Sixth Street Sundries

Emily Midgett

mixed media

Simon Says Stamp STAMPtember Tim Holtz Collaboration: Festive Holidays!

Hi friends! Exciting STAMPtember news hot off the presses: the perennially amazing Tim Holtz has partnered with Simon Says Stamp to not only release exceptional STAMPtember collaboration goodies, but they are part of the kit that will be used in an exclusive Tim Holtz STAMPtember workshop! Click HERE to see all of the details!

If you are new to STAMPtember from Simon Says Stamp, throughout the month of September, Simon Says Stamp will have exclusive collaborations with some of our favorite stamping companies, releasing a limited edition stamp set designed in collaboration with a different company nearly every day! (Click HERE to see the Collaboration Sets page, and be sure to bookmark it!) 

I have created several projects using these gorgeous new Festive Holidays products, so let’s get started with a quick rundown on each!

For my first projects, I decided to create a watercolored card and coordinating tag set using the new Festive Watercolor images, Festive Tags, Festive Words, and Festive Sentiments from the kit with some of my favorite Distress Ink pinks: Tattered Rose, Saltwater Taffy, and Worn Lipstick.

I stamped the floral images from Festive Watercolor onto some Tim Holtz Distress Watercolor Paper using Distress Tattered Rose. I then tapped Tattered Rose, Saltwater Taffy, and Worn Lipstick out onto my glass craft mat and picked up the color with my damp paintbrush, taking advantage of the water-based inks to create several beautiful watercolored blooms. I also stamped the greenery with Shabby Shutters, enhancing the images with some shadows painted on with Rustic Wildnerness Distress Ink. After I had finished painting, I die cut each image with it’s coordinating die.

I created a background with one of my new favorite techniques: ink swiping! I simply swiped the same pink Distress Inks on a panel of white cardstock, using a circular motion to blend the colors seamlessly. I splattered the background with gold shimmer watercolors as a nod to the mixed media king himself, then arranged all of the die cuts in a bouquet with foam adhesive, adding a gold and vellum die cut “Joy” greeting from the new Festive Words dies. I added some shimmering gems and topped everything off with a coordinating blush twine bow!

Using Tattered Rose Distress Ink as my main color, I created a coordinating gift tag, this time using gold embossing powder to add some truly luxurious gold shimmer to the project. I die cut a Festive Tags die from some Simon Says Stamp 120 lb Ultra Thick Card Stock, then swiped my Tattered Rose ink pad directly on the die cut tag, enhancing the gorgeous debossed lines around the edges of the die cut with a gold paint pen to create an elegant gilded frame around the edges. I splattered some more gold glitter watercolors on the delicate pink tag.

To adorn the pretty pink tag, I stamped some flowers and foliage using embossing ink, then added some gold embossing powder. Once I had melted the embossing powder, I die cut the finished images, and to add a little color, I swiped the Tattered Rose ink directly on the die cuts. Due to the resistant nature of the embossing, the color adhered to the white edges of the die cuts, creating solid, colorful images. I repeated the process with a couple of the sentiment stamps from the Festive Words, swiping Saltwater Taffy over the finished die cut. A glittery die cut hole reinforcer and some beautiful pink twine finished the tag off!

I couldn’t resist some gorgeous decor with the large scale images and Festive Words, so I die cut the gorgeous Peace word die from some Tim Holtz Metallic Kraft Stock, backing it with the die cut shadow cut from some pearlescent vellum. To create some fabulous, icy inspiration, I used Speckled Egg, Weathered Wood, and Broken China Distress Oxide Inks (so vibrant, but also so soft and velvety stamped on white cardstock!) to create a gorgeous floral background.

I also stamped some individual images from Festive Watercolor using the same ink colors, die cutting the images with their coordinating dies. I splattered the background with some sparkling watercolors (more hat tip to Tim the Mixed Media Master!), then arranged the die cuts on the 4×6 panel. I adhered the 4×6 panel to an inexpensive little easel frame that I purchased at the dollar store. Such a great way to create some pretty home decor using lots of the supplies that you already have! Finally, I added a few coordinating pearls, as well as twine and velvet bows.

One last project using the Festive Watercolor set! I customized this tiny wooden birdhouse that I found at my local dollar store, first by painting the entire birdhouse with some crisp white chalk paint. To make it pretty, I used some metallic pigment ink to stamp the images all over the birdhouse; the pigment ink stamps beautifully on the chalk paint. Stamping isn’t just for paper!!

I used some acrylic paints to enhance the stamped Festive Watercolor images, painting directly over the floral stamped images with metallic rose gold acrylic paint and some muted sage green for the foliage. I am obsessed with how beautifully this turned out!

Once my painted birdhouse had completely dried, I used a palette knife to add some chunky texture paste “snow drifts”, sprinkling the new Tim Holtz Chunky Rock Candy Glitter on the wet texture paste. I also applied some Collage Medium around the edges of the texture paste, adding some of the Fine Rock Candy Glitter, creating icy snow drifts and encrusting this pretty bird house with sparkling, icy glitter.

If you haven’t seen the LIVE, (click HERE to see!) Tim Holtz has shared a ton of different pieces of inspiration using the images that I used above. There is an unbelievable kit available filled with every single stamp and die set, as well as tons of other goodies, that is going to be used during the upcoming Technique Class on 9/28/25, shared on YouTube. The stamps and dies are going to also be available individually if you would prefer one or the other, and I’ll have them linked below, but the value of the kit (priced at $99.99) is more than two times than the purchase price. Incredible, incredible value!!!

However, just like all STAMPtember collaboration sets…. it’s limited edition. Don’t wait. Seriously… don’t wait. This is going to sell out ASAP.

Thanks so much for stopping by today, and happy STAMPtember!!

Special Release: Simon Says Stamp Exclusive Dies for Tim Holtz and Ranger!

Hi friends! Simon Says Stamp has had a special surprise release today: Exclusive Dies to match previously-released Tim Holtz cling stamp sets! These new coordinating die sets are exclusive to Simon Says Stamp and make crafting with these cling stamp sets such a joy. Click HERE to see all of these Specialty Bundles! I created three different projects highlighting these fabulous new dies, so let’s do a brief rundown of each project.

For this first project, I decided to do a fun vertical ombré with several different shades of blue to green Pawsitively Saturated Inks. I began by blending Spring, Dublin, Tropic, Ocean, Cadette, and Royal inks from left to right on a horizontal A2 card front. I went over the first layer with a second layer of ink blending to ensure a smooth gradient from color to color. To add some whimsy to the background, I splattered some diluted white gouache over the entirety of the panel.

I also used the same shades of ink to stamp the images from the Tim Holtz Wildflowers stamp set on white cardstock, then die cut them with the new coordinating dies. The white splatters on the background complement the white edges of the floral silhouette die cuts! I also white embossed a sentiment from Airy Greetings onto a strip of coordinating teal cardstock, then backed it with a slightly larger strip of coordinating blue glitter cardstock. I popped up the floral die cuts on their coordinating color stripe with foam adhesive, then added the sentiment strip over the top with a double layer of thin foam adhesive squares. For a final sparkling touch, I added a couple of Prism Pawsitively Dazzling Gems to each side of the greeting.

For my second project, I thought I would pair the delicate florals in the Mini Bouquet bundle with the feminine, lacy borders in the Ornate Trims bundle! When I was first learning to watercolor, I used Distress Inks, so this project took me back to my roots, for sure! I stamped the floral images from Mini Bouquet using Milled Lavender Distress Ink, then tapped Milled Lavender, Dusty Concord, and Iced Spruce out on my glass craft mat and used a damp paintbrush to pick up the color to do some delicate no-line watercolor with these pretty florals! Though these images are dainty, a paintbrush with a nice, crisp point and some patience to allow each section to dry will ensure that those details are not lost! After painting, I die cut the finished Mini Bouquet images with their new coordinating dies.

To further enhance the slightly “shabby chic” feel for this card, I stamped two of the different borders from the Ornate Trims bundle on a piece of white cardstock using Simon Says Stamp’s Petunia Pawsitively Saturated Ink. I die cut the stamped borders with their new coordinating dies, then adhered them in the center of a white A2 card front with some thin foam adhesive. Layering the trims reminds me so much of crocheted lace, like on the edge of a linen sheet or curtain! I arranged the watercolored florals in a swag, popping them up with a double layer of foam adhesive to achieve extra dimension, then tucked a die cut deep plum “hugs” dimensional die cut next to the bouquet. I added some Lilac Pawsitively Dazzling Gems and tucked a twine bow into the bouquet. I absolutely love how this one turned out! Clean and feminine with a hint of shabby chic.

For my final project, I was inspired by Tim Holtz’s incredible mixed media projects to try my hand at some mixed media of my own! I enjoy pushing myself outside of my typical symmetrical, carefully constructed projects to do something a bit more whimsical occasionally, and this frame that I found at my local dollar store provided me the perfect canvas to create some splattery mixed media goodness! I painted the wooden shadow box frame with a pearlescent royal purple, then selected Pawsitively Saturated Inks that worked nicely with the vibrant purple frame: Amethyst, Sky, Dew, and Heather. I lightly blended these colors on my 6×6 background panel, creating an ethereal blended background, then used the Bokeh Lights Stencils to add some interest to the background. To keep a semi-tone-on-tone background, I carefully blended the same colors on the stencils as the blended background behind it, which I think adds to the ethereal feel of the background. For the stencil with the largest dots, I used Tim Holtz’s Frozen Fog Mica Spray to add some subtle shimmer; I also splattered some handmade iridescent watercolors on the background for lots of different elements of shimmer and shine!

After I had created the background, I worked with the new stamp and die bundles to create a magical meadow. I heat embossed the butterflies from the Flutter bundle onto some vellum using silver sparkle embossing powder, then die cut them with their coordinating dies. I love embossing butterflies onto vellum; I think it makes them even more delicate and weightless! I also heat embossed some florals from the Wildflowers bundle using White Satin Pearl embossing powder. Before die cutting, I used residual ink from my blending brushes to lightly blend Dew ink on the foliage and Amethyst and Heather on the florals, which when die cut creates a lovely and ethereal emboss/resist effect!

I layered all of the die cuts on the blended background panel with so much (and I do mean SO MUCH) foam adhesive, creating multiple layers and heights by doubling it up for die cuts in the foreground. Finally, I added a “magical” die cut, cut from holographic mirror foil cardstock, but unfortunately I see that that die has been discontinued. You could recreate this with some individual alphabet letter dies, however! I think this finished product is just so much fun and such a departure from my regular projects.

Well, that’s all for me today! If you love Tim Holtz stamps but have been yearning for coordinating dies to make your life easier, Simon Says Stamp has made your wishes come true. I hope you’ll check out all of the fabulous bundles available, because Simon has a variety of bundles for many of Tim Holtz’s stamp designs available. You can check them all out HERE! Thanks so much for stopping by today, and have a marvelous day!

More Simon Says Stamp June 2025 Card Kit of the Month!

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

Hi friends! The new Simon Says Stamp Captured Joy Card Kit of the Month is available for preorder, and I have some more inspiration to share using the gorgeous elements of this kit! I shared THIS pair of cards yesterday that featured lots of ways to utilize the patterned papers and other pieces of the kit, including a fun floating frame shaker, but today, I thought I’d share some inspiration using the rub-ons and stamp set that is included with the kit. Here’s a sneak peek at the fabulousness included with the June 2025 Captured Joy Card Kit of the Month:

The value of the individual contents of this kit is so much higher than the $44.99 price tag (the stamps and dies alone are worth it, even more if you become a subscriber for $39.99!). This is one kit that you don’t want to miss out on!

*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!*

For my project today, I began by using the beautiful rub-ons included with the kit, creating a floral collage on an A2 panel of Audrey Blue cardstock, also included with the kit. Rub-ons could not be easier to use; simply use your scissors to cut out the images that you’d like to use, then use the included popsicle stick (or I used my bone folder) to rub the images onto your cardstock of choice. The vibrantly-printed images will remain vibrant even on a color-saturated background like this gorgeous Audrey Blue! I used several images to create a collage on my background, then splattered the entire panel with some shimmering iridescent glitter watercolor for an added “mixed media” feel.

For the focal point, I did some fussy cutting using some of the rub ons and the patterned papers included with the Captured Joy Card Kit. I used the “enjoy” and camera rub-ons with some plain white cardstock, then used my sharp recoil scissors to fussy cut the rub-on images. I also cut out some more butterflies from some of the patterned papers.

To help ground the images, I heat embossed one of the frames from the Modern Scrapbook stamp set included with the kit, stamping it and the “happy birthday” greeting on pale pink cardstock using Simon Says Stamp’s White Pigment Ink, the heat embossing the images with Iridescent Blue embossing powder. I used the coordinating dies to cut the images out, adding some darker pink alcohol marker to the frame to add a bit more contrast and color, then popped up all of the images on my collage card front with foam and liquid adhesive. I tucked an Iridescent White Cord bow beneath the sentiment, then added a few Prism Pawsitively Dazzling Gems for added sparkle!

This kit is so full of amazing products and even more amazing value; the stamps and dies alone having a higher individual value than the kit’s price! 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!

Simon Says Stamp February Card Kit of the Month!

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

Hi friends! I have some pretty inspiration to share with you using the new Simon Says Stamp February 2025 Card Kit of the Month! These Card Kits are absolutely jam-packed with marvelous products, and the bundle of products is discounted down to make it super affordable and filled with enough products to make a wide variety of projects. All of the curated products in the kit work seamlessly together, but they can also be used (and purchased!) separately to make your crafting experience as easy and fulfilling as possible. You can check out all of the details, including individual items and more inspiration, on this month’s card kit HERE. I have two projects to share with you today created using elements of the February 2025 Card Kit of the Month as well as a few more individual products, so 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!*

The Simon Says Stamp February 2025 Card Kit of the Month features a gorgeous stamp set called Distressed Vintage Notes, and it has so many fabulous elements that work especially beautifully when layered together to create a dimensional, almost mixed media effect. I paired the stamp set with the gorgeous printed ephemera pack included with the kit, as well as some gold, pink, and taupe inks and other goodies from my stash to create this pair of feminine layered cards.

My first card is comprised mostly of the Tim Holtz printed ephemera pack (which I’ve linked individually below, so that you won’t hoard like I am always tempted to do-you can always buy more, Emily!). I selected a couple of the beautifully detailed images from the ephemera pack that I thought worked particularly nicely together, with similar pastel color palette and minimal distressing, then used the included Collage Medium (which is enormous and will last for quite a long time!) to strategically add some Rock Candy Glitter on both the flowers and the butterfly, adding a subtle touch of sparkle and texture to the elements. After allowing them to dry completely, which did not take long at all, I layered them on an A2 Sage card front, adhering them with foam adhesive squares in both a single and double layer for the butterfly.

For the greeting, I heat embossed the “love and affection” sentiment from the Distressed Vintage Notes stamp set using gold embossing powder on some of the Cotton Candy cardstock that was included with the kit, then cut the image out with the coordinating die. I also die cut the Friend die to enhance the sentiment, cutting the detail layer from Simon’s Matte Gold foil cardstock and the shadow layer from Simon Says Stamp Vellum, adhering the two layers together with liquid adhesive and tucking both sentiment pieces amongst the butterfly. I added some Bubblegum Pawsitively Dazzling Gems and a twine bow to finish everything off! Such a delicate card with the pretty pastels and shimmering accents.

My second card uses the large rose die cut from the ephemera pack as the focal point. I think the gorgeous image coupled with the detailed cut edge makes this beautiful printed piece exceptionally beautiful! Because the image screams “vintage” to me, I decided to pair it with a distressed mixed media feel in the background using several elements from the Distressed Vintage Notes stamp set. I used Rhubarb and Latte inks to stamp several elements from the stamp set, first stamping on a piece of scrap paper, then using the residual ink to get a lighter impression on my Cotton Candy A2 card front. After blending first Rhubarb and then Latte inks around the edge of my card front to increase the vintage feel on my card, I also used some sparkling gold pigment ink to layer some lacy florals from the stamp set, adding sparkle and texture to the background.

I popped the beautiful rose ephemera piece up on my finished background using foam squares, then used gold embossing powder to emboss the sentiments and gorgeous butterfly image. For the butterfly, I heat embossed the image on vellum to create a light and ethereal feel while also avoiding another heavy layer of cardstock. I popped up the greeting pieces with double and single layers of foam adhesive, then tucked the vellum butterfly next to the flower. Finally, I added some Gold Pawsitively Dazzling Gems and a sparkling gold twine bow for added shimmer!

Well, that’s all for my projects today. I so enjoyed stepping outside of my comfort zone to create these distressed but feminine cards. You can check out all of the details, including individual items and more inspiration, on this month’s card kit HERE. If you like the looks of the Card Kits of the Month, you can always subscribe to be able to get first dibs on these beautifully curated kits in addition to even better discounts! The value of the kits always far exceeds the individual purchase price, so it’s a great way to build your stash and get lots of bang for your buck. Thanks so much for stopping by today, and have a marvelous day!

April Showers Bring May Flowers: Hibiscus Mixed Media!

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

Hi friends! I am back with another watercolored embossing folder project for you today, this time using another folder from Simon Says Stamp that has been sadly neglected in my craft room: Hibiscus Cluster embossing folder. This project started out as a typical no-line watercoloring project for me, but ended up looking a bit like those color-saturated ink swiping projects. I used a mixed-media trick to achieve that stark black background behind the vibrant watercolored hibiscus flowers, so let’s get started with the details!

I started my project by running the Hibiscus Cluster embossing folder  through my die cutting machine using an A2 panel of Arches cold press watercolor paper. Arches is my go-to watercolor paper for nearly every medium. It hardly ever lets me down! I particularly love it when paired with embossing folders, because the rich details from the embossed images are made even more exceptional on the thick, textured watercolor paper. After I had embossed the background, I pulled out a few of my favorite rich red and vibrant green watercolors from my Daniel Smith watercolor palette. The key to no-line watercoloring with embossing folder backgrounds is to treat it like you would a no-line stamped image: keep the wet sections separate until dry in order to prevent bleeding and to keep your lines crisp.

To add the delicate stamens to the center of my hibiscus flowers, I pulled out some gouache from Altenew. I had not paid much attention to the delicate lines of the stamens while watercoloring the petals, so they needed an extra strong medium to allow them to stand out. Gouache is an opaque watercolor, which means that it will have excellent coverage over most watercolors, even vibrant red! I simply painted the stamens with yellow gouache (tip: mix white gouache with your regular watercolors to create a multitude of gouache options!), keeping the paintbrush quite damp to ensure that the color flowed smoothly onto the paper.

After I had finished watercoloring the jewel-bright tropical blooms, I pulled out my black OLO marker to create that stark black background. I selected my OLO marker because they are exceptionally juicy alcohol markers and thus work very nicely with the thick watercolor paper. I covered the entirety of the white sections with this crisp black marker to create maximum contrast and allow those vibrant florals to really stand out!

After spending so much time watercoloring and adding the black alcohol marker to my background, I wanted something simple for the greeting. I die cut the delicate scripty “hello gorgeous” sentiment from white pearl cardstock using the Hello Beautiful Gorgeous dies. I trimmed down a thick rectangle of vellum, then used my scissors to notch the ends and create a flag, then used my scoring board to score the edge so that I could tuck the leftover section behind the card front before placing the whole panel on my card. I added some clear dimensional adhesive in tiny strips behind the solid die cuts, then added a few Cherry Pawsitively Dazzling Gems for a bit of sparkle!

Well, that’s all for my project today. The fabulous embossing folder sale is still happening over at Simon Says Stamp! You can get all Simon-branded embossing folders (including the ones with coordinating dies!) for 25% off until May 27, 2024. Simply click HERE to see all of the embossing folders, then add code EFLDR at checkout to take 25% off of your embossing folder purchase!

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