfresh Studio Champagne Glitter Cardstock. I found a frame to fit around where I had masked off and adhered it with some liquid adhesive.

Before arranging my stamped die cuts, I wanted to add some more grass behind the front rose of flowers and foliage, so I stamped a single layer of grass in the background, adding some more depth to my scene. I layered the die cuts on top of the stamped grasses, adhering them with both liquid and foam adhesive for extra dimension. I heat embossed a greeting from Bunny Kisses using platinum embossing powder and die cut both sentiments with the coordinating dies. Finally, I added a smattering of iridescent lavender gems, which I think look like dew drops or perhaps even some whimsical fireflies!

Well, that’s all for my project today. I love when different products work so seamlessly together, don’t you? Thanks so much for stopping by today, and have a marvelous day!