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Sixth Street Sundries

Emily Midgett

my monthly hero

April 2018 My Monthly Hero Blog Hop+Giveaway!

If you’re looking for the Autism Awareness Hop, please click here.

Good morning again! Today is the release date for the April My Monthly Hero kit… and it’s a fiesta in a box! There are so many sweet southwestern images included in this kit, and it’s a bargain at $34.99 (valued at over $70!). These kits frequently sell out, so it’s always a good idea to subscribe if you want to ensure that you’ll get your hands on one! The kit & add-ons go live in the Hero Arts store on Monday April 2nd at 1pm eastern/10am pacific. The main kit is available for a limited time only – once it’s gone, it’s gone. Kits begin shipping from Hero Arts on Friday April 6th.

You get so many fun, super festive goodies in this kit… including some absolutely amazing reactive ink cubes that I am dying to get my hands on! (They didn’t have them in time for us to get them for project creation, and boy oh boy do they look funnnnn!)I used the main kit for this festive little scene on the Hero Arts blog on Saturday, so I thought I’d make use of some of the fabulous add-ons, including Shake Your Bones and that amazing  Blanket Pattern Bold Prints for my blog hop post today.

I made a little trio of cards using the images in Shake Your Bones. I just watched the tail end of the movie Coco, and these images totally remind me of that movie, even if I only watched just the last 15 minutes of it! (And, let me tell ya, even if I only watched 15 minutes of it, it was still enough to make me absolutely bawl. I shudder to think of the weeping that would occur should I ever watch the whole thing!) I have always loved the combination of bright, sunrise yellow, super hot pink, and bright purple… I even have called it my “fiesta” combination. I kept that color combo in mind when creating my cards today. For each card, I kept the layout nice and clean, with lots of white space and pops of color and pattern.

I stamped each skeleton image and coordinating greeting using Hero Arts’s Intense Black ink onto some Radiant White card stock, then colored them using Copic markers, which I’ll list individually below. I kept the coloring simple on the bones, using just C1 and C3 along with my Colorless Blender to help add some subtle shading to the bones.

Once the coloring was completed, I stamped the Blanket Pattern Bold Prints onto some black card stock and heat embossed using clear embossing powder. I love the subtle texture that adding the clear embossing gives to the background. I trimmed each white stamped panel down to leave plenty of space around the border to keep that pattern plenty visible, then adhered the white panels to the black patterned panels with dimensional foam adhesive.

Aren’t those so cute!? Clean, simple, but those images are so darn cute that you don’t need a whole lot of  “extras,” amirite? Just some coloring, a bit of texture, and lots of clean white space. Perfect!

Now, for a giveaway!!! We are giving away one kit as a prize to one blog reader – selected from the comments across all of the blogs in the hop. The giveaway closes Sunday, April 8th at 11:59pm, and the winner will be announced the following week. The more comments you leave, the more chances you have to win! (If you purchase a kit and then win the contest, Hero Arts will reimburse you for your purchased kit!) Here’s the full hop lineup, so you can leave your comments:

The Hero Arts Blog
Laurie Willison
Yana Smakula
Janette Kausen
Nichol Spohr
Ilina Crouse
Kathy Racoosin
Clare Prezzia
Lydia Fiedler
Jessica Frost-Ballas
Kelly Latevola
Jana Millen
Amy Tsuruta
Emily Midgett<— you are here
May Park
Libby Hickson

My Monthly Hero March 2018 Blog Hop+Giveaway!

If you’re looking for my Reverse Confetti Countdown post, please click here. 

Good morning again!! You should have arrived here from the crazy talented Yana Smakula’s blog. Today’s the day! The March My Monthly Hero is finally available for purchase! The Creative Team has been tantalizing you with projects for the last several days…. isn’t this kit just fantastic? Truly a must-have. (And I don’t say that lightly!) These kits frequently sell out in the first twenty-four hours, so if you’re even a little on the fence, err on the side of caution and purchase yours ASAP!

This kit is chock full of fabulous basics perfect for a beginning stamper or an experienced crafter:

Kit Contents:
6″ x 8″ Clear Stamp Set
4 Fancy Word Dies
7 Fancy Shape Dies
4 8.5″ x 5.5″ Sheets Basic Kraft Cardstock (80 lb cover)
4 8.5″ x 5.5″ Sheets Basic White Cardstock (80 lb cover)
4 8.5″ x 5.5″ Sheets Basic Black Cardstock (80 lb cover)
Sparkly Sequins 1.5 oz
Silver Sparkle Embossing Powder 0.5 oz
Unicorn White Ink Cube

Kit Value: The value of the kit is $70, but it is sold at $34.99. Fabulous value, right? Those word dies alone are worth it, in my view! Plus all of the other fabulous extras you get…. icing on the cake!

I used several of the main elements of the kit in my Countdown post yesterday, which you can see here, and today I’ve combined some of the main kit pieces with some of the add ons along with some older Hero Arts sets. I love when new and old pieces can work together seamlessly! I created a baby card duet for today’s Blog Hop using the add-on Alphabet Window Fancy Die. Any time I see anything “alphabet” it immediately makes me think…. kids… baby…. baby card! Let’s get started with the details!

One of my favorite ways to use detailed cover plate dies like the Alphabet Window Fancy Die is to create a subtly textured white-on-white background. For this first project, I started by die cutting the Alphabet Window Fancy Die from plain white card stock and mounting it on an A2 card base. I stamped the darling little elephant (and several other critters) from Fun in the Rain onto some watercolor paper using sticky black ink, then heat embossed it in clear and cut it out with the coordinating Frame Cuts.  I watercolored my critters using the Zig Clean Color markers and a damp paintbrush.

For the greeting, I die cut one of the flagged banners from the included dies in the main kit and stamped a sentiment from the older Little One stamp set in black. I also cut a gorgeous scripty “hello” die from some black card stock. I adhered the hello die cut with dimensional adhesive, then added the elephant using dimensional foam adhesive. I snipped off the end of the flagged die cut and nestled it beneath the elephant. The last little touch was to add a few Blue Ombre sequins to help the blue umbrella pop even more.

For this next project, I used the same Fun in the Rain stamp set to color a little duckie family (side note- as a mom of twins, I always love finding/seeing baby cards that are geared towards families with multiples. This little duck family is just perfect for a baby shower card for a family getting ready to welcome multiples! Also, my baby shower theme was “Make Way for Ducklings” and this card would have been perfect haha!) I repeated the process for the card base, die cutting the new  Alphabet Window Fancy Die from white card stock and adhering it to a white card base. Next, I stamped the sweet Winnie The Pooh sentiment from Little One onto a rectangle of card stock and matted it with black card stock. I adhered both the greeting and the little duck family using dimensional adhesive.

Well, that’s all for me today! I hope you have gotten some inspiration from my projects! I think the March My Monthly Hero kit is going to be an awesome addition to your stamp collection. Remember, these are limited edition kits, so if you are waffling about whether to buy it or not, just go ahead and get it in case it sells out! Once they’re gone, they’re gone! You can also subscribe to ensure that you will receive your My Monthly Hero kit.

You also have the opportunity to win a kit from Hero Arts! All you have to do to be entered in the giveaway is leave a comment on the blog hop stops. One random winner will be selected from amongst the comments on ALL blogs, so the more comments you leave, the more chances you have to win your own kit! The giveaway closes on March 11th at 11:59 pm, and the winner will be announced the next day. (Hero Arts is so awesome that if you’ve already purchased your kit, they will reimburse you for your purchase if you are the random winner!) Your next stop is the fabulous Wanda Guess. Here’s the full blog lineup:

The Hero Arts Blog
Jennifer McGuire
Yana Smakula
Emily Midgett<—- you are here
Wanda Guess
Janette Kausen
Ilina Crouse
Lydia Fiedler
Jessica Frost-Ballas
Michelle Short
Laurie Willison
Jana Millen
Clare Prezzia
May Park
Amy Tsuruta
Libby Hickson

Have a marvelous day, friends! Thanks for stopping by!



February 2018 My Monthly Hero Blog Hop!

Good morning! We are celebrating the release of the darling February My Monthly Hero kit with a blog hop full of inspiration for both the main kit as well as the super cute add-ons, all of which are now available for purchase! Here are some details of the kit:

Kit Contents:

6″ x 8″ Clear stamp set
24 Coordinating dies
3 Ink cubes (Nest, Robin’s Egg, Feather)
2 5½” x 8½” sheets Stone woodgrain cardstock (111 lb. cover)
2 5½” x 8½” sheets Bubinga woodgrain cardstock (111 lb. cover)
2 Mini grapevine wreaths
This kit contents are individually valued at over $70, but Hero Arts has priced them at $34.99…. such a great value! The kit is available for a limited time only – once it’s gone, it’s gone. Kits begin shipping from Hero Arts on Friday February 9th. You can also subscribe to receive the kits every month to ensure that you never miss a kit!
I used the main kit in my countdown post on the Hero Arts blog (which you can see here), so I thought I would use one of the adorable add-on sets for my blog hop post today: A Little Bird Told Me.

To start, I die cut a little bird house using one of the new Infinity dies (available at certain retailers now, but will be available at the Hero Arts store on February 15!) and a Circle Infinity die from some Pool Layering Paper and Midnight Mix papers. I stamped the birdhouse using a (sadly) retired Hero Arts woodgrain background stamp, but you could also use the lovely embossed woodgrain papers that come with the kit! (I didn’t have those papers when I made this card, but expect to see them soon, because they’re GORGEOUS.)

I stamped the bird from A Little Bird Told Me and a few of the flowers using the “rock ‘n roll” technique. Essentially, you stamp your image once with a lighter color, then add some “shadows” with a darker color. For the bird, I stamped first with Wet Cement, then added some robin-esque details with the Vintage Ombre Metallic Rust. I repeated the process with the flowers using Soft Pink and Ultra Pink. I used a similar technique for the branches; since they are all one piece, I stamped the brown part of the branch after wiping the brown ink from the leaves, then added the green, being sure to wipe any extra green from the branches so as not to create a muddy mess. I die cut all of the different elements with the coordinating dies and set them aside.

For the card base, I blended some Pool ink around the edge of an A2 Snow panel to create an ethereal “sky,” then added some vellum and white clouds cut with the Nesting Cloud Infinity dies. I arranged all of the die cuts on the card front to get an idea of placement, then stamped my sentiment from the A Little Bird Told Me stamp set using Intense Black ink. After adhering all of the die cuts, I decided that the branches needed a little more fullness, so I added some of the standalone die cut branches from the main kit die cut from plain white paper, then colored with some aqua and brown Copic markers and adhered them directly to the card base. I like doing a mixture of dimensional and liquid adhesive to add lots of depth to the card.

The final touch was to add some of the new Hero Arts Lacquer Pen to some of the flowers. (This accent pen is part of the new catalog and will officially be released in the Hero Arts store on February 15!) And that’s all! Lots of layers and dimension on this project, and that’s okay by me! Sometimes you just need depth and texture on a project.

Now, for some giveaway fun! Hero Arts will select one winner from the comments across the blog hop… the more comments you leave, the more entries you have, and the more chances to win! Giveaway closes Sunday, February 11th at 11:59pm, and the winner will be announced the following week. (If you have already purchased the kit, Hero Arts will reimburse you!)

Now, your next stop on the hop is the incomparable Jessica Frost-Ballas!

The Hero Arts Blog
Jennifer McGuire
Yana Smakula
May Park
Emily Midgett
Jessica Frost-Ballas
Wanda Guess
Lydia Fiedler
Amy Tsuruta
Janette Kausen
Michelle Short
Ilina Crouse
Clare Prezzia
Libby Hickson

Well, that’s all for me today! I hope you enjoy the hop! So much beautiful inspiration to see… good luck with the contest! Have a marvelous day!


More My Monthly Hero Inspiration!

Good morning! I have a second post using the My Monthly Hero kit that debuted yesterday. I thought the gorgeous filigree layer and filigree corners would work perfectly for a chalkboard card. Let’s get started on the details!

I started with an A2 sized panel of Midnight Mix layering papers. I stamped the filigree corners, as well as the solid bottom layer of the love and the coordinating sentiments, using Unicorn Pigment ink. I added the detail portion of the love sentiment using Versamark and white embossing powder. Doesn’t it look just like a chalkboard?

To add a bit of color, I stamped several of the blooms from the Summer Garden stamp set using Unicorn Pigment ink, then used my Prismacolor pencils to do some no-line coloring. I also used my T-square and white pencil to draw a frame around the edge of the panel.

The final touch was to add some sparkly crystals to add a bit of sparkle and texture.

Now, for some giveaway fun! Hero Arts is generously giving away a full kit (valued at over $60!) to one lucky reader! All you have to do is comment on the blogs… One winner will be selected from comments across the blog hop, so the more comments you leave, the more chances you have to win! (If you’ve already purchased a kit and are selected as the winner, Hero Arts will reimburse you for the price of the kit!) Giveaway closes Sunday, January 14th at 11:59pm, and the winner will be announced the following week on the Hero Arts blog. There are still a few kits left on the Hero Arts website, and once they sell out, they’re gone for good, so if you’re waffling, you probably better just go over and buy one so that you don’t miss out!


My Monthly Hero January 2018 Blog Hop!

Well hi!! I am super excited today to be a guest on the Hero Arts My Monthly Hero blog hop for January, 2018! You should have arrived from the amazing Clare Prezzia’s blog, and I’m the last stop on the hop! These kits are just fantastic, and I am SO happy to be a guest on the blog hop this month! If you aren’t familiar with the My Monthly Hero kits, here’s a little summary: every month, Hero Arts carefully curates a kit containing stamps, dies, and complementary inks, papers, and/or embellishments. The kits are always a fantastic value for the price of $34.99, but the value of the individual elements always exceeds the price tag. Talk about bang for your buck! The kit this month is so pretty…. lovely, ornate sentiments and some pretty filigree dies, as well as some really beautiful papers and inks. Gorgeous for Valentine’s Day!

Kit Contents:

4″ x 6″ Layered on Love Clear Stamp Set
Four Coordinating dies
4 ink cubes (Passion Flower, Navy, Red Royal and Mulled Wine)
2 5″x7″ Shizen decorative paper
1 5.5″x8.5″ Stardream Coral Cardstock
1 5.5″x8.5″ Stardream Rose Quartz Cardstock
1 5.5″x8.5″ Stardream Kunzite Cardstock
Heart Sequins Mix 1.5 oz
Pink Prisma Embossing Powder 0.5 oz
I have a project for you today that combines the pretty sentiments of the kit with one of the kit add-ons: Window on Love Confetti Fancy Die. I started by die cutting one of the Love Confetti dies from some masking paper, then placed it on a panel of white card stock. I then used my blending tools to blend Raspberry Jam, Ultra Pink, and Bubble Gum inks over the top of the masking paper. Love when you pull the masking paper away and the pattern magically appears!

For the greeting, I used Hero Arts Silver embossing powder on vellum to emboss the bottom layer of the pretty “Love” and the ampersand from the main stamp set of the January My Monthly Hero kit. I fussy cut both of them out, then embossed the “sending” and “friendship” onto some plain white card stock, trimmed them down, and blended more Raspberry Jam ink so that they would pop from the background.

I trimmed the blended panel down and adhered it to an A2 sized panel of silver glitter paper to help pull the silver of the embossing together. I then adhered the greeting with some dimensional adhesive, finally adding some Ombre Blush sequins to complete the visual cascade.

The kit is available for a limited time only – once it’s gone, it’s gone. Kits begin shipping from Hero Arts on Friday January 12th. Also, you can now subscribe to receive the kit monthly and never miss one! You get such bang for your buck every single month that it’s totally worth it!

Now, for some giveaway fun! Hero Arts is generously giving away a full kit (valued at over $60!) to one lucky reader! All you have to do is comment on the blogs… One winner will be selected from comments across the blog hop, so the more comments you leave, the more chances you have to win! (If you’ve already purchased a kit and are selected as the winner, Hero Arts will reimburse you for the price of the kit!) Giveaway closes Sunday, January 14th at 11:59pm, and the winner will be announced the following week on the Hero Arts blog.

The Hero Arts Blog
Jennifer McGuire
Yana Smakula
Jessica Frost-Ballas
Wanda Guess
Lydia Fiedler
Amy Tsuruta
Laurie Willison
May Park
Janette Kausen
Michelle Short
Libby Hickson
Ilina Crouse
Clare Prezzia
Emily Midgett