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Sixth Street Sundries

Emily Midgett

my monthly hero

Hero Arts My Monthly Hero January 2023 Release Blog Hop + Giveaway!

Hi there! It’s time for the first Hero Arts My Monthly Hero release for 2023, and we are sending you all lots of love with these gorgeous new Valentine’s- and love-themed products! You should have arrived here from Channin, and your next stop is Ilina. This month’s kit is full of a unique collection of images, dies, and other goodies to make your love cards even more fun to create and to give! Here’s a peek at the kit:

The January My Monthly Hero kit comes with Clear Stamp Set, 6″ x 8″, 18 Fancy Dies, 2 Frame Cuts, Heart-Shaped Daisies Stencil, 6″ x 6″, 3 Sheets of Kraft Cardstock, 5.5″ x 8.5″, 1 Sheet each of Azalea and Peony Cardstock, 5.5″ x 8.5″, Love Mix Sequins. The contents of the kit are valued individually at $77, but you can purchase this kit for only $34.99! These kits frequently sell out quickly, so you can also subscribe to make sure that you are guaranteed your own kit each month. Click HERE to see the subscription details! I have two cards for you today that I created using primarily the fancy dies with the kit, so let’s get started with the details!

The large stamp set included in this month’s My Monthly Hero kit contains some super unique images and beautiful sentiments, but I fell in love with the cute chocolate kiss and heart fancy dies included in the kit. My little boys have had to take medicine that tastes kinda grody recently, and I have been (shamelessly) bribing them with a chocolate kiss in exchange for being good boys and taking their medicine. I decided to pull out some pink and red foil cardstock and cut a bunch of hearts and kissy lips to go with my sparkly silver kisses!

I had one card idea in mind and so die cut a ton of different sizes of matte red foil hearts, shiny hot pink lips, and sparkly kisses (cut using Hero Arts’s Holiday Sparkle silver glitter paper). The original arrangement that I had in my head didn’t quite work, but I had die cut enough hearts, kisses, and lips to create two separate card fronts! Both cards feature Pitch Black card bases. The colorful foil and sparkle cardstocks absolutely glow on the black background!

This first card features an arrangement with a trio of kisses towards the bottom of the card, with some hearts and lips floating up like bubbles! I made liberal use of my foam tape roll with both of these projects, adhering nearly all of the die cuts with foam tape to add lots of interest and dimension to these projects. The card above combines the LOVE die cut with silver embossed sentiment strips, trimmed to fit and adhered with liquid and foam tape.

This second card features the “leftovers” from my first card using die cuts from the My Monthly Hero kit. I began by adhering my two glittery silver kisses towards the center of the card, then arranging the remaining foil die cuts around the silver kisses in a fairly random pattern. I adhered nearly everything with more foam tape, which I think adds so much fun texture and height to this card! I added some metallic black gems for some extra shine and to fill in some of the blank spots.

My next two cards are somewhat the polar opposite of my previous two cards. They feature bright, crisp white, with pops of bright magenta foil! (Side note-colored foil is ridiculously difficult to photograph without it looking black. I promise the foil I’ve used today is all deep pink!) When I began crafting for this release, I had one idea in my head, but it didn’t work as well in execution as it did in my mind’s eye, so I ended up with enough pieces to create two different cards yet again! I’m not upset about it!

My first card features the fabulous new Hearts Hot Foil Plate. I used some sparkly pink hot foil to create an almost-polka-dotted background featuring these bitty, shiny hearts. I used the Heart Infinity Dies ti die cut some foiled hearts in various sizes from the hot foiled panel, from large all the way down to tiny. I wanted to create a cluster of hearts on my white card front. I also die cut a few hearts from the hot pink foil that I used earlier, as well as a couple of Azalea hearts, all in a variety of sizes.

For the greeting, I heat embossed a greeting from the new You’re Mine stamp and die bundle using some super glittery hot pink embossing powder. I wanted to keep the minimal color scheme true without adding a bunch of extra components, so I searched my stash and found this shocking pink with aqua sparkles. I thought this embossing powder worked beautifully with the iridescent sparkles in the hot foil! I embossed the greeting on white cardstock using Hero Arts Embossing Ink, then die cut the embossed greeting as well as another of the same die from some more Azalea cardstock. I offset the pink die cut slightly to create a pink shadow and help the sentiment pop from the background.

I arranged the heart cluster on a plain white A2 card front, adhering them all with foam tape for lots of dimension. I added the greeting using a double layer of foam tape to give it extra height!

My second card uses the beautiful new Heart Flourish Cover Plate die as a subtly textured background for the Box of Chocolates Fancy Die. I began by die cutting the box from the Box of Chocolates die from some Azalea cardstock, then did some ink blending with Raspberry Jam and Plum inks around the edge, adding some tiny white dots with a white gel pen to coordinate with the other white accents on the card. I also die cut the beautiful bow from some more hot pink foil to make a pretty, gift-worthy box of chocolates!

I stamped some little tags to go on my chocolate box using the new Loving Sentiment Strips stamp set. It coordinates with the Sentiment Strips Fancy Die to make it super simple to create a bunch of sentiment strips all at once! I also stamped and die cut another greeting from You’re Mine stamp and die bundle. I stamped the greetings with Ultra Pink ink to pair nicely with the pink chocolate box.

I die cut the Heart Flourish Cover Plate from some white cardstock and adhered it using Precision Glue to a white A2 card base. The detail in this cover plate is simply gorgeous. Even though it’s a very detailed and busy pattern, the white-on-white creates a subtly textured botanical background that serves to create some interest behind the bright pink chocolate box, rather than overwhelming it. I adhered the chocolate box with some foam adhesive, then added the sentiment strips as tags on the chocolate box, then used a double layer of foam tape to add the “be mine” greeting. The little white dots on the chocolate box tie all of the different elements together!

Well, that’s all for my projects today. That was a long post! Now for some fun giveaway information:

Hero Arts is giving away a $50 gift card, drawn from the comments left across the hop. Enter by Sunday, January 15th at 11:59pm Pacific, and the winner will be announced on the Hero Arts blog the following week.

Your next stop on the hop is Ilina. You can also start back at the beginning at the Hero Arts Blog. Thanks so much for stopping by today, and happy hopping!

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

Hi there! Hero Arts is releasing their new collection for December 2022, and we are reaching for the stars with a space theme this month! You should have arrived from Daniel West, and your next stop is Ilina Crouse. Here’s a peek at this month’s kit:

This month’s kit comes with • 6″ x 8″ Clear Stamp Set, • 15 Coordinating Frame Cuts, • 4.625″ x 5.875″ Cling Stamp, • 4 Sheets of Pitch Black Cardstock, 5.5″ x 8.5″, and Rose Gold Pigment Mini Ink Pad. All of the kit contents are valued individually at $82, but the kit is yours for only $34.99! Such a great bargain, and bonus: all of the kit components work beautifully together or separately, giving you tons of options for creating! These kits frequently sell out quickly, so if you’re loving them as much as I do, you can always SUBSCRIBE to guarantee that you receive your kit each month. 

I kept things cool today with vivid colors to create nighttime skies using a couple of different techniques for our celestial cards. The new kit and coordinating add-ons really have endless possibilities and endless color combinations, and I have a pair of cards to share with you featuring some bright raspberry, purple, and blue, so let’s get started with the details!

My first card uses several of the components of this month’s kit to create this vivid encouragement card! I began by stamping the background using Raspberry Jam, Plum, Nautical, and Periwinkle inks with the celestial sky background stamp included in this month’s kit. To achieve the smooth blend between the colors on my background, I made good use of my MISTI. I inked up the bottom portion of the stamp with Periwinkle ink, dabbed the seam with my microfiber cloth to make it fade out smoothly, then closed the door of my MISTI to transfer the ink from the stamp to the cardstock. If I missed a spot, I re-inked my stamp, dabbed with my microfiber cloth (you could also use a blending brush!), and restamped that color. Next, I did the same technique with the Nautical ink, this time dabbing both top and bottom with my cloth to ensure that the colors would blend with the colors on either side on both top and bottom. I repeated the process with the Plum and Raspberry Jam inks to create this smooth ombre background! While my stamp and paper were still in place in the MISTI, I also inked up the entire stamp using Hero Arts Embossing ink and covered the entire stamped image with the sticky ink. I clear embossed over the top of my stamped background to create added texture and shine!

Next, I stamped several of the elements from the 6×8 stamp set included in the main kit using Intens-ified Black ink. I colored the images using my OLO markers, then die cut them with the coordinating dies. I also die cut a star frame using the 5 Point Star Infinity Dies and the white glitter cardstock from the Basics Glitter Cardstock pack.

I arranged my die cuts on my vivid, shiny background, adhering them all with foam tape in a couple of different heights to add extra dimension. Finally, I covered the background with some iridescent confetti for even more added texture and shine, creating “stars” for my celestial traveler!

My second project features a couple of the new add-on items and some intense ink blending. I have made watercolored galaxy backgrounds before, but I thought that I would try to create an ink blended background for a stenciled galaxy! I began by ink blending Raspberry Jam, Plum, Nautical, and Periwinkle inks in a somewhat random “pattern” on my A2 white card front, then blended Pitch Black around the edges to create a nighttime sky swirling with Aurora Borealis color but still surrounded by the pitch black-ness of space! I paired the new Star Cluster Stencil with White Hero Wax, and boy did that take the background to next-level cool!

For my focal point, I used the beautiful new You’re Magical stamp and die bundle to create some fun stars and beautiful sentiment. I heat embossed a shimmery silver solid star from the set on Pitch Black cardstock with White Satin Pearl embossing powder. I heat embossed a few of the fancier stars using Sparkle embossing powder on Hero Arts Vellum cardstock. I also die cut a few smaller stars from the 5 Point Star Infinity Dies set using black and white glitter papers from the Basics Glitter Cardstock.

I arranged the cluster of stars around my sentiment and adhered them with both foam adhesive and tiny dots of Precision Glue for the vellum stars. The final touch was to add a few opalescent gems for even more sparkle!

Well, that’s all for my projects today! 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 11th at 11:59pm Pacific, and the winner will be announced on the Hero Arts blog the following week.

Your next stop on the hop is Ilina Crouse. Thanks so much for stopping by today, and happy star-hopping! 😉

Hero Arts November My Monthly Hero Blog Hop + Giveaway!

Hi there! The first Monday of the month means a brand new My Monthly Hero release from Hero Arts, and this month we have an absolutely scrumptious new die-centric kit that has so. many. options! You should have arrived here from Daniel and your next stop is Jessica! This month’s kit has such a marvelous array of dies to make your card- and tag-making super simple, and so many of these dies can be used beyond your holiday crafting! Here’s a peek at this month’s kit:

The November My Monthly Hero kit includes: 3″ x 4″ Clear Stamp Set, 31 Ornament-building Fancy Dies, 6 Sheets of Acetate Panels, 10 Sheets of Deluxe Smooth White Cardstock, 5.5″ x 8.5″, Scarlet Satin Ribbon, 1/4″ wide, 3 yds., Snowflake Sequins. The value for all of these items individually is $71, but the kit is yours for only $34.99! These kits frequently sell out quickly, so if you’re loving them as much as I do, you can always SUBSCRIBE to guarantee that you receive your kit each month. I have a card and tag duo today using the main kit, so let’s get started with the details!

My fellow Hero Arts Creative Team-mates totally have rocked the traditional holiday color schemes, so I thought I would throw a little twist into my projects with some hot pink!

My card project features several of the foliage die cuts from the main kit, but instead of using my beloved colored cardstock, I pulled out my Karin watercolor markers and added some watercolored goodness to the die cuts. I die cut all of the elements from some Fabriano Artistico Watercolor Paper, then used the Karin Brushmarker Pro markers and a damp paintbrush to add lots of vibrant color to the different images.

I heat embossed a greeting from the 3×4″ stamp set that is included in the main kit using gold embossing powder, then trimmed each piece out to create two different sentiment strips.

I adhered the main watercolored wreath portion to the Deluxe White card base using Precision Glue, then added the rest of the elements using foam adhesive for lots of dimension and texture. I added a few sparkly pink gems to add some festive holiday sparkle!

My second project using the November My Monthly Hero kit is a simple tag that I was able to throw together super quickly using several cardstock scraps that I found in my scrap box! I hate spending a ton of time on holiday tags, because they just get thrown away so quickly with the rest of the wrapping, so I was super excited at how quickly and prettily this came together! I cut the base from Hero Arts’s Azalea cardstock, then used a Blending Brush to lightly blend some Plum ink around the edge to give it a vintage feel and add some extra dimension. I added several of the same die cut elements from my holiday card, this time cut from colored cardstock! The combination of the Palm, Plum, Azalea, and Cup O’Joe creates such an unexpected but pretty color palette! This tag would surely stand out beautifully on a card front. I heat embossed a To: and From: from the main kit’s stamp set using white embossing powder, then added a simple white raffia loop to make a quick tag.

My next projects feature the beautiful new Holiday Foliage Messages stamp set paired with some of the new tag dies for some more quick and lovely tags to adorn your holiday gifts! I began by die cutting the new Stocking Fancy Die and the Light Fancy Die from some more watercolor paper. I then heat embossed greetings from the new Holiday Foliage Messages using gold embossing powder. I love how beautifully the details are picked up on the embossed greetings!

After I’d added the embossed greetings to the centers of my tags, I again used my Karin Brushmarker Pro markers and a damp paintbrush to add lots of vibrant pinky reds and plums to my tag die cuts. I die cut the topper for the holiday bulb from some gold glitter cardstock, then added it to my tag with some more liquid glue. I added simple white raffia loops to the top of each tag to make it easy to add them to gifts. I love how quickly these came together with the help of the beautiful, intricate greetings from the Holiday Foliage Messages!

Well, that’s all for these projects today! Now for some fun giveaway information:

Hero Arts is giving away a $50 gift card, drawn from the comments left across the hop. Enter by Sunday, November 13th at 11:59pm Pacific, and the winner will be announced on the Hero Arts blog the following week.

Your next stop is Jessica. You can check out the full hop list and more details about this month’s release on the Hero Arts Blog. Thanks so much for stopping by today, and happy hopping!

Hero Arts October 2022 My Monthly Hero Blog Hop + Giveaway!

Hi there! Today is the first Monday of the month, which means we have a new My Monthly Hero kit and coordinating add-on products for you! You should have arrived here from Daniel West, and your next stop is Ilina Crouse. You can also start at the beginning at the Hero Arts Blog! This month’s kit features a ton of fabulous scene building holiday silhouettes, perfect for creating a pristine North Pole scene, forest scene, or a simple winter scene. So much versatility. Here’s a peek at this month’s kit:

The October 2022 kit features: Clear Stamp Set, 6″ x 8″, • 19 Coordinating Frame Cuts, Snow Dots Cling Stamp, 4.625″ x 5.875″, 2 Ink Cubes (White Reactive & Unicorn Pigment), 2 Sheets of Diamond Glitter Paper, 5.5″ x 8.5″, 2 Sheets of Snow Glow Cardstock, 5.5″ x 8.5″, and 2 Sheets of Lapis Cardstock 5.5″ x 8.5″. The kit’s contents retail for $79 individually, but the entire kit is yours for $34.99! If you love these limited edition kits, be sure to SUBSCRIBE to be guaranteed to receive your own My Monthly Hero kit each month.

I have a super easily-mailed Christmas card for you today, using some masking paper, light ink blending, the Snow and Froth technique kit, and the fabulous winter scene stamps from the October 2022 My Monthly Hero kit. Let’s get started with the details!

I wanted to create some snowy drifts to make a scene using several of the different stamps included in the My Monthly Hero kit. I began by cutting a piece of masking paper, vaguely shaped like a hill. I applied the hill mask to a panel of white cardstock, then used Blending Brushes to very lightly blend Granite and Dusty Blue inks to create a hazy background “behind” the snow drifts. I removed the mask, placed it at a different angle up a bit higher on the card front, and blended again. I repeated the process once more, creating three different snow drifts on which to stamp my silhouette images!

I stamped several different images from the My Monthly Hero kit using Intens-ified Black ink, using my MISTI to make sure that I got super clean and crisp stamped images. I also used the Snow and Froth technique kit to add some super realistic-looking snowy texture to the drifts. This kit is great for your wintry cards; you simply apply the clear lacquer wherever you want to add the snowy texture, then sprinkle the white puff embossing powder over the top and heat it up. After I’d heated up the Snow and Froth textures, I splattered some silver Glimmer Ink over the whole card front to add some snowflakes.

After my silver paint splatter “snowflakes” had dried, I added some Silver Hero Pearls to the Christmas tree, creating even more texture and shine on this one-layer-but-super-textured card front. I stamped one of the beautiful calligraphy greetings from the My Monthly Hero kit using Intens-ified Black ink, then cut the sentiment out using the coordinating dies, included in the kit. I popped the greeting up using some foam tape. Other than the greeting, this card is entirely one layer, making it perfect for mailing!!

My second project features the darling new North Pole Express, paired with the new Snow Globe Window Fancy Die. Because I don’t do “cute” very well, I enjoy taking sweet, whimsical illustrations like those in the North Pole Express set and trying to give them a storybook feel. I used Contour Ink to stamp the train and present car from North Pole Express on some Arches Cold Press watercolor paper, then used Daniel Smith watercolors to do some no line watercoloring. I die cut the finished images with the coordinating dies.

I knew that I wanted the sweet penguin and festive holiday train to be encased in a shaker card, so I die cut the Snow Globe Window Fancy Die from some white glitter paper cut the window itself from some Shamrock cardstock, then I traced around the edge of the die cut window onto my card base. I backed the window with some clear acetate to create my shaker window. I used Blending Brushes to very lightly blend Dusty Blue ink around the edge of the traced snowglobe on my white card base. I arranged the Snowflake Stencil so that the snowflakes were dipping over the edge of the traced snowglobe, and used White Pearl Hero Paste and Palette Knife to add some subtle, pearlescent snowflakes around the edge of the snowglobe.

I adhered the train die cuts to the blended, stenciled background using some thin foam tape, then filled my shaker with some glitter and sequins. (I used super fine glitter, which unfortunately stuck to the acetate a bit more than I would have liked, creating a bit more “frosty” look than I intended, but I kind of like the frosted, wintry look. If you want your shaker to be a bit clearer, avoid using superfine glitter!) I added a red foil greeting from the Season Words Fancy Die set, as well as a sentiment strip using the new Holiday Sentiment Strips, heat embossed in white on some more Shamrock cardstock.

Well, that’s all for my projects today! I think the designers at Hero Arts knocked the holiday releases out of the park this year… so many awesome projects that work beautifully together. Now for some fun giveaway information:

Hero Arts will give away a $50 gift card, drawn from the comments left across the hop. Enter by Sunday, October 9th at 11:59pm Pacific, and the winner will be announced on the Hero Arts blog the following week.

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

Hero Arts September 2022 My Monthly Hero Blog Hop + Giveaway!

Hi there! Today, Hero Arts is releasing their latest My Monthly Hero and coordinating product collection, and we are celebrating the imminent arrival of autumn! (We will just ignore that it’s still most likely sweltering outside haha) You should have arrived here from Daniel West, and your next stop is Ilina Crouse. Here’s a peek at this month’s kit:

This month’s kit includes: • Clear Stamp Set, 4” x 6”, • 6 Coordinating Frame Cuts, • Rub-On Transfer Sheet, • Cling Background Stamp, 6“ x 6”, • 2 Sheets Each of Cardstock in Sand & Antique Ivory, 5.5” x 8.5”, • Rose Gold Metallic Floss, 5 yds. The contents of the kit retail individually for $70, but the cost of the kit is $34.99! These kits are limited edition, so once they’re gone, they won’t be restocked! To keep from missing out on future kits, you can always subscribe to be guaranteed to receive your My Monthly Hero kit each month!

I have a couple of vivid projects using an oft-neglected color in my typical color palette: burnt orange. Both of my projects feature lots of watercoloring and saturated color, mimicking the intensity of the colors of autumn. Let’s get started with the details!

I began by gold embossing the main floral bouquet from the September My Monthly Hero kit onto some watercolor paper. This is an extremely detailed image, so I made sure to stamp my embossing ink multiple times to ensure that I captured all of that beautiful detail. I then wet the entire embossed panel, both in and around the image, and dropped in lots of diluted color in shades of burnt orange, hot pink, and mustard yellow from my Daniel Smith palette. After the watercoloring had dried, I went back and added some details and more intense color to the larger flowers and foliage. The initial layer of watercolor helps to make sure that all of the little areas in the middle of the busy bouquet are attended to. I knew that I wanted a vivid, color saturated project, so adding the color around the edges of the bouquet helps to avoid those pesky white die cut edges, as well!

Next, I used the background cling stamp that is included in the My Monthly Hero kit with some tone-on-tone stamping to create a subtly interesting background. I stamped the background on Pumpkin cardstock using the coordinating Pumpkin ink, then used a blending brush to blend some more Pumpkin ink around the edges to create a vintage, almost distressed look.

I die cut an Oval Woodgrain Infinity Die from some more Pumpkin cardstock and popped it up on the card front using foam tape. I added a double layer of foam tape to the bouquet to give it lots of height and really make it the focal point from the textured orange background, placing it in the center of the frame. I added a gold embossed greeting from the My Monthly Hero kit. I am kind of in love with this card, and it makes me want to use orange more often in my crafting. The monochrome background is saturated without detracting from the pretty floral bouquet, while the extra height and texture added from all of the foam tape keeps things super interesting.

My second project uses the new Fall Leaves Cover Plate die. I die cut the background from some more watercolor paper, then taped it down to my watercolor board. I saturated it with plenty of clean water, then dropped in more of the same color palette that I used for the first card: burnt orange, hot pink, mustard yellow, and added in a bit of deep violet. I swirled and maneuvered the colors until I was satisfied with the color meld and movement. Some of the color pooled around the edges of the die cut areas, highlighting the pattern and details of the leaves. I splattered some metallic Glimmer paints on the dry watercolored background for extra texture!

I heat embossed the previously-released Grateful Pumpkin images using gold embossing powder on some watercolor paper. I used the same colors to do some more wet-on-wet watercolor on the leaves and around the edges of the pumpkin. I love the way the watercolor works on the wet watercolor paper. It creates such life-like color on the leaves, especially! I added lots of intense orange to the pumpkin, then die cut all of the images.

I trimmed the edge of the Fall Leaves Cover Plate die and mounted it on an Eggplant card front, then gold embossed a greeting from Grateful Pumpkin on a strip of Eggplant cardstock. I arranged all of the die cuts and sentiment strip on the card front, adhering them with lots of foam tape. I added a few iridescent gems from my stash to add one last element of shine!

Well, that’s all for my projects today! Now for some fun giveaway information:

Hero Arts will give away a $50 gift card, drawn from the comments left across the hop. Enter by Sunday, September 11th 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!